Thank you to everyone who has made our third annual Early Career Award possible! It was an amazing pool of applicants, and thanks to proceeds from the fisHER Adventure Classic and generous monthly recurring donations by Robert Campbell we were able to support one award this year! Learn more about our winner and how she will use the award below. If you are interested in supporting our initiatives and awards like this, consider a one-time or recurring monthly donation to Women of Fisheries (see our sponsorship page for details).
Congratulations to Maité Duquela
I was born and raised in the Dominican Republic, a developing country sharing a small island with Haiti in the Caribbean. I spent my childhood enjoying and learning about our tropical climate, our characteristic diversity in ecosystems, and our beautiful underwater world. As I grew up in this little paradise, I started noticing important ecological and climate changes that have reinforced socio-economic disparities in the country. This first-hand experience of our human-made climate crisis and a poor management of our resources has nourished my passion for the intersection of economic, social, and environmental issues, specifically driving my career path into research, policy, and advocacy for sustainable management of marine and coastal resources and for climate-resilient fisheries and oceans. This is what drove me to acquire a Master’s Degree at Duke University, specializing in environmental and natural resources management, along with climate science and applications.
My professional career has been built upon my skills and interest in data processing, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and research to inform policymaking in this field. One of the most challenging yet self-enriching professional experiences was working at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as the Junior Economist of the Department of Sustainable Human Development.
Furthermore, recently I had the opportunity to join the Latin American & Caribbean teams of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) as a summer fellow and later rejoined the team as their Climate-Resilient Fisheries & Oceans Consultant. As part of this role, I had the opportunity to conduct qualitative research and act as the project manager for EDF’s representation in the 4th World Small-Scale Fisheries Congress (4WSFC). More recently, I have been able to provide technical support in planning, research, stakeholder engagement, communications, and project management within EDF’s Fisheries & Oceans Program, as well for the advancement of EDF’s Regional Strategy 2023-2024 for Latin America & the Caribbean.
Outside of my academic and professional endeavors, one of the most interesting and joyful experiences I have had was being part of the DukeFish student group, while being a student at Duke (2021-2023). Through this group, I was able to connect with many professionals in the fisheries field – from small-business owners to fishers, researchers, and professors. But more than that, we created fun activities on campus to connect students to the world of fisheries and oceans, such as fishing games, coloring fish drawings, playing fish-related music, playing our own version of ‘pin the tail on the donkey’ (but for fish!), watching fisheries-related movies and documentaries, and even just hanging out and snacking on goldfish! This just goes to show how the world of fisheries is an underrated field and we have so many opportunities to connect more with it and connect with others through it.
Maité will use the award to cover the costs of job applications and travelling to in-person interviews. “During the past few months, I have been applying to several jobs in the field of fisheries and oceans, and specifically related to a combination of research, project management, and program development. While I’m grateful for so many opportunities that have come my way, there is a huge amount of time, effort, and money spent to build up my resume, attend in-person interviews in different locations, and attend webinars and workshops to expand my skills in job interviews, job negotiations, and professional skills in general. This money will more than just cover these costs, but will overall support my career journey.”