October 13, 2020

Washington Sea Grant (WSG) is excited to announce that University of Washington graduate Andres Sheikh has been selected as the 2020–2021 WSG Keystone Fellow. Through the fellowship, he will spend the year working at the Puget Sound Partnership. He started his position earlier this month.

Launched last year, the WSG Keystone Fellowship seeks to build pathways into marine science, policy and related industry careers for individuals who are historically underrepresented in those fields. This paid fellowship offers a unique educational opportunity by matching highly motivated and qualified individuals with host offices throughout Washington State. The Fellowship offers first-hand experience working on projects that help WSG better understand, conserve and utilize Washington’s ocean and coastal resources and is open to diverse graduates and early-career professionals who are interested and engaged in ocean and coastal vocations.

The program’s goals are to:

• Create pathways into marine science, policy and industry careers for individuals who are historically underrepresented or underserved in these fields
• Identify and elevate high potential emerging leaders in marine science and policy
• Respond to relevant program or project needs of key WSG partners who share and seek to advance the goals and values of the WSG Keystone Fellowship program

Andres graduated from the Evans School of Public Policy with a focus on environmental policy and has a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Berkeley. He is particularly interested in environmental adaptation policy as it relates to regional climate change and water resources. As part of his capstone project, Andres worked with the Climate Impacts Group as a research consultant, exploring the state of adaptation in Washington across a variety of environmental sectors and organizations. He also worked with a team of classmates with whom he co-authored an award-winning report that explored how the Evans School can more effectively integrate content and facilitate conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion in the core curriculum. Before grad school, Andres did advocacy and organizing work as part of the Center for Biological Diversity, primarily on public land and fossil fuel infrastructure projects throughout the Western U.S. As the 2020 Keystone Fellow, he is working with the Puget Sound Partnership on their Vital Signs Reporting program, exploring ways to improve messaging on human well-being, examining environmental inequalities and climate impact through incorporating data to better inform recovery efforts, and evaluating relationships between project and program effectiveness.

Congratulations, Andres! We can’t wait to see what you accomplish.