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Marie talks to children about diving at Guam's Haya Youth Center. Credit: Kyle Santos.
Donut chart showing the typical work duties of Marie Auyong, NOAA Coral and Coastal Zone Management Liaison for Guam.
As a coral and coastal zone management liaison, Marie assists and supports non-federal partners on Guam with federally-funded coastal and marine conservation activities.
Marie views her work as fundamentally about service to people, and specifically to Guam’s people. If an activity needs an extra brain or hands, she is ready to engage. And that can lead to many interesting activities. In a recent span of a couple weeks, for example, she trained volunteers on how to do outreach about the environment, helped improve a student's swimming skills in order to become a research diver, introduced a student to a local fisherman, and walked up a stream to scope out potential locations on where to install a turbidity meter.
Her goal is to help islanders to stay culturally and physically connected with the waters around them. Marie particularly enjoys working with with adults who grew up on Guam and never went snorkeling, and young people who fear the water. “There’s a specific moment where you see confidence and pride emerge, and that’s the best!,” she said.
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