WASHINGTON — The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced today its 2025 cohort of Science Policy Fellows. Beginning Sept. 1, 2025, the 12 new fellows will spend one year on the staff of federal and state government agencies, public health departments, and nonprofit organizations across the Gulf Coast region.

The GRP’s Science Policy Fellowship program helps scientists hone and direct their research skills to policy-related issues for the benefit of Gulf Coast communities and ecosystems. Guided by a mentor at their host institution, fellows will delve into activities such as policy development, evaluation, restoration planning, grants management, and stakeholder outreach while learning what it takes to apply scientific information to policy.

“We are excited to see this cohort of Science Policy Fellows channel their expertise toward issues that matter deeply to Gulf Coast communities,” said Karena Mothershed, director of GRP’s Board on Gulf Education and Engagement. “By embedding fellows within agencies and organizations, the program helps bridge the gap between science and policy in ways that can deliver lasting benefits for people and ecosystems alike.”

Now in its 11th year, the fellowship program has a network of over 80 alumni who have gone on to pursue promising careers at federal, state, and local government agencies, at nonprofit organizations, and as tenure-track professors.

Full bios for our Science Policy Fellows can be found here. Pending final agreements, the 2025 Science Policy Fellows are: 

Trenton Aguilar
Host Office: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information

Julie Albert
Host Office: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf of America Division

Gabrielle Armin
Host Office: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restoration Center, Deepwater Horizon Program

Miriam Belblidia
Host Office: Texas State Aquarium

Lucas Belury
Host Office: The Water Institute 

Donald Davidson
Host Office: Restore the Mississippi River Delta Coalition

April Ellis
Host Office: Gulf of America Alliance

Natalia López Figueroa
Host Office: Gulf of America Coastal Ocean Observing System

Fuad Shatara
Host Office: The Water Institute

Jessica Sirois
Host Office: Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council

Jarod Snook
Host Office: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Jillian Sower
Host Office: Mississippi-Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium

The National Academies’ Gulf Research Program is an independent, science-based program founded in 2013 as part of legal settlements with the companies involved in the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The GRP’s mission is to develop, translate, and apply science to enhance the safety of offshore energy, the environment, and the wellbeing of the people of the Gulf region for generations to come. It supports innovative science, guides data design and monitoring, and builds and sustains networks to generate long-term benefits for the Gulf region and the nation. The program has $500 million for use over 30 years to fund grants, fellowships, and other activities in the areas of research and development, education and training, and monitoring and synthesis. 

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, engineering, and medicine. They operate under an 1863 congressional charter to the National Academy of Sciences, signed by President Lincoln.

Contact:
Pete Nelson, Director of Public Engagement and Communications
Gulf Research Program
Email pnelson@nas.edu