Jessica Foley

Jessica Foley spent her fellowship year in the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She served as the special assistant to the office's director and deputy director. There, she worked with members of the leadership on a wide range of national and international science and policy topics. Foley’s work supported NOAA’s mission in three focus areas: oceans and Great Lakes, climate, and weather.

Foley is a master’s student and former Maryland Sea Grant Research Fellow in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences Graduate Program at the University of Maryland. Her research focused on a mathematical model that addresses the growth and health of seagrass communities in the Delmarva Peninsula’s coastal lagoons. Her work could help to illustrate how land use changes and climate change might affect the peninsula's seagrasses, with potential implications for natural resource management decisions.

Before coming to Maryland, Foley earned a dual bachelor’s degree in environmental science and management and Spanish from the University of Rhode Island. She spent time in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Puerto Rico where she conducted research for her senior thesis. She also founded a student-run collegiate field hockey program, worked at a wastewater treatment facility, and spent many summers knee-deep in wetlands from bogs to salt marshes and mangroves.

After the Knauss fellowship, Jessica accepted a position working with NOAA's National Ocean Service as a Climate Change and Resilience Coordinator.

Blog Posts

See Jessica's posts to Fellowship Experiences, Maryland Sea Grant's blog written by and about graduate fellows and their work.

"Lost in Translation: Traversing the Boundaries of Science and Policy"