2021 Knauss Marine Policy Finalists

For the second consecutive year, multiple individuals from Delaware Sea Grant have been named finalists for the prestigious Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, awarded annually to the best and the brightest graduate students interested in environmental policy. From left to right, Haley Oleynik, Nicole Rucker and Alma Vázquez-Lule were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants from across the United States.

Three Delaware Sea Grant nominees named Knauss finalists

Article by Adam Thomas

For the second consecutive year, multiple individuals from Delaware Sea Grant have been named finalists for the prestigious Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, awarded annually to the best and the brightest graduate students interested in environmental policy.

Alma Vázquez-Lule, Haley Oleynik and Nicole Rucker were selected from a nationwide pool of applicants from across the United States. All three come from the University of Delaware, but each has taken a different disciplinary path. Oleynik completed her master of science in marine studies this summer, while Rucker and Vázquez-Lule are both PhD candidates, in the College of Earth, Ocean and Environment and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources respectively.

The Knauss Fellowship, named after John A. Knauss, one of Sea Grant's founders and a former NOAA administrator, matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative and executive branches of government located in the Washington, D.C. area for a one-year paid fellowship. It provides assistance to qualified graduate students looking to work with federal agencies, and Knauss Fellows often help members of Congress and other federal entities with the management of ocean resources.

In total, 74 finalists representing 27 of the nation’s 34 Sea Grant programs will interview with potential host offices in federal agencies and congressional offices this fall, with fellowships beginning next February. To learn more about the process and the national class, read this story on the National Sea Grant website.

Alma Vázquez-Lule

Alma Vázquez-Lule is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences in the University of Delaware’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She studies under adviser Rodrigo Vargas, associate professor of Ecosystem Ecology and Environmental Change, and her thesis work is focused on understanding carbon dioxide and methane gas exchange between the atmosphere and the ecosystem in a Delaware salt marsh.

Originally from Mexico City, Vázquez-Lule received her bachelor’s degree in Biology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). After finishing her bachelor's degree, she got a job at the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), a Mexican government institution. At CONABIO, she worked for seven years in the National Mangrove Monitoring Project.

Vázquez-Lule discovered her passion for studying coastal wetlands during a field trip to the Gulf of Mexico while a student at UNAM.

“Coastal wetlands have adaptations to develop at the intersection of the Earth and the ocean, and they provide a lot of ecosystem services, such as the storing of carbon and protection against storms and hurricanes,” said Vázquez-Lule. “Since that field trip, I have been working to better understand different pieces of the carbon cycle in coastal wetlands.”

With regards to the Knauss Fellowship, Vázquez-Lule said she is excited to live and work in Washington D.C. and for the “invaluable opportunity to transfer my knowledge and experience to initiatives that can help inform stakeholders and policy decisions. I hope to expand my viewpoint about applied solutions for environmental concerns at the intersection of government and academia, as well to amplify my professional network.”  

Haley Oleynik

Haley Oleynik recently defended her Master's thesis and works with Aaron Carlisle, assistant professor in School of Marine Science and Policy in UD’s College of Earth, Ocean and Environment (CEOE), exploring fish and invertebrate community dynamics in the Delaware Bay. Oleynik was recently accepted into a Ph.D. program at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver for the upcoming Fall semester.

Her interest in fish began when she was 12. She lived on a sailboat for a year with her family and memorized every fish in their fish identification book.

As an undergraduate at Colby College in Maine where she studied biology and sociology, Oleynik became interested in understanding the social dynamics of fisheries and the ways in which the management of marine resources impacts those who rely on them.

“I am now interested in studying fish ecology to inform management and to support cultures and economies that rely on fishing,” said Oleynik. “I think it is extremely important to understand fish community dynamics to understand how marine environments are changing. I love that my research focuses on the whole community and uses complex data to address ecological questions about spatial and temporal variability in fishes and invertebrates.”

Oleynik was drawn to the Knauss Fellowship because it gives scientists the experience of working with managers and policy makers. She can envision herself working as a scientist for a management agency as a potential future career, and while much of her background thus far has been science focused, she is eager to learn more about how science is translated into policy to manage economically important fish species.

“My background in sociology made me interested in the human dimensions of scientific research, and I always try to think about who my science will impact,” said Oleynik. “My future goal is to conduct socio-ecological research that will enhance knowledge and use of ecosystem-based fisheries science and management. Knauss seems like an amazing opportunity to gain these skills and apply them to my future career whether I work for a management agency or I conduct independent research.”

Nicole Rucker

Nicole Rucker is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in UD’s School of Marine Science and Policy. She works with Carolyn Thoroughgood, professor and former Dean of CEOE, to assess how selected coastal states are developing adaptation measures to minimize the effects of sea level rise. Rucker chose this area of study because it combines her academic and professional backgrounds in science and regulatory compliance.

“What interested me about sea level rise was how states are addressing the issue given funding and legal restrictions and competing pressures from different stakeholders,” said Rucker.

Some of her most memorable experiences relating to the oceans occurred when she volunteered at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Natural Bridges State Reserve, and the California Academy of Sciences’ Steinhart Aquarium. These experiences, she said, were particularly rewarding because they allowed her to show children the wonders of science. 

After finishing her bachelor's degree in biology from The George Washington University, Rucker worked in D.C. for a patent law firm before going to California for graduate school. She stayed in California after graduating and worked as an environmental scientist in both the private and public sectors. It was during this time that she observed most of the problems during environmental project design and construction resulted from scientists not understanding environmental policy and regulatory requirements, planners not understanding the environmental conditions of a project site, and clients being caught in the middle.

“One of the reasons I decided to go back to school for a Ph.D. in marine policy was to help fill the need for individuals with interdisciplinary expertise in scientific, economic and policy areas,” said Rucker. “This is also what drew me to apply to the Knauss Fellowship. As coastal communities balance competing pressures from different interest groups, it is important that the people involved in policy formulation and implementation understand both the environmental and socioeconomic ramifications of their decisions. The Knauss Fellowship will help prepare me for governmental positions relating to the management and use of coastal environments and resources.”

To learn more about the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program and a complete list of finalists, visit the National Sea Grant Program website.