Foreign Affairs Specialist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Dr. Katheryn Patterson is a Foreign Affairs Specialist with the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement whose work focuses on combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing through management and enforcement efforts, international engagement, and technical and capacity building assistance. She is also an accomplished marine ecologist whose previous research focused on topics related to coral reef disease mitigation, marine protected areas, and marine tourism. Dr. Patterson first became interested in marine policy while representing a non-profit during her first stakeholder meeting on a proposed marine protected area in Belize. Four years later, the Belizean Government established the Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve. Knowing that her scientific findings influenced a policy was incredibly exciting and became a driving force for her desire to be involved in effecting change.
Dr. Patterson is a 2016 Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow alumnae and holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University.