Alaska Sea Grant announces 2026 State Fellows

Fourteen recent graduates from across the country will spend a year working with Alaskan agencies and organizations through the Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship program.

This year’s fellows will be hosted by NOAA, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Alaska Ocean Observing System, Alaska Sea Grant, the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, the Alaska Center for Marine Debris and the Marine Debris Foundation. The fellows will help their host organizations to plan and implement natural resource programs and gain job experience in the process.

“These fellowships are an important part of Alaska Sea Grant’s mission,” said Alaska Sea Grant associate director for research Molly Cain, who is in charge of the program. “We’re helping to launch careers in marine science while connecting new talent to organizations across the state.”

The fellowships begin this month and run through September 2027. This year’s fellows are:

Sydney Almgren (M.S. Fisheries, University of Alaska Fairbanks) is assisting the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation with research, outreach and planning focused on certifications and socially responsible practices. The work is part of an effort to build a comprehensive sustainable fisheries program. Almgren’s fellowship was extended from 2025–26.

Izabella “Bella” Block (Master of Public Policy, University of Alaska Anchorage) is being hosted by Alaska Sea Grant to work with the Alaska NSF EPSCoR Human Dimensions team, with whom she will conduct social science research and host workshops in rural Gulf of Alaska communities. EPSCoR’s project focuses on the impacts of environmental change to farmed and harvested marine resources.

Elizabeth “Lizi” Byrd (M.S. Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage) is working with the Alaska Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network within NOAA Fisheries’ Protected Resources Division. She’s assisting the regional stranding co-coordinators and stranding team to respond to calls from the public, and helping to collect, enter and perform quality control on marine mammal stranding data.

Elena Eberhardt (M.S. Fisheries, University of Alaska Fairbanks) is working at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Auke Bay Laboratories to collect, process and analyze Chinook salmon samples from Bering Sea groundfish fisheries bycatch. The work is part of a project to explore the nutritional ecology of Chinook salmon in the southeastern Bering Sea.

Maris Goodwin (M.S. Fisheries, University of Alaska Fairbanks) is supporting three social science and extension efforts by the Alaska Sea Grant Coastal Resilience Program in Western Alaska. She’s working on the NSF-funded POLARIS project, on a Department of Energy-funded project to examine renewable energy workforce development, and on a NOAA-funded project examining impacts of extreme storms and coastal inundation on communities.

Madison Haumschild (M.S. Biological Sciences, University of Alaska Anchorage) is assisting the Alaska Ocean Observing System to monitor harmful algal blooms using Imaging FlowCytobots (IFCBs), which continuously sample seawater to detect individual planktonic organisms. She’s planning and helping with IFCB deployments and monitoring and analyzing data from the devices.

Lauran Liggan (Ph.D. Molecular Ecology and Conservation Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee) is supporting and promoting outreach and engagement activities to advance NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Aquaculture Action Plan. Her duties include internal and external communications, engaging with coastal communities and Alaska Native entities, and representing the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office at conferences and meetings.

Emma Maxtutis (M.S. Environmental Policy and Planning, Tufts University) is supporting the Alaska Center for Marine Debris, including coordinating among partners, communicating progress and leading outreach activities. She is also working with the Marine Debris Foundation—the charitable partner of NOAA’s Marine Debris Program—to develop partnerships, strategies and projects and to communicate with the public.

Emily Nicholson (M.S. Marine Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks) is aiding the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab research group in field operations, data analysis and manuscript development. She’s conducting ecological and fisheries research on three projects pertaining to Bristol Bay red king crab and eastern Bering Sea snow crab.

Riley O’Neil (M.S. Marine Biology, University of Alaska Fairbanks) is working on research activities for the Alaska Sea Grant mariculture program, including drying and processing kelp samples, preparing materials for analysis, and supporting the development and maintenance of a gametophyte bank. She is also helping to organize, communicate and track mariculture research projects.

Tamsen Peeples (M.S. Fisheries, University of Alaska Fairbanks) is working with the lead mariculture and macroalgae research biologist at NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Auke Bay Laboratories on research that supports the Alaska mariculture industry. She is also engaging with mariculture projects conducted at AFSC’s Kodiak Laboratories and collaborating with mariculture farms.

Marissa Scott (Master of Marine Affairs, University of Washington) is leading an effort by the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office to improve communications capabilities for participants in limited access fisheries. She’s creating outreach materials to communicate fishery requirements, holding public workshops, crafting infographics, and revamping the NOAA Alaska Region website for limited access program information.

Pax Templeton (M.S. Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia) is promoting clean boating practices through outreach support for Alaska Sea Grant’s Alaska Clean Harbors program and its tiered certification system. His duties include developing an outreach plan, conducting in-person engagement, and collaborating with harbor managers. Templeton’s fellowship was extended from 2025–26.

Emily Waggoner (Ph.D. Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona) is working on three programs of the Alaska Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network of NOAA Fisheries’ Protected Resources Division. She’s assisting with data gathering, response and training for the large whale entanglement program and working on data management and outreach for the pinniped entanglement program. She’s also addressing management needs associated with the recovery of the western distinct population segment of Steller sea lions.