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The Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) is excited to announce that a record four alumni were selected as Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellows this year. The selection of these students recognizes their outstanding academic and research achievements, as well as the strong support and resources provided by the EPP/MSI institutions. These students will apply their scientific expertise to inform policy decisions affecting the Nation's natural resources.
The Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship is a unique opportunity for highly qualified graduate students who are interested in policy related to marine, coastal and Great Lakes resources to spend a year in Washington, DC, working at an executive agency or on Capitol Hill. This paid fellowship was established in 1979 and many alumni have made significant contributions to national science and environmental policy throughout the public, non-profit and private sectors.
Sea Grant is a network of 33 programs in coastal US states and territories dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of coastal, marine and Great Lakes resources. Applications for the 2017 Knauss Fellowship class will open in the fall, and are due to the state Sea Grant offices in mid-February. Please check your state Sea Grant website for more information.
Efeturi (Efe) Oghenekaro
Efe will graduate with her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (lead institution of the NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center) as part of the Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) Program in December 2015. She studied the mesozooplankton dynamics of Maryland coastal bays under the mentorship of Dr. Paulinus Chigbu. Before matriculating to UMES, Efe earned her BS with honors in Fisheries Science from the University of Benin in Nigeria.
During the fellowship, Efe hopes to learn how science is applied to help shape policy decisions. This fellowship will be instrumental in helping her gain a working knowledge of how environmental policies are written and implemented at the highest levels of government. Efe has been placed in the Office of International Affairs for NOAA Research.
Symone Johnson
Symone is working on her Master’s degree at Delaware State University in the Dept. of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She is developing a conservation plan for sand tiger sharks in the Delaware Bay which focuses on using the best available scientific data to develop policy guidelines for managers, including Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve (DENERR) staff and other federal agencies. Her project is part of the Social Policy focus area of the NOAA Environmental Cooperative Science Center (ECSC).
Symone earned her B.S. in Marine and Environmental Science from Hampton University in 2012, and was an EPP/MSI Undergraduate Scholar. She was also a 2016 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in the NOAA Office of Education. Symone now leads the Living Laboratory Program at the Baltimore Aquarium, teaching students in Baltimore about science and the environment in their own backyard.
Larry Redd, Jr.
Larry Redd, Jr., is finishing his M.S. at Hampton University, where he is studying the gastric evacuation of juvenile pompano, a project with implications for sustainable aquaculture. Larry was recently awarded an Outstanding Student Presentation Award for his Oral Presentation at the 2015 Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Grenada, Spain.
Larry earned his B.S. in Biology from Norfolk State University in 2006. “It means quite a lot to be selected for the Knauss Fellowship”, said Redd, Jr. “The Marine Science field lacks diversity. Hopefully, I can be an example to other students that if you put in the work and trust yourself that you can make an impact".
Larry has been placed with NOAA Fisheries in the Highly Migratory Species Division.
Jhoset Burgos-Rodriguez
Jhoset earned his B.S. from University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras in 2012. He participated in a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), working with a mentor at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on a project investigating the effects of storage temperature on the growth and survival of total and pathogenic Vibrio parahaemolyticus in Chesapeake Bay Oysters.
Jhoset continued on to earn his Master’s degree in Ecology and Ecosystem Sciences from the University of Rhode Island in 2014, where he served as chapter president of both the Society for Advancing Chicanos, Latinos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) and American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES). Jhoset is currently working toward his J.D. at the University of Puerto Rico. Through his Fellowship and law degree, Jhoset aspires to be an effective link between science and the policy-making process and dedicate his career to public service. Jhoset has been placed in the Department of Interior Office of Insular Affairs.
