Meet the Fellows

Jessika Tantisook

Hometown: 

Ilwaco, Washington
Jessika is excited to help build a resilient coastal economy for the place she calls home.

Jessika has been working in community development for over a decade. Her areas of focus have included community food systems, entrepreneurship and strategic planning. Jessika was born and raised in Nashville, but has lived in Southwest Washington State since 2010. She enjoys eating local foods, traveling, being active outside and spending time with friends and family.

ERC Project

Project Title: 

Coastal Opportunities for Resilience and Livelihoods (CORAL)

Host Community or Region: 

Washington

Host Organization: 

University of Washington Sea Grant
Washington’s rural coastal communities have faced numerous economic challenges as ocean-dependent industries have struggled with the consolidation of the maritime industry, changing climate conditions, complex regulatory frameworks, and the graying of the fleet. Despite recent struggles, these communities continue to prioritize maintaining a strong marine-based economy and seek to create thriving working waterfronts, while maintaining vibrant and sustainable commercial fishing, aquaculture, and other marine sectors. The project also aims to develop a skilled workforce to meet the current and future needs of a sustainable maritime and seafood economy; it brings together partners across the state’s coast working on various projects to support these goals. The ERC Fellow will be responsible for stakeholder engagement and facilitating communication across partners and regions, helping to create a comprehensive vision of what a resilient and robust ocean economy can look like across the Washington coast.

Interested in supporting this project or learning more? Contact the ERC program team here.