Fellow Spotlight: Sean Kelly

Sean Kelly saw the Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship as a chance to expand his network, learn from seasoned professionals, and increase community resilience and well-being. Sean said, “this fellowship position offers a valuable opportunity to work alongside researchers and practitioners in a broad range of fields, including social justice, climate migration, and climate adaptation and resilience.”

Sean is working with Davin Holen, Alaska Sea Grant’s coastal community resilience specialist, on coastal community resilience and climate change adaptation efforts in Alaska.

Over the course of his fellowship, Sean is contributing to several projects. He is planning a workshop focused on climate-induced human mobility for the Sea Grant-led research coordination network, called People on the Move in a Changing Climate (PEMOCC). He is also working with researchers from Université Laval in Quebec City to identify instances of inequitable access and distribution of resources in the economies of the North. “This is part of an effort to support greater equity in the Arctic,” explained Sean. “We are working with tribes and other interested parties to identify and uplift social and cultural indicators of resilience in rural Alaska.”

Most recently, Sean supported a workshop for the Climate Change Adaptation Community of Practice. The Anchorage workshop brought together climate resilience professionals and stakeholders from across the state. “The Climate Change Adaptation Community of Practice is a working group that shares many of the values that initially motivated me to become an educator, and will continue to guide my work.”

Prior to graduate school, Sean worked as a professional outdoor guide in Southeast Alaska, led experiential learning expeditions for college students in Central America and South Asia, and taught high school in California. He has a master’s degree in energy and resources from the University of California at Berkeley.