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Beth Lenz

A PhD graduate in marine biology at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, will be spending one year in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C. as a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. Beth Lenz is the only candidate who was selected to represent the UH Sea Grant College Program, and one of 69 fellows selected nationwide for the Knauss Fellowship program.

Lenz began her fellowship in February as a legislative fellow in the Natural Resources Committee’s Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee, which is responsible for developing policy and overseeing agencies that manage domestic and international marine resources. At UH Mānoa, Lenz researched opportunities for coral reef resilience through sexual reproduction in the Florida Keys Reef Tract and Hawaiʻi.

“I am excited to represent Hawaiʻi Sea Grant as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow and gain invaluable experience in the legislative branch,” said Lenz. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve on the Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee in the U.S. House of Representatives learning how to integrate science and policy in order to protect invaluable marine ecosystems.”

Since 1979, the National Sea Grant College Program has provided fellowships working in federal government offices in Washington, D.C. to more than 1,300 early-career professionals. The fellows receive hands-on experience transferring marine science to policy and management through one-year appointments.

“With each year and class, we continue to be more impressed with the Sea Grant Knauss fellows. They bring fresh perspectives and experiences to the coastal and marine science and policy work happening in D.C., and they continue to raise the bar for us all,” said Jonathan Pennock, National Sea Grant College Program director.

For more on the story see Hawaiʻi Sea Grant’s website.

By Cindy Knapman

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