Giving her rescue dog a name like Kai (the Hawaiian word for “ocean”), Brittany Bartlett ’11 intended her canine sidekick to accompany her on the water. Bartlett, who had spent her childhood boogie boarding at the Jersey shore, envisioned paddle boarding and surfing with Kai in tow, but the dachshund/terrier mix didn’t share her owner’s passion for the water.
“She hates the ocean,” Bartlett laughs. “She runs the other way.”
Nonetheless, Kai has become quite the traveling companion for Bartlett, who has spent her career as a marine biologist (or, as her partner likes to call her, a “marine policyist”), working at the intersection of science and policy, translating biological and ecological data into effective management recommendations, and chasing opportunities to learn about and combat threats to marine life around the globe.
Once Upon a Power Plant…
Originally from Hopewell, New Jersey, Bartlett credits early exposure to marine life for her career path. “I went to South Florida for spring break to visit my grandparents. My grandfather [Ralph Bartlett ’47] took me to a power plant. I was probably 10 and thought, ‘Why was my grandpa taking me to a power plant?’ But there were all these manatees there because of the warmer water. When I learned about how endangered they were, that started my love of marine conservation.”
In high school, Bartlett returned to Florida to attend a dolphin camp for multiple summers and then, while studying at Lehigh, she landed an internship at Dolphin Research Center in Marathon, Florida, working with the dolphins and sea lions. The internship exposed her to public outreach and research.
“I talked a lot to the public about conservation. Many people came from landlocked places in the middle of the country. This was the first time they had ever been exposed to Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and the ocean.”
The experience taught her that when faced with the reality of the animals and their environment, everyone cares, and any apathy they previously felt about the topic diminishes.
Beyond Lehigh
While she always envisioned a career with an environmental focus, the Dolphin Research Center internship cemented marine conservation for Bartlett. She graduated from Lehigh with a B.A. in environmental studies and political science and went on to receive an M.S. in marine affairs and policy from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science in 2013.
Following a brief stint in environmental consulting, she began working as a marine resources specialist for the Department of the Navy in 2015, moving to Norfolk, Virginia. When she was offered the opportunity in 2019 to transfer to Pearl Harbor and work in the Pacific, she leaped at the chance to move to Hawai’i. For eight years, Bartlett focused on ensuring U.S. Navy compliance with a slew of environmental laws (e.g., Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act) through research, education, and inter-agency coordination. Her work benefitted sea turtles, harbor seals, Atlantic sturgeon, Chinook salmon, various cetaceans (i.e., whales, dolphins, porpoises), and more.
Research Calls
While working for the Navy, a few of Brittany’s favorite projects consisted of tagging Atlantic sturgeon and surveying for harbor seals to understand presence and distribution, as well as managing a number of projects related to sea turtles, Chinook salmon, and marine mammals.
Bartlett was also responsible for environmental impact statements and biological assessments to help the Navy comply with its environmental obligations. She notes that the Navy funds a lot of marine species research and invests heavily in good work for the environment.
After eight years with the Navy, Bartlett decided she was up for a new adventure. Spending nearly a decade in environmental policy compliance sparked her interest in the policy development side of marine conservation. She made a difficult choice to leave Hawai’i and the Navy to pursue a Ph.D. in biology at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Her research focuses on fisheries management, specifically combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.
The Next Gen
While Bartlett was living in Hawai’i, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and she began reading about how it was impacting education. “It was leading to students dropping out of school and parents being unable to work. I thought, ‘Is marine conservation going to suffer because people can't afford the degrees?’”
She was motivated to create a nonprofit to support scholarships for those committed to marine conservation research.
She started The Next Swell with her partner, Kevin (a chief in the Navy), and assembled a board of friends to help. Their mission is to provide scholarships for students with interest in marine biology/marine conservation. To date, they have distributed over $45,000 worth of scholarships for 13 students, including three scholarships of $5,000 each in May 2024.
The Next Swell also organizes events like beach cleanups and educational seminars. Its biggest fundraiser of the year is a silent auction, next being held July 26 to August 4.
Recently reading about Lehigh Oceans, Bartlett is energized to see more students at Lehigh focusing on this field. “I'm excited that Lehigh is getting in the oceans game,” Bartlett says, hopeful that a future applicant for The Next Swell scholarship might come from a Lehigh student.
The Future Is Bright
Working in conservation shines a light on everything that needs to be fixed. But despite how grim the outlook may sometimes seem, Bartlett says young people give a reason to be optimistic. “The next generation is doing amazing work, and if we stay on that trajectory we will find solutions to these issues."
“If anyone needs some optimism, go to The Next Swell website and see all the change these students are making in the world.”
Bartlett's commitment to educational access extends beyond her own non-profit. Along with fellow members of the Class of 2011, she helped establish the Frank Douglas '66 Endowed Scholarship for the Advancement of Black Excellence to promote equity and increase educational opportunities for generations to come. Help continue this mission for Lehigh students.
