Rebecca Gruby

Philanthropy’s Response to the Radical New Reality (SSIR) The nonprofit sector is experiencing seismic disruption. Since the start of 2025, the new US administration has aggressively slashed social spending, defunding and dismantling major domestic and inter...

‪How should philanthropy respond to the crisis facing the charitable sector? I’m honored to introduce this series created in partnership with @macfound.org and @ssir.org and be in conversation with philanthropic leaders with different viewpoints. ssir.org/philanthropy...

Has your university issued formal guidance to early career faculty on how to navigate and/or document impact of federal actions? Would love to see some examples (via DM or email)

NOAA just announced a long list of datasets that are going away🧪⚒️🌊: www.nesdis.noaa.gov/about/docume...
Download what you need asap and send comments to: ncei.info@noaa.gov

New paper: Climate interventions in oceans are popular (e.g. marine restoration, bioengineering & mCDR) but bring social risks. We find foresight and mgmt of such risks are constrained by methods, public engagement & expertise. Governance reforms urgently needed
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Novel marine-climate interventions hampered by low consensus and governance preparedness - Nature Climate Change Oceans are on the front line of new planned climate actions, but understanding of novel marine-climate intervention development and deployment remains low. Here a survey among intervention practitione...

New study highlights the lack of appropriate governance for emerging (and potentially dangerous) interventions in the ocean.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

JenniferJacquet at UM’s Rosenstiel School should be able to help

Blue Convergence Fund Supporting Research, Fostering Collaboration, Empowering Communities

Introducing Blue Convergence Fund! We are pleased to announce the launch of a new philanthropic venture – Supporting Research, Fostering Collaboration, Empowering Communities

Read more and sign up for our newsletter at blueconvergence.org

48 Scientific Societies Representing Almost 100,000 Scientists Ask Congress to Protect the Future of Science 48 scientific societies representing almost 100,000 scientists signed on to a letter asking Congress to protect the future of science

Today, a broad coalition of scientific professional societies who represent over 92,000 scientists are speaking out against the politicization and demonization of Federally funded science and government scientist jobs.

It was an honor to help the Union of Concerned Scientists with this! 🧪🌎

NOAA firings in Seattle include orca-saving employee of the year Until Thursday afternoon, Hanna Miller focused on protecting whales from oil spills, ship strikes, and fishing gear. While on vacation in Hawaii, the federal biologist opened her work email on her per...

"In 2023, Miller was awarded NOAA Fisheries employee of the year...and in March 2024, she was promoted.
On Thursday afternoon, while on vacation in Hawaii, the federal biologist opened her work email on her personal phone to find she no longer had a job."

www.kuow.org/stories/noaa...

Protect US racial affinity groups On its first day, the Trump administration released several executive orders terminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, calling them “illegal,” “immoral,” and “discriminatory” (1, 2)...

"The current political climate is tremendously hostile for BIPOC scientists. Affinity groups provide solace and a loving community, but the burden of resistance cannot fall on the most marginalized." www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

All probationary federal employees at NOAA’s EMC that’s responsible for keeping all US weather model systems running have been fired with 1 hours notice. And that includes me and colleagues. We will not go quietly because we care about the NOAA mission to protect the public.

MacArthur Foundation to increase giving for two years in response to 'crisis' The John D

Every single philanthropic institution needs to do this rather than retracting right now.

abcnews-go-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/abcnews....

Super! Looking forward to reading this!

Ah, a CSU alum! I was faculty there for 10 years before moving to UM. Love FoCO 🙂

Conceptualizing responsible exits in conservation philanthropy Conservation philanthropy has grown significantly in the past decade. As the number of philanthropic-supported conservation initiatives increases, so too will the frequency of exits—the ending of fun...

Staggeringly irresponsible!

But, glad your team is thinking seriously about exits. Perhaps this paper from our research on responsible exits in conservation philanthropy will be useful for you all: conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

U.S. early-career researchers struggling amid chaos Uncertain funding, government firings, and distressed universities hit vulnerable groups especially hard

"These kinds of shocks are going to lead to a mass exodus … for minorities in particular.”

For my latest @science.org story, I spoke with early career researchers who have been affected by the federal upheaval and are concerned about what it means for their future.

www.science.org/content/arti...

Remarkable thread offering guidance to current and prospective NSF grantees about how to navigate the times ahead — from an NSF program officer who was fired in yesterday's DOGE purge (!)

I study sharks, including restraining them for data collection. People often think my job must be a scary adrenaline-fueled thrill ride (it’s not). But without question, the most heartstoppingly, gut-clenchingly terrifying day of my professional life was the day my sample freezer almost thawed.
1/3

Doge staffers enter Noaa headquarters and incite reports of cuts and threats Members reportedly sought access to IT systems at agency that Project 2025 has called ‘harmful to US prosperity’

NOAA saves lives during tragedy and feeds millions of people every year

Mess this up and people will die

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Career-Life Balance (CLB) Supplemental Funding Requests

Another funding opportunity is gone. NSF archived the the Career-Life Balance program which provided supplemental funding when researchers are on family leave.

The small strides we had made toward improving representation in science are being undone so fast.

new.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...

Thank you!! 😊

Hello bluesky. I've done a bit of an update to the #MarSocSci starter pack. A flurry of new followers suggests it was needed. Let me know if you are engaged in marine social science and would like to be added. Suggest including the hashtag in your message so people can find you!
go.bsky.app/Sj7NX5D

Thanks for organizing! Please add @umiamiconservation.bsky.social

Everyone seems to be framing Trump's freeze on federal grants as a Constitutional fight over powers of the purse & whether presidents can disregard Congressional appropriations. It is that. But also at stake is the fundamental validity of government contracts! I see much less discussion on this... 🧵

Some happy news: our Center has welcomed a fabulous new colleague who applies approaches from archeology to sea turtle conservation in exciting and innovative ways!

Our work continues.

Study shows spillover benefits from large marine protected areas No-fishing zones protect species and possibly lead to increases in catch rates

Research News!

📣 Johnson Center faculty affiliate Juan Carlos Villaseñor-Derbez has co-authored a new study in Science on the benefits of large-scale marine protected areas for highly migratory species AND economically valuable fisheries.

Read more:
news.miami.edu/rosenstiel/s...

🚨 Paper Alert! 🚨

🐟 Conservation benefits of large #MPA #network can span multiple ecosystems.

👉 Conservation performance should be framed at multiple ecologically relevant scales, from individual MPAs to MPA networks.

📰 doi.org/10.1111/cobi...

🤓 @thebraveecologist.bsky.social @cnrs.bsky.social

Illuminating the multidimensional contributions of small-scale fisheries - Nature A study aimed at revealing the role of small-scale fisheries in sustainable development shows they provide at least 40% of the global fishing catch and affect the livelihoods of 1 in 12 people in the ...

Massively important Nature study affirms global significance of small-scale fisheries:

*SSF provide at least 40% of global fisheries catches

*Globally, the livelihood of 1 in every 12 people, nearly half of them women, depends at least partly on small-scale fishing

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Postgraduate Research Scholarship in Coral Reef Fisheries Sustainability A $40,109 per annum stipend scholarship for a PhD student within Faculty of Science to conduct social sciences-based fieldwork.

Prospective PhD students: I am recruiting another 3 PhD students to join my Thriving Oceans Research Hub
and work on the "Bright Spots 2.0" (aka exceptional responders) project as part of my ARC Laureate Fellowship www.arc.gov.au/funding-rese....
Scholarship Ad:
www.sydney.edu.au/scholarships...

This will be a great one, folks! Join us in person or online.

Please give our new Center a follow too, for news about our interdisciplinary marine conservation research, education, and outreach!