From the Upper Mid-West to the Atlantic Coast
Emily Stuller is the 2026 Knauss Fellow placed in the Coral Reef Conservation Program. Photo credit: Kinsey Kutilek
Emily is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and she credits her love for nature, especially water, to growing up so close to THE most beautiful freshwater system in the world — Lake Michigan! Living near Lake Michigan often felt like living by the ocean, and that early connection shaped the path she would eventually follow. As much as she loved her home state, she was eager to study Marine Science and wanted to make sure to get hands-on experience, so she decided to move to Florida for her undergraduate studies at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), where she received her B.S. in Marine Science with minors in Biology and Spanish.
Emily collecting data while working at MarineLab in Key Largo, FL. Photo credit: Mary Quinn
During her time at FGCU, she worked in the marine geochemistry lab focusing on a range of water quality topics in Southwest Florida (SWFL) and completed her undergraduate research on quantifying microplastics in SWFL waterways. After graduation, she moved to Key Largo, FL, to work at the environmental education nonprofit, MarineLab, serving as the Data Specialist/ Citizen Science Coordinator and a Field Instructor. There, she spent her days on the water educating K-12 students, college students, and adults, while also collecting monitoring data for local, state, and federal partners.
Back to the Mitten State
All of these experiences showed her the value of applied science and communication and sparked her curiosity for better understanding how science operates within the broader system, particularly policy and business, to effect change. That interest led her back to her home state to pursue her master’s at the University of Michigan (GO BLUE!). During graduate school, she explored the connections between environmental science, policy, and business sustainability through coursework and applied projects. She worked with the global manufacturing company, Steelcase, on a nature-related sustainability assessment for her master’s project. She was also involved with Planet Blue's Student Sustainability Coalition, where she helped lead campus sustainability grant programs. Emily also completed internships with RTI International and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, where she gained experience working at the intersection of science, policy, and communication. Through these opportunities, she contributed to projects related to international tuna fisheries, environmental genomic research, sustainable agriculture, marine renewable energy, and economic evaluations related to coral reef research. She also attended COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, which further fueled her passion for international ocean policy.
Emily attended COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, in 2024 as an observer from the University of Michigan. Photo credit: Emily Stuller
Becoming a Knauss Fellow
As her time at graduate school was coming to a close, Emily heard about the Knauss Fellowship and it stood out as an incredible opportunity to engage at the federal level, something she had always dreamed of but didn’t think would be feasible early on in her career. What struck her was the fellowship’s emphasis on giving participants firsthand experience in how science and policy interact. She decided to pursue her master’s for this reason: to better understand how scientific research informs decision-making, and the broader levers at play — including policy, governance, and commerce — that shape outcomes.
Emily’s Knauss Fellowship is supported by Michigan Sea Grant, and she is very excited to be placed with NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program! Coral reef ecosystems have always had a special place in her heart and the team at the Coral Program is an incredible group fighting to protect these invaluable ecosystems. Emily looks forward to learning from experts, expanding her understanding of resource management, and supporting collaborative efforts to conserve coral reef ecosystems for future generations.