Amalia Aruda Almada
Amalia Aruda Almada feels best with salty hair and sandy toes. For as long as she can remember, it was her dream to be a marine scientist—which she declared in a sixth-grade writing assignment. As an undergraduate at Georgetown University, Almada began seeking ways to integrate her love of the ocean with a passion for science policy. She successfully defended her Ph.D. in biological oceanography in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in December 2014 and subsequently was awarded a Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service. In her free time, she loves spending time with her awesome husband, scouring the beach for sea glass, and catching up with friends over large cups of coffee. Her mentor for this article was Heather Goldstone, National Public Radio science editor (and MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate).
