My Year Working with NOAA Fisheries Public Affairs

Transitioning from my PhD dissertation to a public affairs role as a Knauss fellow at NOAA Fisheries has been an incredible experience. It was a scary step into an unknown path. I had just defended my thesis—the culmination of many years of hard work—and submitted my manuscript the day before the fellowship started. 

I wasn’t sure what the future would look like, because all my experience to date had been academic. When I first applied to the fellowship, I was certain that I wanted to focus on science outreach and communication, and I was elated that I matched with NOAA Fisheries Public Affairs. The fellowship began seamlessly. I was gradually introduced to the tasks of my new role, which allowed me to get involved step-by-step and easily adapt to the new working environment.

NOAA Fisheries Public Affairs manages press conferences, connects journalists with fisheries experts for interviews, writes press releases for national news and events, and serves as a valuable resource for media interest in the agency. 

As a full-fledged member of the public affairs team, I communicate with reporters and develop responses to support stories about agency-related topics, track media coverage, write press releases, and help at a variety of events organized by NOAA. I also work with other NOAA programs and federal agencies to highlight partnerships.

My day-to-day work now looks very different from my normal day as a PhD candidate. I used to spend the majority of my days analyzing data and writing. Nowadays, I spend most of my time writing and interacting with the press, which is as new and exciting as it is challenging. Instead of focusing on a single topic—like I did in my PhD—my fellowship work focuses on an array of topics, including the North Atlantic right whale, shark depredation, offshore wind, ocean policy, and legislative affairs. There is continuity in the sense that I am still working with ocean related topics.

As part of my fellowship, I participate in different events for NOAA Fisheries. For example, I staffed the launching of the National Weather Service’s HeatRisk tool, attended a congressional hearing of the House of Representative’s Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee, and chatted with sustainability experts during Capitol Hill Ocean Week. 

During these events, I got to meet and network with other Knauss fellows. I actively supported events like the Seafood Expo North America in Boston. I helped facilitate media engagement at the National Weather Service Hurricane outlook event in March, among many other events. This has been an enriching experience, where I’ve gotten to see behind the scenes and learn a lot about how the agency prepares for events and announcements. 

Now, as I’m almost at the end of the fellowship, I look back and I realize how positive and impactful this experience has been. My communication and writing skills have improved tremendously with practice and guidance from my mentors. I wrote press releases for NOAA Fisheries, and I have met so many new friends and wonderful people. I got to live in and experience a new city and make so many happy memories.

Looking to the future after the fellowship, I am starting to look for my next steps in my career. Learning about communication has opened new doors for me, and I am considering more roles that actively involve communication and outreach in addition to scientific positions. This fellowship has opened new paths and opportunities that I never considered before, and by the end of the fellowship, I’m sure there will be many more.

Top left photo: Paulina participated in the Seafood Expo North America in March in Boston, Massachusetts. Behind Paulina is the area where the interviews with the press took place. Photo: Paulina Huanca