Samantha Mislinski

Pronouns: she/her

Bio
Growing up on the North Shore of O‘ahu, Samantha developed a deep connection to the ocean. While the ocean inspired her to pursue a marine science degree, the lack of effective conservation policy has driven her to study at Bren.

Samantha graduated in 2020 from Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s degree in marine science. There, she worked in the Gobler lab, which specializes in water quality, phytoplankton, climate change, and restoration. Samantha enjoyed projects that directly impacted conservation and climate change policy.

After college, Samantha worked for the nonprofit Mālama Pūpūkea-Waimea (MPW), whose mission is to protect and restore the natural and cultural resources of the Pūpūkea-Waimea Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD). Her research investigated the relationship between human activity and fish abundance. She presented her findings at the 2022 Hawai‘i Conservation Conference. Now, Samantha is advising MPW on their three-year pilot program assessing the MLCD’s management strategy.

At Bren, Samantha is specializing in Coastal Resource Management with a focus in Communication and taking additional classes in the Environmental Policy specialization. Samantha’s ambition is to advance adaptive conservation policy informed by science and to pursue scientific research based on community needs and adaptations to climate change.