Kristina Surfus is drawn to water.
It’s something she’s always known about herself, but it was recently driven home again as she searched for photographs of herself in response to a writer’s request. Everything she could find included or was related to water: A picture of her kayaking on the tranquil Milwaukee River. A picture of her struggling through falling water in the Julian Alps in Slovenia. Even a professional photo of her taken in Milwaukee backdrops her against a window showing rain falling on the streets of the city, a subtle echo of her interests in sustainable urbanism and water management.
That love of water continues to drive her life, and it’ll soon sweep her toward Washington, DC, as one of three UW Sea Grant 2015 Knauss Marine Policy Fellows. Surfus already has some Beltway experience under her belt—while she was an undergrad at Boston University, she served as an intern in the office of Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, where she got some first-hand experience with policymaking.
“I’m excited to apply what I’ve learned in a legislative setting,” she said of her return to the nation’s capital, set to begin next February. ”I’m looking forward to getting more working experience in coastal resource management, and a stronger sense of how it all comes together in the policymaking world.”
Looking over her academic career, it’s clear Surfus has already learned a lot—the breadth and depth of her experience is impressive. When she began at Boston, she was a tentative biology major, unsure of her path. By the time she was done, she held degrees in international relations and environmental analysis and policy.
Surfus was born and raised in Milwaukee, but when it came time to get serious about her post-grad academic and professional development—a focus on urban planning and water resource management, please— she figured she’d have to search elsewhere, maybe toward the east coast again, to find just the right program.
But it turned out that it was in her front yard all along. UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences (SFS) gave Surfus the opportunity to delve into freshwater economic policy. Most recently, Surfus has been working side-by-side with the SFS professor Dr. Sandra McLellan on a project examining the causes and economic impacts of degraded beaches in Milwaukee. Their work focuses on Milwaukee’s South Shore Beach, one of America’s worst beaches for water quality according to the National Resources Defense Council. While the poor water quality has been known about for years, remedial actions have been limited. However, public and private investment is growing, and beach remediation efforts recently received a $500,000 boost from MillerCoors breweing.
“Kristina’s making great contributions to our Sea Grant project,” said McLellan. “She does everything from dropping current meters into the lake to working on the economic analysis that will tell us what a healthy beach is worth. Her background and personality has allowed her to jump into all these activities and get results.”
It’s been a blast for Surfus as well.
“I’ve really appreciated the chance to work in a lab, and do more of the research and lab work than I thought I would,” she said. “It’s been pretty remarkable how it’s all worked out. I’m really excited to be exactly where I’m at.”
Surfus is clearly driven and hungry—fresh on the heels of graduating this spring from SFS with Master’s degree in freshwater science, she immediately dove in to complete a second Master’s degree in economics, also at UW-Milwaukee, while continuing her research.
“Kristina exemplifies a truly interdisciplinary researcher who will be able to address some of our biggest challenges because she has well rounded experience in both the natural and social sciences,” said McLellan.
Surfus is aiming for an eventual career that combines coastal research policy and management, and she’d love to return to the Great Lakes region to pursue it.
“I have a real passion and appreciation for the region,” Surfus said.
