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Sea Grant places state fellows at agencies

May 25, 2017

Paula Dobbyn
907-274-9698

Photo courtesy of UAF University Relations. An iceberg lies frozen in place near the Mendenhall Glacier north of Juneau in Southeast Alaska.
Photo courtesy of UAF University Relations. An iceberg lies frozen in place near the Mendenhall Glacier north of Juneau in Southeast Alaska.


Alaska Sea Grant and partners have placed five fellows in one-year positions with state and federal agencies in Alaska. The aim is to advance the fellows' careers as well as support marine and fisheries policy in Alaska.

The State Fellowship program helps to strengthen Alaska’s workforce dedicated to healthy fisheries, coastal communities and ecosystems by encouraging recipients to begin their careers in Alaska.

Chelsea Clawson, who is earning her master's degree in fisheries at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, will take a job at the U.S. Geological Survey, while Genevieve Johnson, also in the fisheries master's program at UAF, will work at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

The North Pacific Research Board and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Landscape Conservation Cooperative have created a joint position for Liza Mack, who is nearly finished with her Ph.D. in indigenous studies at UAF.

Danielle Meeker, completing her master of advanced studies in climate science and policy at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, will take a job at the Alaska Office of the Lieutenant Governor. Kim Ovitz, earning her master’s in fisheries at the University of Maine, will work at NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.

The new Alaska Sea Grant State Fellows will start their jobs between July 1 and late September 2017.

The fellowship matches highly motivated and qualified graduate students and recent graduates with hosts in state or federal agencies in Alaska for 12-month paid positions.

The program is modeled after the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, which places young professionals in federal agencies in Washington, D.C., or in Congress. Both fellowships provide experience and networking opportunities that help recipients to transition from academic study to the working world.

Alaska Sea Grant is a statewide marine research, education and outreach program, and is a partnership between the University of Alaska Fairbanks and NOAA. Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program agents help Alaskans wisely use, conserve and enjoy marine and coastal resources. Learn more at www.alaskaseagrant.org.