NDPTC congratulates Rob Porro

Posted on Aug. 10, 2021

Rob was selected for the Knauss Fellowship

Roberto Porro, NDPTC Coastal Program Manager and doctoral candidate in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, has been selected as a finalist for the 2022 class of the Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program. As one of the 74 finalists for the 2022 class, Rob will receive an appointment in an executive branch office in Washington, DC, beginning February 2022. Finalists were selected through a competitive process that involves review at both the state Sea Grant and national levels. The 72 finalists for 2022 represent a range of fields, such as agronomy, anthropology, ecology, environmental policy and law, fisheries, geology, marine, and coastal sciences, several disciplines of oceanography, tourism management, and urban and regional planning. Since the start of the fellowship program 43 years ago, more than 1,500 Knauss Fellows have used the “hands-on experiences transferring science to policy and management” to build careers and contribute to the nation in their respective fields.

Rob’s background as a coastal engineer and planner will be an important part of his experience as a Fellow. "My academic and professional path has been steered by a goal to understand the policies that shape the coast and to be involved in shaping them. The experience and knowledge gained from the Knauss Fellowship will be a great step in achieving that goal, and will build on the important coastal hazards and disaster work we've done at NDPTC,” said Rob. “Through the Fellowship, I hope to learn more about how federal grants, policies, and programs are designed and implemented to support coastal resilience and adaptation efforts at the state and local level. The Fellowship will offer the opportunity to see how these programs can provide maximum impact on the ground, as well as the chance to listen and learn of the needs of coastal communities across the country."

Rob has been with NDPTC since 2015 and has overseen the development of key courses in areas such as coastal hazards, community planning, recovery planning, and land use planning. He has established partnerships with NOAA offices in Hawaii and South Carolina, with the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association, and several other offices and organizations. His work at NDPTC on these and other course development initiatives will continue through January 2022.