Molly Ryan has joined the Waitt Institute as a Legal and Policy Fellow. In this role, Molly will support the legal work of the Waitt Institute across all projects and portfolios, including the assessment, drafting and implementation of legal frameworks and local policies to promote sustainable ocean management.
Growing up in a navy family, Molly has spent her whole life along the coast and has had the unique experience of being exposed to many different cultures and coastal ecosystems across the course of her life. The beauty and resilience of the ocean and the life it supports has inspired her passion for protecting global coastlines and communities.
Prior to joining the Waitt Institute, Molly served as a Policy and Communications Advisor to the Republic of Vanuatu's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, working on their campaign to bring climate change before the International Court of Justice. Molly also worked with the Labour Protection Network, a Thai-based nonprofit, on issues of forced labor, human rights and sustainable fisheries in Southeast Asia.
Molly received her MA in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies, where she focused on Ocean and Coastal Resource Management. While a graduate student, she was a policy fellow for NOAA as well as a lobbyist for a DC-based bipartisan firm working to elevate ocean priorities. Aside from her graduate degree, she holds a certificate in Restorative Justice from the Vermont Law School and has a background in climate science and policy from her time at the College of William & Mary. She is excited to put her interdisciplinary background to work on facilitating the implementation of strong legal frameworks with the Waitt Institute Legal Team to support the sustainable management of our world's ocean.