Three students from the are spending one year focusing on critical marine policy issues in Washington, D.C. representing the (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant) as 2026 .
Gabrielle Ellis
completed her PhD in biological oceanography in spring 2025, for which she received the Mirikitani Outstanding Dissertation Award. Her dissertation provides baseline ecological descriptions of remote and unexplored habitats of the deep sea, and considers how resilient these habitats are to natural variation and human-induced impacts.
“If I have learned anything through my research as a deep-sea scientist, it is the power of transparent, long-term data in elevating science and protecting important ecosystems,” said Ellis. “I am so excited to witness this through NOAA’s Global Ocean Monitoring and Observing Program, and I am honored to be working with the international and multistakeholder network of the Arctic Research Program.”
Jonathan Rosen
began his career as a Peace Corps volunteer as a coastal resource manager, and continued this work in Hawaiʻi supporting the restoration of Hawaiian fishponds and monitoring endangered species in the remote atolls of Papahānaumokuākea. He earned his master’s degree in marine biology as a NSF Graduate Research Fellow studying the impacts of marine heatwaves on fish physiology.
“To me, this feels like a once in lifetime opportunity to expand my experiences and expertise by working alongside the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ecological Services Headquarters,” Rosen said. “Through this fellowship I hope to apply my experience in conservation, research and communication towards the implementation of legislation on national conservation priorities, including the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.”
Sarah Woo
is currently a PhD candidate in the Natural Resources and Environmental Management Department at 糖心Vlog官方 Mānoa focusing on collaborative community-based research, management and governance. Her graduate research is based in Kāneʻohe Bay, working alongside the Heʻeia National Estuarine Research Reserve and regional generational lawaiʻa (fishers), marine scientists who work in the Bay, and resource management agencies.
“I feel extremely grateful to have been selected to represent Hawaiʻi as a Knauss Legislative Fellow in Sen. Brian Schatz’s office focusing on topics such as oceans, climate, fisheries, and water, and assisting with appropriations and science legislation,” said Woo. “Growing up in the Pacific Northwest’s Washington, I never expected to live and work in Washington, D.C., but am excited for this new adventure to learn about the federal government so that I can come back home to Hawaiʻi after and apply what I have learned to support community needs.”
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