Jonathan Rosen joins the 2026 Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Knauss cohort as an executive fellow, serving in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ecological Services HQ. In this role, he will support the enhancement of policies designed to protect and preserve biodiversity and ecosystem health through acts such as the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Coastal Barrier Resource Act. With his experience in community engagement and on-the-ground field work, he is excited to see how these policies, which have guided his work, are created and negotiated amongst high-level leadership in NOAA and the Department of the Interior.

After earning his bachelor’s degree, Jonathan began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer, serving as a coastal resource manager in the Philippines and promoting sustainable fisheries practices and broad community engagement. He continued this work back home supporting the restoration of Hawaiian fishponds and monitoring endangered species in the remote atolls of Papahānaumokuākea. For his graduate research, he studied the physiological and behavioral impacts of marine heatwaves on mullet species at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, where he received his master’s degree as a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. The opportunity to work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ecological Services will be a great opportunity to apply his skills to impact conservation legislation, and he is honored to represent Hawaiʻi in Washington D.C.

Outside of his work, Jonathan has had a long history supporting youth education in natural science research skills. He has mentored high school students through the Pacific Center for Environmental Studies (PaCES), Project Hokulani, Nature Activities for Learning and Understanding (NALU) Studies, Research Experience in Marine Science (REMS), and Kupu Hawaiʻi Youth Conservation Corps (HYCC). His own interest in conservation began in high school as a PaCES student, and has since been a strong proponent for making natural sciences feel relatable and available to local youth of all educational backgrounds.