Name: Mary Ellen Hawkins
Where are you from: Newport, RI
Major: Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Expected Graduation date: Spring ‘21

What is your responsibility as a 2020 URI Energy Fellow (i.e. what team are you on/where are you working)?
Through the URI Energy Fellows, I have been placed at the Coastal Resources Center (CRC) as an intern working to further increase stakeholder understanding for offshore renewable energy (ORE) topics. As an intern with the CRC, I work directly under the Director of U.S. Coastal Programs on the ORE stakeholder engagement team which aims to serve as a trusted source of objective information pertaining to ORE topics.

Throughout my time at the CRC, I have had an opportunity to interview URI researchers, organize stakeholder meetings, contribute to the RI’s Blue Economy Report and create a website that is catered towards engaging stakeholders.

What do you like to do in your free time? Are you involved in any other organizations or activities on campus?
As an environmentalist and artist, I tend to keep a busy schedule! In my spare time, you can typically find me making music, reading, exploring the great outdoors or hanging out in my garden. I love to spend time immersed in nature as it is the primary inspiration for my art.