October 17, 2024
Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is excited to announce that four recent Washington graduates have been selected as finalists for the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.
The Knauss Fellowship is a prestigious one-year fellowship program awarded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program. Since 1979, the fellowship has provided graduate students the unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience developing and implementing policy on marine, coastal and Great Lakes issues. Fellows live and work in Washington, D.C., where they are matched with federal agencies or legislative offices according to their interests and academic expertise. In its history the Knauss Fellowship has supported more than 1,660 students who have gone on to build lasting careers.
The 2025 Knauss finalists represent 70 universities across the country, including 10 minority serving institutions, and comprise 44 master’s students, 41 Ph.D. candidates and 3 J.D. candidates. They are geographers, ichthyologists, ecologists, lawyers, environmental managers and more, representing communities across the nation and committed to making meaningful contributions to marine policy.
Read on to learn more about this year’s fellows from Washington Sea Grant!
AINA HORI
Aina grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, with the ocean as a constant presence in her life. She describes the beach as her childhood playground, where she spent countless hours swimming, snorkeling, and playing in the sand. Over the years, witnessing the impacts of climate change on her local marine ecosystems ignited her passion for marine biology. She pursued this interest at the University of Washington, where she worked on various research projects examining the responses of marine species to environmental challenges, such as the biotic impacts of kelp crabs on bull kelp, factors influencing pinto abalone growth, and how mussels filter water under different stress conditions. Drawn to applied sciences, Aina continued her studies with a master’s degree at the University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, where she focused on fisheries management, marine policy, and the critical intersection of people and marine environments. For her thesis, she researched how small-scale fishers in Nayarit, Mexico, are adapting their strategies to continue fishing despite challenges like climate change, competition, and pollution. Currently, Aina works as a Field Program Lead at the Seattle Aquarium, where she shares the wonders of the ocean and rivers with others, inspiring connections, curiosity, and a commitment to marine conservation. As a Knauss Fellow, she is excited to further her work at the intersection of science and policy, advancing marine science education and conservation efforts.
JASON GRONICH
If you were to ask Jason’s friends and family to describe him in one word, it would definitely be fish. By the time Jason was 12, he was spending just as much time underwater SCUBA diving in Monterey, California as he was on land. The wonderment, curiosity, and connection Jason felt with the kelp forests and its inhabitants lit the fire underneath him to pursue a career involving understanding and conserving the world’s oceans.
Jason earned a bachelor’s degree from California State University Monterey Bay in Marine Science and while there, immediately immersed himself in all things marine. He earned his scientific diving certification, became a certified drone pilot for the purposes of conducting intertidal habitat surveys, volunteered to collect crab megalopae data, and assisted in preparing samples for various projects at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. He also received the National Oceanic and Atmospherics’ (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship during his junior year, which enabled him to conduct deep-sea, remotely operated vehicle research with the NOAA Office of Exploration. After two years of hard work, he published his first, first-author, scientific paper in Regional Studies in Marine Science. Upon graduation, Jason took some time from school to gain hands-on-experience working as a field technician. He worked as a scientific diver for UC Santa Cruz and collected observational data of fish, algae, and invertebrates in marine protected areas. He also worked for the Alaskan Observers program, which collects fishery discard data from commercial fishing vessels, to inform management of our natural resources.
After working in the field for some time, Jason continued his educational journey and attended the biology master’s program at Western Washington University. Here he sharpened his lab knowledge and researched the evolution of fish feeding mechanics, with the purpose of better understanding how fish diversify into their ecological niches. He specifically used zebrafish and transcriptomic techniques to understand what genes underlie the development of the mandible (lower jaw region). As a Knauss Fellow with Washington Sea Grant, Jason is looking forward to continuing his journey with ocean policy work in Washington D.C.
CAITLIN LAWRENCE
Caitlin is finishing her master’s degree in aquatic ecotoxicology at the Washington State University Puyallup Research and Extension Center. Her research is centered around identifying alternatives to 6PPD, a chemical used in tires that poses a threat to aquatic life, particularly coho salmon. Prior to attending Washington State University, Caitlin earned her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry at Wells College in Upstate New York where she developed an interest in environmental chemistry and the impact of human activities on aquatic ecosystems. After graduating she worked at a lab in New York performing toxicity tests to fulfill state and federal effluent discharge permit requirements. This position inspired her to return to school to pursue a research graduate degree focused on contaminants in aquatic ecosystems.
In addition to her academic work, Caitlin has been actively involved in public outreach and policy initiatives related to salmon conservation and stormwater toxicity. As the Salmonids and Stormwater Policy Intern at Puget Soundkeepers, she organized community meetings and collaborated with several groups to standardize salmon survey methods. She has also contributed to public awareness through podcast interviews, presentations, educational lessons, and workshops about 6PPD-quinone. Caitlin is passionate about bridging the gap between scientific research and environmental policy implementation, and is excited to have the opportunity to do this as a Knauss Fellow.
HELENA MCMONAGLE
Helena mostly grew up in Maine and started undergrad at Wellesley College as a pre-medicine student, which seemed like the best fit at the time for someone who wanted to do science, contribute to her community, and work on improving wellbeing. But after learning more in college about the impacts that climate change, pollution, and other environmental issues have on nature and public health, she switched to a career in ocean sciences. Helena worked for three years as a teaching assistant and research assistant at Marine Biological Laboratory and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution contributing to undergraduate STEM education and research in fish ecology and toxicology. To strengthen her ability to work effectively at the intersection of environmental research, policy and management, she started her PhD at University of Washington in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. Her dissertation quantifies ecosystem services (benefits humans receive from nature) associated with the world’s most abundant fishes. She is looking forward to working as a Knauss Fellow and learning more about how science can inform policy and decision-making, and also how policy shapes what science research is done. Other professional interests include engaging with the public about the ocean, and collaborating to make science and environmental management more inclusive and equitable.
Congratulations fellows! We can’t wait to see what you accomplish.
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Washington Sea Grant, based at the University of Washington, helps people and marine life thrive through research, technical expertise and education supporting the responsible use and conservation of coastal ecosystems. Washington Sea Grant is one of 34 Sea Grant programs supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in coastal and Great Lakes states that encourage the wise stewardship of our marine resources through research, education, outreach and technology transfer.
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OCT
2024