Courtney Gerstenmaier is a John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow spending her time jointly with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) and the NOAA Fisheries Communication Office. She is working with the ocean education and outreach team at NMNH focusing on the topics of climate change and fisheries. Courtney’s love of water started at young age when her family took her to a lake in Michigan and over time this love transitioned into a love for the ocean. She received both her undergraduate and master’s degrees in Marine Biology from the College of Charleston, where she worked on the impacts of a non-native species of seaweed on a southeastern mudflat. Courtney is really interested in species interactions and what happens when something disturbs their natural equilibrium. Her favorite sea creatures are spotted eagle rays, whale sharks, and deep sea isopods and amphipods.
The Fellowship:
The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources.
The Fellowship, named after one of Sea Grant’s founders, former NOAA Administrator, John A. Knauss, matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one year paid fellowship.
What She’s Doing Now:
Since moving to DC to start her fellowship in February, She has been working jointly with the National Museum of Natural History and NOAA fisheries to act as a bridge between the two organizations. One part of her job is bringing the research from NOAA fisheries and incorporating it into what the museum is sharing with visitors. This is done through Expert is In programs—informal public interactions where scientists talk about what they do using visuals and props to the museum visitors, more formal seminars, events and festivals such as World Ocean Day and The Arctic Spring Festival, social media, and the Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal website. On the policy related side, she has had the opportunity to help with designing and implementing communication plans for new or updated policy decisions. Courtney was able to share her research with museum visitors by participating as an Expert is In and by participating in a festival—In her words: I couldn’t leave it behind!
