Baldwin-Schaeffer Hired as Tribal Research Coordinator for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center

NOAA Fisheries announced its hire of Bael Baldwin-Schaeffer as a new Tribal Research Coordinator. She joins the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Communications Program and will be based in Anchorage, AK.

Baldwin-Schaeffer provides technical support to help enhance existing communications and outreach efforts. She also fosters relationships with subsistence communities and fishing sectors to identify opportunities for scientific collaboration and co-production of research.

Baldwin-Schaeffer has both a science background—a bachelor’s in sustainability studies and a master’s in environmental science from APU—and ties to local communities. Given her direct experience with Alaska Native community cultures, traditions, and ways of communicating, Baldwin-Schaeffer helps strengthen collaborative relationships with Indigenous communities in Alaska.

In her previous work, she led a collaborative study examining offshore gold mining and effects on important structural habitat components for juvenile red king crab in Norton Sound, Alaska. Baldwin-Schaeffer also managed a collaborative initiative between the Bering Sea Elders and a Bering Sea commercial fishing fleet. The goal of the initiative was to better understand the effects of changes in Kuskokwim Bay’s water temperatures and strengthen communication between Alaskan Native communities and the commercial fishing industry.