Above left to right: Kayla Stanley, Cliff Jenkins, Derek Detweiler
2023 Commonwealth Fellows Announced
The Virginia Environmental Endowment and Virginia Sea Grant are pleased to announce three new Commonwealth Coastal & Marine Policy Fellows. These recent graduates will spend a year gaining experience in science policy and resource management.
“Now in its fourth year, the Commonwealth Coastal & Marine Policy Fellowship has advanced the career of recent architecture, policy, natural and marine science graduates from across the state,” said Virginia Sea Grant Fellowship & Research Coordinator Sam Lake. “This fellowship gives them an unmatched opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the interface of science and policy at the state level.”
Since its inception in 2017, the Commonwealth Coastal & Marine Policy Fellowship provides recent graduates with on-the-job training at a state agency or non-governmental organization, where they will learn about state-level policy and management processes. The fellowship also provides assistance to host offices on projects that advance the organizations’ goals.
“VEE is pleased to have been part of the original supporters of the Commonwealth Fellowship in 2017 and to be a partner with Virginia Sea Grant and state agencies in continuing to give recent post-graduate students a real-life experience working at the intersection of science and policy in state natural resource agencies,” said Joseph Maroon, executive director of VEE. “We are also encouraged to see that several of these very talented young people end up in state government positions where they can continue to make a difference.”
Kayla Stanley will be placed with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, where she will work with the Water Planning Division on Chesapeake Bay-related issues such as. Stanly graduated from Christopher Newport University with bachelor degrees in Environmental Biology and Environmental Studies and a master’s in Environmental Science.
Cliff Jenkins will be placed with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, where he will work on Virginia’s Wildlife Action Plan 2025 revision. Jenkins graduated from North Carolina State with bachelors degrees in Political Science and English Literature and a master’s from the University of Virginia in Urban and Environmental Planning.
Derek Detweiler will be placed with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission where he will work in the Habitat Management Division and the Director of Coastal Policy, Restoration and Resilience. Detweiler graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington with bachelor degrees in Marine Biology and Oceanography,, and a master’s in Marine Science. He is a Ph.D. student in Marine Science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. He worked at the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia as the inaugural Margaret A. Davidson fellow.
