Former
Department of Interior official to speak at URI about protecting coastal birds,
Oct. 18
Karen Hyun, director of water and
coastal policy at the National Audubon Society, will discuss “Audubon’s Coast
Strategy: Saving Marine and Coastal Birds and the Places They Need” in a
lecture at the University of Rhode Island on Oct. 18.
The program, free and open to the
public, will take place at the URI Coastal Institute, room 100, in Kingston
beginning at 1:30 p.m.
A former deputy assistant secretary
for fish, wildlife and parks at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Hyun leads
Audubon’s efforts to advance policies at the state and federal level in support
of the organization’s water and coasts conservation strategies.
“I remember that Karen completed an extremely well-written term paper for my class, and she appeared in my office later when it had been published,” recalled URI Marine Affairs Professor Richard Burroughs, who organized the lecture.
“In retrospect I should have known at that moment that Karen was destined to make very important contributions in marine affairs through her work in Washington.”
While at Interior, Hyun implemented
new landscape-scale approaches to conservation, increased youth engagement in
the outdoors, and helped ensure a successful centennial celebration for the
National Park Service.
She also served in leadership positions at the Department of Commerce and on the staff of the House Natural Resources Committee, where she focused on fisheries management and endangered species protection.
She also served in leadership positions at the Department of Commerce and on the staff of the House Natural Resources Committee, where she focused on fisheries management and endangered species protection.
She earned a doctorate in marine
affairs at URI in 2008 after writing a dissertation on ecosystem-based
management in the Colorado River delta.
For more information about the
lecture, contact Richard Burroughs at 401-874-4045 or rburroughs@uri.edu.