[Applications now being accepted for Knauss fellows]

Maine students who recently completed the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program are now working on marine and coastal policy issues in Maine, Washington D.C., and North Carolina. The Knauss Fellowship Program provides a unique educational experience to students who have an interest in ocean and coastal resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The program, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program, matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative branch, executive branch, or appropriate institutions located in the Washington, D.C. area for a one-year paid fellowship.

Maine Sea Grant is pleased to announce that the 2006 class of Knauss Fellows from Maine already have obtained prestigious positions in their fields. Meredith Mendelson will be working as a Program Coordinator with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland. Mendelson, a native of Cape Elizabeth, ME, is a graduate of Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program, Bates College, and the University of Maine School of Law.

Sheril Kirshenbaum is an Associate in Research for Ocean and Coastal Policy at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, where she will analyze regional ecosystem-based management initiatives and assist with environmental communications outreach. She received master’s degrees in marine biology and marine policy from the University of Maine where she studied the population dynamics and socioeconomics of the Maine sea cucumber fishery.

Emily Knight has stayed with Rep. Tom Allen (D-ME) in Washington D.C., working as a clerk for the Natural Resources Committee of the House of Representatives.

Any student who, on April 5, 2007, is in a graduate or professional program in a marine or aquatic-related field at a United States-accredited institution of higher education may apply to the National Sea Grant Office through their local Sea Grant program. The deadline for applications to the Maine Sea Grant Program is Friday, March 9, 2007. The dates of the official fellowship are February 1, 2008- January 31, 2009. For more information about the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program, visit http://www.seagrant.noaa.gov/knauss/knauss.html.