Sea Grant Knauss Fellow Elaine Shen offers tips for future fellows to succeed in fast-paced federal offices
Every year, graduate students from around the country bid farewell to university life and plunge into the world of federal ocean policy in Washington, D.C., thanks to the Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship.
In 2024, one of those fellows was Elaine Shen, who received her Ph.D. in biological and environmental sciences from the University of Rhode Island and was nominated to the fellowship by Rhode Island Sea Grant. She has been placed in the National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences, within the Office of the Division Director.
Shen’s doctoral work at URI focused on coral reef biodiversity, and she was attracted to the Knauss Fellowship through her interest in applied research.
“I really wanted to see what happens when a new scientific discovery is made, and how it can inform policy,” she says.
Her fellowship experience has exceeded her expectations, Shen says. In her day-to-day work, she is in high-level meetings with her division director as well as with other ocean science and technology leaders, and she has contributed to the National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy, the National Aquatic Environmental DNA Strategy, and the National Strategy for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, among other interagency documents.
“What’s special for me is this fellowship is my first work experience in a professional setting,” Shen says.
She’s also been building strategic communication and problem-solving skills in ways that she hadn’t tapped into as a grad student. Additionally, Shen says she’s networked with other Knauss Fellows and alumni in D.C., noting that they make up a substantial number of ocean policy professionals in the region.
Shen is casting a wide net as she considers the next step in her career, though she knows she wants to stay in the ocean science/policy nexus, perhaps working more on how policy priorities get implemented.
She encourages students who are curious about the program to apply even if they feel like they aren’t sure what the fellowship will entail.
She offers some advice for incoming fellows: keep agency leaders informed of important issues by preparing concise, timely briefings; collegiality and relationship-building are everything; agencies have personalities just like people do, so understanding how to work with different types will take you far; and finally, always say thank you, to regularly recognize people for their work.
—By Georgia Young, Rhode Island Sea Grant Graduate Communications Fellow
The Knauss Fellowship is a one-year paid opportunity for current and recent graduates from advanced degree programs to apply their scientific knowledge and experiences to current issues in science, policy, and public administration. Students who are enrolled in or have recently completed master’s, Juris Doctor and Doctor of Philosophy programs with a focus and/or interest in marine and coastal science, policy, or management apply to one of the 33 eligible Sea Grant programs.
For more information on the Knauss program, visit the National Sea Grant website.