Alaska Sea Grant announces 2026 Community-Engaged Fellows

Six undergraduate students will get a leg up in their careers this summer while helping Alaska’s coastal communities through Alaska Sea Grant’s Community-Engaged Fellowship program.

The fellows will work on research and education projects for ten weeks in towns from Nome to Petersburg, each mentored by one or more Alaska Sea Grant faculty members. They join a national cohort of 90 fellows across the country.

“We’re very excited to meet our 2026 cohort,” said Alaska Sea Grant coastal community resilience specialist Davin Holen, who co-leads both the Alaska and national Community-Engaged Fellowship programs. “It’s amazing to provide this opportunity to undergraduate students to gain real-world experience and build the next generation of marine and coastal scientists.”

The students will begin their fellowships in June in Seward, where they’ll enjoy some team bonding, tour marine science centers, and learn about careers in the marine and coastal sciences in Alaska. In addition to working on projects, the fellows will participate in weekly professional development with peers across the country. At the end of the summer, they will present their projects to the national group.

2026 Alaska Sea Grant Community-Engaged Fellows

Ayla Knodel, an undergraduate at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS), will conduct beach surveys of marine mammals and seabirds in Nome and the Bering Strait region to collect data on marine animals impacted by harmful algal blooms and other environmental factors. She will also help with reporting and outreach.

UAA undergraduate Amiah Jared will explore ways local food production can build resilience in coastal communities. She will focus on Cordova, Haines, Klukwan, Seldovia and Homer. She will also be included in ongoing NSF EPSCoR and NOAA projects.

Bergen Kludt-Painter, who recently received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Idaho, will conduct European green crab invasive species monitoring and outreach in Petersburg and Wrangell. She will also assist with either the Petersburg Public Library’s summer programming or an Alaska Sea Grant Coastal Connections Camp.

Alex Devon, who recently received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA)—and who also served as a Community-Engaged Fellow in 2025—will work with the Alaska Sea Grant coastal resilience team for the summer, focused on the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Projects include assisting with a youth workshop and working on a new NOAA-funded project on coastal inundation and sea level rise.

Tessa Davis, who recently received her Associate of Arts from Kodiak College, will assist in monitoring harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center shellfish lab. She’ll work with NOAA partners to collect and process phytoplankton and shellfish samples for testing, execute a comparative study, and help with community outreach related to HABs.

UAS undergraduate Hannah Bogdan—who previously served as a Community-Engaged Fellow in both Summer 2025 and Spring 2026—will help with Coastal Connections Camps and related activities in Valdez and Seward. She’ll also assist in changes to Alaska Sea Grant’s education website.