Sunday, January 31, 2010

NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program

NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program places a Coral Management Fellow in Rincon, PR

Fellowship Overview

The NOAA Coral Reef Management Fellowship Program was established to respond to the need for additional coral reef management capacity in the U.S. Flag Pacific and Caribbean islands. The program has been expanded to include Florida in the 2010-2012 cycle. The program provides the state and territorial coral reef management agencies with highly qualified candidates whose education and work experience meet each island's specific needs, while providing the individual fellows with professional experience in coastal and coral reef resources management.

Each jurisdiction develops a separate Statement of Work which contains project descriptions, goals and objectives, minimum and desired qualifications, and salary, among other information. The Statements of Work uniquely reflect each jurisdiction's particular needs, complementing other ongoing local projects and management activities. Successful candidates will meet these needs.

The fellow placed in Rincon, Puerto Rico, is Rina Hauptfeld. She graduated from the University of Washington with a masters degree in marine affairs. She has recently relocated to Rincon to begin working with regional and local agencies including the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER)(the hosting agency), Centro Interdisciplinario de Estudios del Litoral, Sea Grant, and the chapter of The Surfrider Foundation in Rincon. We are all very pleased to welcome her into the community and look forward to collaborating with her and these other agencies in developing her work plan. Come meet the new fellow this Thursday night, February 4th, 2010 at Surfrider Foundation Rincon's monthly meeting. She will give a brief introduction of herself, her interest in NOAA's coral reef conservation program, and conduct a scoping activity with the participants to help her begin to develop her work plan. The work plan is due no later than three months from when she begins her appointment. So, come help voice your opinion about the outreach and education needed, the focus groups to be involved, and the ideas on your mind this Thursday!