Q&A with Knauss Fellow Jori Barley
One of NOAA Sea Grant's most high-profile fellowship, the John A. Knauss Fellowship provides a one-year, paid experience for highly-qualified early career professionals to work on issues related to coastal, marine and Great Lakes science and policy in offices within the executive or legislative branch of government in Washington, D.C.
WHOI Sea Grant was proud to sponsor Jori Barley for the 2024 fellowship and asked her to share a bit about herself and her fellowship experience.
Hometown: Laurel, MD, but went to grad school at UMass Amherst
Area of research focus/interest: climate change effects on marine ecology and biogeography
What are you doing during your Knauss Fellowship? I am working with the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR)
What has been the most positive part of being a Fellow? How about the most challenging? Being a Knauss Fellow has opened so many doors. Once your fellowship year starts, you immediately get access to a very expansive network that is willing to help you with your career in any way you need.
The most challenging thing about being a Knauss Fellow is also part of what makes the fellowship a good experience. Many people get placed in offices that they have no prior experience with. For example, I had no prior experience in satellites or satellite data products, yet I was placed with the arm of NOAA that deals with satellites. This is in some ways intentional - the point of the fellowship is for people to learn whole new skillsets in policy outside of the scientific and research skills they have developed in grad school. However, this means being thrown into a whole new setting, which can be challenging. Despite these challenges, the fellowship coordinators and the host offices provide a lot of support to make sure that we fellows are set up for success.
What’s one thing you’ve learned during your time in Washington, D.C. that has surprised you? Something that has surprised me is how comfortable I am networking now. I used to be pretty shy at conferences but living and working in D.C. really brings you out of your shell in that way.
What was the last thing you read? I loved "Children of Blood and Bone" by Tomi Adeyemi, which is the first book in the Legacy of Orïsha Trilogy.
Got any podcast recommendations? Yes! I have been loving listening to Vibe Check from Stitcher Studios.
What’s the most interesting place you’ve ever visited and why? I don’t think I have a particular or exotic place that comes to mind. BUT I love getting to know and be a part of the community of where I live. Visiting local businesses and community centers of where I am currently living and being able to interact with my neighbors is always so fun for me. You get to meet and talk with people who have such interesting stories that live right in your own neighborhood.
What are your plans post-fellowship? I am casting a wide net for my post-fellowship opportunities. I am exploring careers in the federal government, but also at non-profits and consulting companies. Ultimately, I want to be able to combine the skills I am developing as a Knauss Fellow with those from grad school to work in the field of marine conservation and management policy.
What would be your number one recommendation to a younger version of your self? Right as I came out of undergrad, I set very high expectations for myself about what kind of job I wanted. I wanted to feel very passionate about the work I would be doing, and I wanted to feel excited about the opportunity by just reading the job description. Over the course of my career thus far, I have learned that I can get excited about many things that I didn’t know about before I started, and seeking a job that I am very passionate about from the start was maybe too high of an ask. In addition, I have surprised myself enough times about what I have enjoyed in my career that I wish that I could tell my younger self to go for opportunities even if it doesn’t sound like something I would be into. Obviously, I am not suggesting that I should have tried things wildly outside of my chosen career field, but that you never really know what you are going to like or dislike about a job until you are in it. And, you might enjoy something that you were convinced you were not going to like. Be open.
Cats or Dogs? You know, my whole life I have been a dog person. I grew up with a dog, and as soon as I was able to get one of my own, I did. But over the past six years, I have become very close friends with people who have cats, and I have come to love their pets as well. So I would say, both?