Ocean Side Chats: Heidi Waite

I think my mom knew I was going to be in this science-policy space long before I did. As a little kid, I was super adamant about the recycling process, and I would get mad at my siblings who put it in the wrong bin. I don’t remember this, but my mom said she knew from the start. Growing up in Florida I spent a lot of time outside, on the beaches and in the mangroves. When it came to college and trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the rest of my life I knew it had to be something environmental, and probably marine science related. But for a single turning point, it may have been the internship I did at SeaWorld Discovery Cove – I was doing photography and videography, but seeing the dolphin trainers and getting all the fun facts from them I immediately switched my major from environmental engineering to marine biology. I got involved in a research lab that did oyster reef restoration and mangrove research and was absolutely hooked – I spent so much time counting oyster spats through a microscope I dreamed about them.

But at that point I still wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it; I applied to a whole bunch of PhD programs to continue researching, as well as one Master’s of Biodiversity Conservation Management at Oxford. I ended up being accepted and deferring my PhD program a year because I felt that was something missing from my undergraduate education – we just didn’t have the policy or conservation coursework. I wanted to explore how all this research comes together to make an impact on our environment and our society and decisions we make as a whole. I found that to be the key.

I think that the unexpected turn would have been two parts. First: doing my Masters at Oxford. I came back from England with a fundamentally different understanding of how ocean science fits into the larger picture of policy and the interactions between community policy makers, agencies, scientists, and stakeholders. When I came back and started my PhD I found I missed that aspect – I was doing natural science heavy research, and I wanted to be working on that connection and helping science to effect change. Second, and probably more relevant, was the UC GOLD Fellowship and the internship I did with OST. It was super formative in actually understanding what it meant to work at that nexus of science and policy, and realizing it was an actual option as a career. People say science policy or the science policy nexus but don’t explain what that really means. Especially in coming from a very academic research background, I knew a few people who would talk to policymakers once in a long time but the actual translation, the compiling of knowledge, the application of it? Being able to make all of that affect policy and having that science-based, informed decision making is really exciting. Being that bridge between two worlds is very cool, and not something we were taught in any of my academic experiences. But what I really like about this position is still having that foot in academia, being able to leverage those connections and understanding of science, and then applying and connecting it to policymakers and agencies so that we do have informed decisions and processes – really making use of the science side of things in a direct way.

While I think the timeline of policy is definitely a challenge, research operates at around the same speed. But at the same time it is rewarding – being really at the forefront of everything we do. 30 by 30 is a good example of California being one of the national leaders in forward-thinking and building out these frameworks for growth and new ideas. Being one of the people with boots on the ground right at the beginning and acknowledging we’re going to be in for a long haul is rewarding in its own way. We know we’re starting this process, we’re acting as a force for change, and that’s really exciting. But that does come with its own challenges of navigating an ever-changing landscape of partners and other policies because it’s just so new. And it can be challenging to bring these groups to the table that have historically felt unheard or ignored; the urchin fishing community is a good example. It took time to build trust in the community there, working directly with stakeholders and the agencies simultaneously. The agencies are familiar with us, they know how we work, but communities that have been advocating for themselves and seeing no changes? There’s a reason there are stakeholder engagement specialists, because it takes resources that we don’t always have, that the agencies may not have, to form those relationships. Hearing from them was a reminder that these policies do impact real people and their livelihoods, their cultures, their stories. It’s a new perspective I’ve gained of exactly how conservation impacts different groups, particularly when it comes to things like fishery disasters.

30×30 is very aligned with our mission of being that nexus of science policy – 30×30 is a very policy concept, big numbers and percentages that don’t actually mean anything on their own. So when it comes to us, it comes with the question of “How do we use science to make these numbers, these abstract goals, meaningful?” It’s an opportunity for California to set the stage for the world, and OST likes being involved with those kinds of projects because we pride ourselves on having high standards for our science advising.

The other thing that comes to mind if we’re talking about OST’s values and mission is the Graduate Education program – especially when combined with some of the DEI work that was starting back when I was a fellow. I find it’s really important in bringing new minds and new backgrounds to the ocean science world, and that’s how we’re going to find creative and innovative solutions to ocean problems moving forward. Bringing in people from different communities, different backgrounds, is important. One of my favorite things here at OST is supporting the graduate education program, and more recently starting to mentor interns as they come through various programs. Being involved and allowing them to explore science policy is incredibly rewarding, since it’s not always an obvious career path for people in the ocean world. I benefited so much from being able to do internships and fellowships – I met so many mentors along the way, and now I get to pay it forward. These are small steps towards building a more diverse baseline of ocean scientists and policy makers, and I love being able to contribute to it.