Karen Hyun, director of water and coastal policy at the National Audubon Society, will discuss \u201cAudubon\u2019s Coast Strategy: Saving Marine and Coastal Birds and the Places They Need\u201d in a lecture at the University of Rhode Island on Oct. 18.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
A former deputy assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks at the U.S. Department of the Interior, Hyun leads Audubon\u2019s efforts to advance policies at the state and federal level in support of the organization\u2019s water and coasts conservation strategies.<\/p>\n
“I remember that Karen completed an extremely well-written term paper for my class, and\u00a0she appeared in my office later\u00a0when it had been published,\u201d recalled URI Marine Affairs Professor Richard Burroughs, who organized the lecture. \u201cIn 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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
She earned a doctorate in marine affairs at URI in 2008 after writing a dissertation on ecosystem-based management in the Colorado River delta.<\/p>\n