Cal Poly extension specialist receives $150,000 Pew Fellowship

A California Sea Grant extension specialist based at Cal Poly has been awarded a $150,000 Pew Fellowship in marine conservation.

Jennifer O’Leary will use the fellowship to implement and assess marine protected areas in the Indian Ocean in her role as co-director of the Science for Active Management Program off the coast of East Africa. The program links science with management to enhance the effectiveness of marine protected areas in the region. Marine protected areas are those in the ocean where human activity such as fishing is restricted for conservation purposes.

The fellowship grant will pay for O’Leary’s activities for three years as she evaluates changes in social and ecological systems associated with marine protected areas. Her program has been working in Kenya and will be expanding to Tanzania and the Seychelles with the fellowship. She is currently in Kenya.

“O’Leary was selected via a rigorous nomination and review process in which a committee of marine specialists from around the world selects the fellows based on the strength of their proposed projects,” according to a Sea Grant news release.

In an email to The Tribune, O’Leary wrote, “I am extremely honored to receive the prestigious Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation. The award recognizes my contributions to marine conservation and will allow me to expand my work in East Africa and the Western Indian Ocean working with marine communities and marine protected area agencies to use science in effective marine management and to launch active and engaged conservation initiatives.”

O’Leary added, “My goal in my career, whether in California or elsewhere in the globe, is to help managers, agencies, and communities use science to make effective conservation decisions.”

Every year the Pew Charitable Trusts selects five individuals to conduct original research-based marine conservation projects. O’Leary is the first Sea Grant extension specialist to receive a fellowship in the award’s 26-year history.

In addition to her work in the Indian Ocean, O’Leary has researched several pressing Central Coast marine conservation issues including eelgrass declines in Morro Bay, the ecological impacts of sea star wasting disease and Dungeness crab reproduction. That research focuses on the coast from Point Conception and Monterey Bay with an emphasis on areas around Morro Bay.

Assistant City Editor Janet Lavelle contributed to this story.

This story was originally published February 28, 2016 at 12:31 PM with the headline "Cal Poly extension specialist receives $150,000 Pew Fellowship."