(Honolulu, HI) – Four postgraduate fellows from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa have been  selected to work directly with Hawai‘i-based organizations through the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program (Hawai‘i Sea Grant) E. Gordon Grau Coastal and Marine Resource Management and Policy Fellowship Program (Grau Fellowship).

The paid fellowship, named in honor of Emeritus Professor E. Gordon Grau, Hawai‘i Sea Grant’s visionary former director, provides early career professionals the opportunity to obtain relevant resource management and policy experience in Hawai‘i and, for many, to pursue career opportunities in their home state.

“We’re thrilled to mark the sixth year of the Grau Fellowship, which has grown to include 18 Grau Fellows in this newest cohort” said Maya Walton, Hawai‘i Sea Grant assistant director for research and fellowships. “The host offices, dedicated mentors, and Hawaiʻi Sea Grant staff and faculty are all collaborating to provide the practical training and experience necessary to prepare the next generation of professionals working at the interface of science, policy, and resource management. Our ultimate goal is to build pathways for Grau Fellows to continue filling public service positions after their fellowship, ensuring we cultivate local talent in Hawaiʻi.”

Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources

As a testimony to the importance and value of this program to the offices that host the Grau fellows, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) has hosted fellows continually since the inaugural Grau fellowship in 2019. This year, DAR welcomes Olivia Boucher to focus on its Holomua Marine Initiative, building and expanding on the work of past fellows who designed island-based management strategies and community-based monitoring plans for this initiative. Boucher will focus her efforts on community engagement, policy research, and cross-sector collaboration that will help bridge science, the public, and decision-making.

Boucher holds a Master of Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management.

Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands

Also with DLNR, Leigh Engel will be supporting the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands in managing and protecting Hawai‘i’s shoreline resources. She will be implementing place-based approaches that mirror natural systems to address coastal erosion and hazard mitigation, while advancing long-term goals of conserving beaches, dunes, estuaries, and other vital ecosystems.

Engel earned a Master of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, where she was also a Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC) Scholar.

City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resilience

The City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resilience will host two Grau Fellows to help implement climate adaptation strategies through its Coastal and Water Program and the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Plan.

Maddy McKenna will be working with the Coastal and Water Program team to implement the city’s adaptation strategy, honoring both Western science and Indigenous ecological knowledge in developing people-centered solutions for Oʻahu’s threatened coastlines.

Matt Miller will work on cutting-edge climate mitigation strategies such as managed retreat and to support and enhance the city’s partnerships with community-based organizations. His goal is to use his experience researching severe and shifting weather in the tropics to help build a resilient Oʻahu through planning and outreach measures. He is also looking forward to forming resilience hubs across the island which are community-led, trusted gathering spaces that connect residents and serve their immediate or surrounding neighborhoods.

McKenna earned a Master of Arts in Climate and Society from Columbia University, and a PhD in atmospheric science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Miller earned a Master of Science in Atmospheric Science from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

The Grau Fellowship is a state program modeled after the highly competitive and successful NOAA John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program which sends recent graduate students to Washington, D.C. for one year to work in either the legislative or executive branch of government. Now, students with advanced degrees from Hawai‘i colleges or universities, or local students who are from Hawai‘i but obtained their degree(s) elsewhere, can remain in Hawaiʻi.

To further the careers of Hawai‘i’s next generation of resource managers, Hawai‘i Sea Grant annually recruits municipal, state, or federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations that work on coastal or marine research, policy, or management to be a host office. Any questions can be directed to Maya Walton, Hawai‘i Sea Grant’s assistant director for research and fellowships, at waltonm@hawaii.edu or (808) 956-6992.

For more information on the Grau Fellowship visit: http://seagrant.soest.hawaii.edu/about/opportunities/

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About the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program

The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program is part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s prestigious School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. It supports an innovative program of research, education, and extension services directed to increasing sustainability of coastal and marine resources and resilience of coastal communities of the state, region, and nation. Science serving Hawai‘i and the Pacific since 1968.

About E. Gordon Grau

Emeritus professor E. Gordon Grau served as the Hawai‘i Sea Grant director from 2000 to 2014, working tirelessly to transform coastal communities into places that were economically prosperous, socially and culturally inclusive, and had the smallest environmental footprint. Dr. Grau was also a full professor in the UH Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology for over 30 years, researching fish endocrinology and environmental physiology at his laboratory at the Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) and serving as the HIMB interim director for six years.