{"id":945,"date":"2022-07-27T11:35:56","date_gmt":"2022-07-27T15:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.seagrant.w3.uvm.edu\/2022\/07\/27\/isabella-smith-lake-champlain-sea-grants-2023-knauss-fellowship-finalist\/"},"modified":"2025-10-22T17:49:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:49:11","slug":"isabella-smith-lake-champlain-sea-grants-2023-knauss-fellowship-finalist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/seagrant\/2022\/07\/27\/isabella-smith-lake-champlain-sea-grants-2023-knauss-fellowship-finalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Isabella Smith: Lake Champlain Sea Grant\u2019s 2023 Knauss Fellowship Finalist"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tRecent Vermont Law School graduate Isabella Smith has received a 2023 John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship<\/a> from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Sea Grant College Program.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe 2023 Knauss Fellowship finalists will become the 44th class of one of the most prestigious marine policy fellowships in the United States. Since 1979, Sea Grant has provided one-year Knauss fellowships to more than 1,500 early career professionals to work with federal agencies in Washington, D.C.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tOriginally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, Smith moved to the Green Mountain State for her undergraduate degree at the University of Vermont. She enrolled in the accelerated Juris Doctor Program which is a 5-year J.D.\/B.S. degree program through a partnership with the University of Vermont and Vermont Law School. Smith graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont Rubenstein School. In May 2022, she graduated magna cum laude from Vermont Law School\u2019s accelerated J.D. program.<\/p>\n

\n\tSmith\u00a0has always been interested in water quality issues. Her internship and project experiences throughout college\u00a0were\u00a0focused on water quality concerns,\u00a0Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs),\u00a0and their effects on Lake Champlain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIn law school, she was selected to attend\u00a0the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference\u00a0(COP26)\u00a0in Glasgow, Scotland. She attended on behalf of a group of Vermont Law School students\u00a0tasked\u00a0to\u00a0support\u00a0a delegation from the Seychelle\u00a0Islands,\u00a0in the western\u00a0Indian Ocean, to help them advocate for nature-based solutions and blue carbon initiatives that would benefit the island republic\u2019s economy and environment in the face of climate change impacts.\u00a0She\u00a0used\u00a0this unique opportunity to attend meetings with global leaders\u00a0and\u00a0helped draft\u00a0recommended language\u00a0and\u00a0talking points\u00a0for\u00a0her client.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor as long as I can remember, I have been motivated to find the path that utilizes my personal strengths to affect the most meaningful change in the world,\u201d said Smith. \u201cThrough my studies, I discovered that ocean law and policy is the place for me to achieve that lifelong dream.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis past spring, she worked in the Arizona House of Representatives as a full-time legal extern and helped draft groundbreaking legislation to address persistent water shortages in the state. Before this, she was a clinician for the Environmental Advocacy Law Clinic where she represented clients, conducted legal research, wrote legal briefs, and covered surface water allocation and Clean Water Act issues both in Vermont and nationally.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIsabella has the poise and capability of a person with many more years of experience,\u201d said Breck Bowden, Lake Champlain Sea Grant<\/a> director. \u201cGiven her background and interest in marine policy and law, I think that Isabella is ideally suited to the Knauss Fellowship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKnauss finalists are chosen through a competitive process that includes several rounds of review at both the state Sea Grant program and national levels. Students finishing Masters (M.S.), Juris Doctor (J.D.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programs with a focus and\/or interest in marine science, policy, or management apply to one of the\u00a034 Sea Grant programs. If applicants are successful at the state program level, their applications are then reviewed by a national panel of experts.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have no doubt that the Knauss fellowship will help me develop a deep substantive knowledge of marine governance, connect me with amazing leaders, and expose me to a variety of career pathways post-fellowship,\u201d said Smith.<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing placement, Smith and other finalists will begin their fellowships in February 2023 in either the executive or the legislative branch of the federal government.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tLearn more about the Knauss Fellowship.<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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