UAF student selected for marine policy fellowship in D.C.

June 17, 2015

Photo by Loraine Naaktgeboren. Erin Shew stands on the bank of the Yukon River at Eagle, Alaska.

Erin Shew, a graduate student in Arctic and northern studies at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, has been awarded the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.

“I’m really grateful for this opportunity,” said Shew. “I’m excited to learn about policy creation at the federal level and I’m also excited to see what people in D.C. are talking about as far as marine issues in the North and Arctic.”

Shew is one of 60 fellows chosen from a pool of 120 nominated by Sea Grant programs from the coastal and Great Lakes states and territories.

“Erin is dedicated to a career that focuses on sustainable, resilient coastal communities, an important concern in Alaska,” said Paula Cullenberg, director of Alaska Sea Grant. “I was struck by her understanding that sustainability includes economies, cultures and livelihoods. I know that she’ll glean a lot from her year in Washington, D.C., and when she returns to Alaska we will all benefit from her experience.”

The one-year paid fellowship is a unique educational experience for graduate students interested in national policy decisions affecting ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources.

While working toward her master's degree in Arctic and northern studies, with a focus on environmental policy, Shew has conducted research for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in rural Alaska.

"In addition to my academic training, I have a lot of practical experience engaging local stakeholders in discussions about how development might affect them and what path they would like to see development take,” said Shew. "I think that's something I can bring to D.C."

When Shew visited the Norton Sound village of Stebbins, a resident told her the area seemed like a Third World country. He felt villagers had little knowledge of how to engage with politicians or agencies to get their point of view expressed and solve their problems.

After her fellowship year, Shew plans to return to Alaska's Arctic and work for an agency or non-governmental organization on natural resource policy. Her goal is to be a link between coastal Alaska residents and the government to achieve sustainable development and protect cultural resources in the Arctic.

Shew will join other fellows in the capital in November 2015 for interviews and placement in the executive branch of the federal government. She will begin the fellowship in February 2016.

The Knauss Fellowship was established in 1979 for students interested in marine resources and national policy decisions that affect those resources. The program was named in honor of one of the founders of the National Sea Grant College Program, former NOAA Administrator John A. Knauss.

ON THE WEB: http://seagrant.uaf.edu/research/knauss.html