For this month’s Fish Sister profile, we would like to celebrate and get to know Janice Kerns, one of the co-founders of Women of Fisheries, and now our first Board member emeritus! Janice organized the luncheon at the 2017 American Fisheries Society Annual meeting that indirectly led to the formation of this group and has been a guiding voice in our endeavors for all 4 years! In addition to her service to this organization, she has explored several different career paths guided by a love for the outdoors with experiences ranging from being a zoo keeper conducting marine mammal rehab work in Florida to forestry research in Maine to natural resource protection and environmental education after graduation as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gambia, West Africa! Her experiences culminated in a love for applied natural resources research and management which she gets to put into practice in her role as a National Estuarine Research Reserve manager.
Please wish Janice a fond farewell as a Board member, and if you are interested in serving on the Women of Fisheries Board, nominate yourself! We’d love to have you.
CURRENT POSITION(S):
Reserve Manager for Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources in Huron, Ohio.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF YOUR WORK/RESEARCH:
In my current role, I oversee the administration, research, education, stewardship, and training programs at Old Woman Creek NERR. The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a network of 30 coastal sites designated to protect and study estuarine systems. The Old Woman Creek Reserve works within a cooperative partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) with a mission to cultivate knowledge and actions that benefit Great Lakes coastal ecosystems.
HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN FISHERIES?
While I received my BS in Biology and Marine Science in 2001, I landed my first fisheries position as a seasonal boat technician working on Lake Erie for the ODNR in the summer of 2004. Since then, much of my work has focused on freshwater fisheries and more recently on wetland ecology and coastal ecosystem monitoring, research, and management.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE FIELD?
Like many in our field, it started as a love of the outdoors. I grew up going to summer camp, hiking, fishing, and paddling and had the opportunity to attend a month-long camp that focused on marine biology in the British Virgin Islands the summer before my senior year in high school. As an undergrad, I then explored a number of different career paths from working as a zoo keeper conducting marine mammal rehab work in Florida to forestry research in Maine to natural resource protection and environmental education after graduation as a Peace Corps volunteer in Gambia, West Africa. However, it was my first fisheries job on Lake Erie where I fell in love with applied natural resource management research. Since then I’ve gone on to conduct freshwater commercial and recreational fisheries research in Tennessee, Florida, Michigan, and Wisconsin, before coming back to my home state of Ohio.
WHO HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MENTOR OR ROLE MODEL?
There have been countless leaders and colleagues throughout my career who have laid little seeds of wisdom and experience to make me who I am today, each exposing me to new ideas and new possibilities. However, there are at least three that I can say who have gone out of their way to share their time, compassion, and sincere interests in the development of my career and they include: Jim Estes with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Richard Kraus at USGS’s Lake Erie Biological Station, and Scott Hale within the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Each of these individuals have guided me at different stages of my career, have been open to talking through whatever challenges I might be working through, questioned me to make sure I was seeing all sides of an issue or topic, been an advocate for my own ongoing professional development, and been an outstanding leader in their own right.
WHO HAD THE GREATEST INFLUENCE ON YOU?
All those individuals who questioned my choices and supported my decisions. While there are many that fit this definition in my life, the chief among them has got to be my twin sister.
WHAT WAS THE BEST ADVICE YOU’VE GOTTEN?
Set your own bar and define what “success” means to you personally. So many times we pursue ideas or goals that are set by others, whether they be from family, friends, or well meaning colleagues. This can lead to a feeling of never truly feeling settled with where you are in the here and now or hold you back from your true aspirations.
DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR NEW WOMEN ENTERING THE FIELD?
Be open to exploring opportunities that at first, might not seem like what you are looking for, as they may just end up being the path that was meant for you all along.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT WORKING IN FISHERIES?
Using the research or monitoring data I’ve collected individually, or as part of a team, to make informed management decisions.
WHAT WAS THE COOLEST EXPERIENCE YOU’VE HAD WHILE WORKING IN FISHERIES?
Whether it was from the Tennessee River during the dead of winter, to the shores of Lake Okeechobee at the height of summer, to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, to the small inland lakes of Wisconsin, one of my favorites experiences from across all the places I’ve been is being on the water either at dusk or dawn.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FISH?
Most of the sunfish family! They can be feisty and colorful, which is always a great combination.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO SHARE?
While I have not had many women role models during the development of my professional career, I am now excited by the growth women in our field are now making. In the last few years, I’ve gone from being the only woman in the room to now being in a room filled with amazing women (including the leadership of this group!). And while I know this isn’t the case for everyone, and I certainly would like greater balance in all rooms, it is exciting times we live in and I look forward to seeing what the next generation of professionals has to share as they look back on their own career.