Please join us in welcoming Claudia Deeg as our 2025 Spring Policy Fellow! Claudia was most recently a Knauss Sea Grant Fellow with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and on the Environment & Public Works Committee where she co-managed a portfolio including oceans, plastics, environment, and agriculture issues. She has a background working in public interest nonprofits, coral reef ecology, and small-scale fisheries management around the world. Get to know her below!
Where does your interest in the ocean come from?
I didn't grow up by the coast, but I was obsessed with Steve Irwin as a kid and I credit watching innumerable hours of "The Crocodile Hunter" and Animal Planet with my love for the ocean.
What path took you into ocean policy?
I studied marine biology in college and loved doing research, but my interest in policy began while interviewing small-scale fishers in Tanzania during a Fulbright Fellowship. I realized that in order to help the people I met, I needed to learn how to transform research into meaningful policy change. After working in nonprofits for several years and getting my Master of Environmental Management, I spent a year as a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow with Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the Committee on Environment & Public Works. I loved bringing together my research and policy skills in this position and am thrilled to continue doing so at ESP Advisors!
What are you looking forward to in your work with ESP Advisors?
I'm excited to be the bridge between decision-makers, scientists, practitioners, and advocates and to collaborate to support critical ocean and coastal policy.
What's something about the ocean you wish more people knew?
We've only explored about 20% of the ocean, and some estimate even less - there is so much more for us to learn and discover! Who knows what we'll find?