Amber Westerbur and Melanie Perello
Amber Westerbur (left) and Melanie Perello. Amber is Melanie's mentor and the coastal program manager in Minnesota.

Managed by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, the Coastal Management Fellowship offers on-the-job training for postgraduate students in coastal resource management and policy. Candidates are matched with state and jurisdictional coastal zone programs to work on select projects chosen by NOAA. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant recruits and nominates students attending Illinois and Indiana universities.

This year, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant candidate Melanie Perello was matched with Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program to provide data, tools and resources to area practitioners and landowners tackling Lake Superior erosion in Minnesota. Perello comes to the fellowship from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, where she earned her doctorate in applied earth sciences. She holds a master’s degree in environmental science and policy from Plymouth State University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Westminster College. Perello will start her fellowship in August.

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Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral. Application deadline: June 3, 2026.To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.
PD hours + Great Lakes science + hands-on learning? Yes please.Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant has five educator workshops lined up for spring and summer 2026, covering birds, watersheds, coastal science, earth systems, and engineering design.🐦 May 3 · 💧 June 10 · 🌊 July 16 · 🌍 July 31–Aug 1 · 🏗️ Aug 18Real-world connections. Field experiences. Takeaways your students will actually feel.🔗 Register at the link in bio.