Kimberly Aiken at the Alaska Forum on the Environment
As a first year International Environmental Policy studies student, I am deeply grateful to work with Center For the Blue Economy (CBE) Senior Fellow and Executive Director of Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH), Dr. Brendan P. Kelly. I started working with the CBE team and Dr. Kelly in the fall (2018) as a graduate assistant. I support and collaborate on peer review and editing Arctic science policy briefs for SEARCH. This requires managing literature references, communicating with experts and authors from the National Snow Ice & Data Center, National Center for Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and many others.
My most recent endeavor led me to the Alaska Forum on the Environment conference in Anchorage, AK. Here I presented a poster on SEARCH and my work with the organization and Center for the Blue Economy. As I continue my studies at MIIS, I plan to incorporate what I’m learning through my job with CBE and SEARCH into my class projects. Future aspirations consist of working with WWF Arctic, Grid Arendal or the Arctic Council on conservation for protected areas.
Background: Dr. Brendan P. Kelly joined the Center for the Blue Economy as a Senior Fellow in 2015. He had taken on the role of Executive Director of SEARCH: The Study of Environmental Arctic Change, an NSF funded multi-disciplinary group tasked with bringing the latest “state of the science” on the rapidly changing Arctic to the realm of state and national policy makers. He needed a home base, and the Center for the Blue Economy was thrilled to have a veteran Arctic researcher join our team. Little did we realize the immense benefit that Dr. Kelly would bring to the students in our International Environmental Policy program. Over the years, he has incorporated our students into research during the academic term, provided internships, and several alumni have landed paid positions through Dr. Kelly’s connections. We are so grateful for this collaboration.