Sabbatical
2026 marks the tenth full year of The Sink or Swim Project, and with this milestone in mind, I’ve decided to take some time off from blogging to focus on completing my Ph.D. dissertation. I have no plans to stop my speaking engagements, legal cases, non-profit service, or many other environmental initiatives, none at all. However, I do expect to post less frequently through the rest of the year here and on our social media channels so as to concentrate on my research and academic writing.
Long-time followers might recall that I am a dual degree (J.D. and Ph.D.) graduate student in the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy here at the University of Miami. In May of 2024, I earned my law degree (you can read about that here), and if all goes as planned, I hope to earn my Ph.D. in 2027.
Our climate change crisis demands multi-dimensional solutions because it touches every aspect of our society and environment. For this reason, the interdisciplinary education offered by the Abess Center long appealed to me. Building on my undergraduate work (in which I dual majored in marine science and coastal geology) along with my law degree, my doctoral work centers on our climate change crisis by considering three components of the crisis: Florida’s renewable energy landscape, the environmental impacts of manmade climate change solutions, and property owners’ perceptions of proposed government resilience measures.
Those topics, called chapters, formally include “Florida’s Renewable Energy Governance Through Statutory Authority, Administrative Discretion, and Climate Accountability,” “Comparative Assessment of Nutritional Condition and Dietary Biomarkers in Urban and Rural South Florida Shark Populations Using Blood Plasma,” and “Understanding Public Perceptions of and Engagement with Climate Resilience Strategies in Miami-Dade County.”
That all said, 2026 is, of course, an election year and easily the most important time to vote in my lifetime. Taking back the U.S. House and Senate can allow the daily disaster happening in Washington under the Trump Administration to come to an end by eliminating those who so openly enable such a destructive agenda and ideology. Here in Florida, electing a governor and cabinet focused on the plight our citizens and the environment face would be a refreshing change that we all deserve. I will be working to do what I can to support those that represent the change we all need, and I hope you will join me in that endeavor too.
As I celebrate the tenth full year of The Sink or Swim Project, this is not goodbye, nor is it a step away from the work that has shaped so much of my life, but simply a sabbatical of sorts. A recognition, if you will, that in 2026 one of the most meaningful contributions I can make to serving our fragile environment is to give my doctoral research the time and attention it deserves. There is, of course, still much work to do, but for now, much of mine will simply be happening a little more quietly.