We’re thrilled to introduce the newest early-career members of the AFS Potomac Chapter that were the recipients of a 2024 membership. They include current and former John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellows. Please find short biographies of each new member below.
Zach Amidon
Zach Amidon is a 2024 Knauss Fellow and PhD Candidate at the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. He is placed within NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology and helps coordinate the National Survey and Data Acquisition Program.
Karen Beatty
Karen Beatty is a 2024 Knauss Fellow placed within NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology from Michigan State University, she spent time working with researchers, non-governmental organizations, and federal natural resource agencies studying population genetics, managing migratory bird communities, and reviewing land use and resource management plans. Karen recently completed a Master of Science degree in Ecology in Dr. Frances Buderman’s Quantitative Wildlife Ecology Lab at Penn State University with a focus on wildlife movement and resource selection.
Caroline Potter
Caroline was a 2023 Knauss Fellow placed within the NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Domestic Fisheries Division. While obtaining her master’s at the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs at the University of Washington, she worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to evaluate how well area-based fisheries management measures meet other effective area-based conservation measures criteria and contribute to global biodiversity targets. Caroline received her undergraduate degree in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic where she specialized in environmental law and policy. During that time, she worked with the Wisconsin Bureau of Fisheries Management in reviewing policy and guidance documents to meet the requirements of a new state act.
Mary Solokas
Mary was a 2023 Knauss Fellow placed within NOAA Research’s Uncrewed Systems Research Transition Office. She earned her Master’s in Freshwater and Marine Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Emily Nocito
Dr. Emily Nocito received her PhD in 2023 in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, where her research focused on marine conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction. She is a 2024 Knauss Fellow placed within NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and works on the US implementation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
Lisa Crawford
Dr. Lisa Crawford was a 2023 Knauss Fellow placed within NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Sustainable Fisheries. Her portfolio includes management of highly migratory species (sharks, tunas, billfishes, and swordfish).
Gabrielle Hillyer
Dr. Gabby Hillyer graduated from the University of Maine with a dual master’s degree in Oceanography and Marine Policy, and a Ph.D. in ecology and environmental sciences. Gabby’s graduate work focused on improving knowledge concerning water quality issues in the Gulf of Maine to improve the shellfish industry’s success. She is a 2024 Knauss Fellow placed within the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Policy and Congressional Team.
Carden Barkley
Carden was a 2023 Knauss Fellow placed within NOAA Fisheries’ Office of the Assistant Administrator, where she provided support for senior leadership on sensitive and high-interest fisheries management issues impacting both the agency and stakeholders. Carden has expertise in fisheries science and policy, and experience in crafting inter-governmental policy responses, briefing documents and memos for senior leadership, and meeting facilitation. Carden graduated with a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a bachelor’s from The University of Georgia.
