Two Ph.D. candidates from Alabama and Mississippi have been selected as finalists for the 2023 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program. The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium endorsed their applications for the prestigious national fellowship.
Matt Hodanbosi, who is studying marine sciences at the University of South Alabama’s School of Marine and Environmental Sciences and the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and Sara Marriott, who is studying coastal sciences at The University of Southern Mississippi, are two of 86 finalists chosen through a competitive process that included comprehensive reviews at the state and national Sea Grant program levels.
As Knauss fellows, they will spend one year in Washington, D.C., gaining experience in policy-making in agencies and committees that deal with marine and coastal issues at the federal level. This fall, they will participate in interviews with several executive offices to determine where they will work during their fellowships, which begin in February 2023.
“The Knauss Fellowship offers graduate students the invaluable opportunity to put their academic knowledge to practice in tackling marine, coastal, and Great Lakes management and policy challenges at the federal level,” said Jonathan Pennock, the National Sea Grant College Program director. “We look forward to welcoming the 2023 class of Knauss fellows and seeing how they will apply their unique insights to developing solutions to some of the most important challenges facing the country.”
Matt Hodanbosi
A North Atlantic right whale stranding in Maine sparked Hodanbosi’s interest in marine policy. As a marine mammal necropsy intern with the International Fund for Animal Welfare based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, he assisted with the whale’s necropsy, which determined that rope wrapped around the critically endangered animal caused its death.
“I could see firsthand what we, as a species, are doing to protected species and how we can contribute to their life and death,” he said.
Not long after the stranding, he attended the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium conference where he saw scientists, fishermen, local stakeholders and state and federal employees come together to discuss policy choices that have been made over past decades and how those decisions have affected the right whale population.
“Everything comes down to human behavior and how we do things as a species, as a society,” Hodanbosi said. “Having good science, observing what is happening in the world and understanding how the choices we make will affect other species is vital to keeping those species around.”
In Alabama, his dissertation, “Freshwater influence on the trophic ecology of bottlenose dolphins in Mobile Bay,” investigates how changes in freshwater coming into Mobile Bay affect what dolphins and their prey eat and how that is potentially changing the food webs dolphins use in the bay. He also is trying to determine if changes in trace metal accumulation in dolphins and their stranding demographics are related to freshwater events.
The Knauss fellowship seemed like a great fit for his interests and career goals, he said.
“This opportunity really stuck out to me,” he said. “During my marine mammal stranding internships and Ph.D. program, I’ve been drawn toward the policy side of things and being more involved with the executive branch of government. I could see myself pursuing a career as a state or federal scientist so I’m excited to be involved with this field of work during the fellowship.”
Now that he is a finalist, he is looking forward to representing the Gulf of Mexico during his fellowship year.
“I am excited to be a face of the Alabama and Mississippi coasts up in Washington,” he said. “I want to be a voice for this area and promote the great science we are doing down here.”
Hodanbosi has a master’s degree in marine biology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and a bachelor’s degree in evolution and ecology from The Ohio State University.
Sara Marriott
Marriott first became interested in marine policy because of her love of both seafood and problem-solving.
As a child, she attended many nature camps and became interested in science. While volunteering at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute as a teenager, she realized she wanted to work specifically in marine science.
“I love seafood, and I started learning more and more about how certain seafood wasn’t sustainable and that some fish species were endangered,” she said. “I was feeling guilty, as a high-schooler, learning about all of these problems in the world. I wanted to learn more about fisheries in order to be part of the solution.”
Marriott earned a bachelor’s degree in marine biology and a master’s degree in coastal and ocean policy from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Her capstone project for her master’s degree was “Offshore Wind in North Carolina: Is it worth it?”
Marine policy, she said, combines many fields to solve problems, and that’s what attracted her to it.
“It wasn’t just, ‘Biology is the answer,’” she said. “We can find answers in science, but it doesn’t necessarily translate to a policy solution. I liked that it brings in economics, social science, political feasibility and technical feasibility. It brings in everything in order to make science actionable.”
Marriott has partnered with an NGO called Rare, a global non-profit focused on community-led solutions, for her dissertation, which analyzes the implications of community-based management of marine reserves in the Philippines for reef fish communities and biodiversity.
In March, she interviewed fishers in the Philippines to understand their perceptions of fishing rules and enforcement. She also is looking at data to determine whether community-based managed marine protected areas have affected fish abundance, and she is finding that results vary across locations. In future analysis, she will determine what may be influencing the differences fish populations.
Marriott previously worked as a fishery observer for NOAA, where she collected data at sea for the organization, and she was also a part of the monitoring and evaluation team at Rare. The Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship is the next step in developing her career in marine policy.
“In addition to having a launch into a federal career,” she said. “I’m looking forward to the mentorship and networking opportunities. I’m excited to be mentored, and I’m also happy to take my experiences and later become a mentor for future students.”
Since 1979, over 1,550 fellows have completed the Knauss fellowship program, applying their experience to lasting careers in science, policy and public administration.
Meet the author
Melissa Schneider
Communications Coordinator
Melissa Schneider coordinates public information, educational media and communication services for Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant. Some of MASGC's communications projects include our website, social... Read more
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