What first drew you to science, fisheries, or the ocean?
I had just recently returned from graduate studies in New York in 2016 and was looking for a job where I could use the skills I had just learned. So, at first, it was just a job. But I began learning and meeting communities, I realized that this was about livelihoods, lives, family, and way more than conservation alone. Saving wildlife and wild places took on new meaning.
Are there any aspects of your work that makes you feel proud or hopeful?
Certainly? When I hear the intimate stories of fishers who rely on this tradition to take care of themselves and their families, how they have literally braved storks because of that love, how they have lost the will sometimes but still tarry on, I feel it is my responsibility to help them protect the only livelihood they have known, their truest love.
What are some of the most significant challenges women or girls face in science in your context?
While we have made significant progress over the past few years, I think that women and girls are still not shown the respect they deserve when compared to men. I have been in rooms where men are revered just by speaking even if what they’re saying doesn’t make sense. While women’s voices are dismissed just for being a woman. This is more prevalent in patriarchal communities. Another challenge for many women is support from their peers or other women within the sector. Some women feel threatened for whatever reason, and are reluctant to support, especially as a more mature person in conservation.
What support, opportunities, or conditions have helped you (or others) succeed despite these challenges?
Having access to training opportunities, especially those that incorporate social aspects to conservation and protected areas has given me renewed perspectives on working with communities and understanding their plights so as to balance livelihoods and conservation. Having the leadership of the organization being a woman is also a plus.
What is one way organizations like GCFI could help women and girls feel more welcome, supported, or visible in fisheries and marine science?
Speaking particularly for communication, I think that GCFI needs to support more women with expertise to share their stories of how their work has impacted behavior change and some of the tactics they’ve used to help change behaviors in communities. Many times, your focus is on biological and marine audience father than looking from a social and communications perspective.
Is there a woman in science, locally or globally, whose story has inspired you?
There are many women around the world who inspire me daily, especially those who help to give others a chance to develop their craft.
What message would you share with girls considering a career in science or fisheries, especially those who may doubt they belong?
Remember, there are various facets of science. You don’t have to have a degree in marine biology, and be an ecologist to have impact on science. Impact can be made by the way you communicate science to an audience. It can be made by listening to the concerns of fishers who are worried about how establishing MPAs will affect their livelihoods. You can have impact through creating radio dramas and storytelling to inform and change behaviours. My background is English, Communications, and Media. Even so, there is so much I have learned in the almost ten years in conservation that have had a positive impact on beneficiaries of our Marine and terrestrial environments.
