Volunteer of the Month: April 2014

Jaclyn Mandoske

Volunteer of the Month April 2014

Growing up in the suburbs of Chicago, not even distance could keep Jaclyn from the sea. She joined the team as an intern for Ocean Futures Society during her first year at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) in 2010, and she has continued to share her passion, knowledge, and enthusiasm for marine conservation by contributing as a science writer and research intern for Ocean Futures over the last four years.

Jaclyn has written numerous blogs, news articles, press statements, and actions alerts on a range of complex environmental issues for Ocean Futures. She works to develop comprehensive articles in order to enhance public knowledge and advocate for more sustainable management of our natural resources, and she has contributed many feature articles appearing in DIVER Magazine on behalf of Ocean Futures.

Intertwining science, education, and conservation, Ocean Futures Society is a remarkable organization and Jaclyn has had the amazing opportunity of working closely alongside members of the OFS team. Whether she’s researching the effects of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill on marine life, the Keystone XL Pipeline project, sustainable aquaculture, developing letters to stop the Taiji dolphin drive hunts and orcas in captivity, or pulling together interesting facts on marine critters, Jaclyn strives to educate and inspire others to love and protect the sea.

“Jean-Michel Cousteau always says, there is no ‘I’ in team and it takes a team that represents a wide-range of devoted people who love the sea and put in long hours--on expedition, in the editing room, the classroom, or at the office computer to successfully get the job done,” says Holly S. Lohuis, marine biologist and OFS intern coordinator. “And Jaclyn has been that perfect team player, exceeding all my expectations in every aspect of her internship at OFS these past 3.5 years. She has been an integral part of the OFS team and I am proud to honor her during National Volunteer Week and name her OFS’s volunteer of the month.”

As an undergraduate at UCSB, Jaclyn has also spent four years working as a scientific diver and lab intern for a kelp forest ecology laboratory, as well as a research assistant in Moorea, French Polynesia studying coral reef ecology. She is interested in understanding how ecological processes function, particularly in the face of climate change, and she strongly believes in the need to communicate the value of this information to others.

Jaclyn will be graduating from UCSB in spring 2014 with a B.S. in Aquatic Biology and a minor in Professional Writing and Multimedia Communication. She hopes to continue communicating the value of science and its implications for informing more effective policy and conservation management as she moves forward in a career in ecological research and science writing after graduation.

“I was immediately drawn to Ocean Futures due to the incredible opportunity to contribute to their cause and inspire others to act more responsibility toward our planet. Yet in the last four years, I have learned not only more about so many conservation issues, but I have also learned that I am truly capable of achieving the high aspirations I have set for myself. Ocean Futures has given me the experience, skills, and confidence to continue being a voice for the ocean.”