An early start
Nathaniel Edelheit-Rice has always loved sharks. The Epaulette shark is his favorite because of its unique ability to use fins to walk across the sea floor, but his life’s mission is to protect them all.
The current Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, working in NOAA’s Office of General Counsel, discovered his passion for the intersection of marine science and policy in the city of Austin, TX.
When Nathaniel was in middle school, David McGuire, the director and founder of Shark Stewards visited his home town of Austin. Shark Stewards’ mission is to save endangered sharks and rays from overfishing and the shark fin trade, and to protect critical marine habitat through the establishment of marine protected areas. David and others were in the state capitol advocating for the protection of sharks and petitioning to end the trade and sale of shark fins in Texas. It was common to find shark fins for sale at fish markets and on the menu at local restaurants; and at the time, it was legal.
The process of acquiring a shark fin, “finning”, is brutal. It involves catching the shark, sawing off only the fins— dorsal, pectoral, pelvic and caudal — and tossing the limp, mangled body, back into the ocean; condemning it to a death by suffocation, starvation or blood loss.
Nathaniel has been an avid shark lover his entire life, growing up reading about them in books and doing research about them in his spare time. His fascination with sharks and devotion to them was cemented by his childhood experience at a touch tank at Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, CA, petting Leopard sharks.
When he learned about Shark Stewards in Texas’s capital, he naturally became involved with their cause and started talking to his local legislators about protecting the animals he loved, unaware that he would one day become an environmental policy lawyer himself.
Turning passion into a career
Nathaniel followed his passion for sharks and their home by pursuing a marine biology undergraduate degree at UCLA. He quickly discovered that the marine biology major at UCLA was not what he was looking for when it came to getting research experience.
During this uncertain time, while wondering if science was even the right path for him, Nathaniel reconnected a mentor, David McGuire, of Shark Stewards, who had come to UCLA’s campus to host a talk. He told Nathaniel that in the world of environmental conservation, they needed more lawyers. This idea took hold in Nathaniel’s brain. He considered how much he enjoyed reading, writing and his history minor at UCLA, and the lack of enthusiasm he felt for his science classes like chemistry and physics, and so he pivoted.
He decided to study and sit for the LSAT and after doing well, Nathaniel applied and was accepted to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School to study public interest law. He capitalized on the many opportunities offered on campus to advance his unique career goals. He was on the board of the Environmental Law Project and Animal Law Project, becoming the president of the latter in his 3L year, and his drive for public policy and marine protection work landed him a scholarship which paid him a salary to do legal work for a non-profit, and professional development funds for post-graduation, when he would prepare for and take the California bar exam.
In November, after graduating with a Master of Environmental Studies degree and a Juris Doctorate degree from UPenn, Nathaniel used his scholarship funding to attend an environmental law and policy conference in Brisbane, Australia. He had always wanted to explore Australia, so after the conference, he and his father visited Sydney and Cairns, where they boarded a cruise to see the Great Barrier Reef.
The first morning, Nathaniel snorkeled on the world’s largest coral reef, where he came face-to-face with a shark. Instead of being fearful, Nathaniel was overjoyed.
When he got back onto the boat and saw that his bar exam score had been released, he took it as a good omen. An accurate one because he passed.
“[The proudest I’ve felt of myself], I think, was passing the bar exam,” Nathaniel said. “I’ve had challenging exams before but when I got to the bar exam – it was a totally different beast.”
The Knauss Fellowship
Nathaniel discovered Sea Grant’s Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship during his work experience outside of UPenn. His second-year summer, the aspiring lawyer landed an internship at Oceana in their legal department where he met Connor Fagan, a previous Knauss Fellow. He encouraged Nathaniel to apply because of his legal skills and the marketability and experience he would gain.
Nathaniel had applied for multiple positions at non-profits and other fellowships, but none were the right fit, and it all came down to the Knauss fellowship, the last announcement.
The Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship is a one-year paid fellowship that matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branches of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one-year paid fellowship. As part of the placement process, all Knauss candidates meet with representatives from each of the host offices. The purpose of the week-long process is to pair the fellow with the host office that best aligns with their interests and experience. At the end of the week hosts and applicants are paired.
Nathaniel joined 87 other finalists, one of just two fellows with a Juris Doctorate degree. During the interview process, he had a feeling that he would be placed at NOAA Headquarters within the Environmental Review and Coordination Section in the Office of General Counsel because of his background in law. His intuition was correct, and he became the first Knauss Fellow ever placed in the Office of General Counsel.
“That was definitely a nerve-wracking time,” Nathaniel said. “And it was very good when that came through, because it was my top option the whole time, the Knauss fellowship, primarily because it is ocean related.”
Since starting the fellowship in February 2025, Nathaniel’s work has focused on analyzing the current status and applicability of the National Enviornmental Policy Act (NEPA), as aspects of the regulation were recently rescinded. NEPA requires entities to create an environmental impact statement to address how any potential actions may affect the environment and to create potential mitigation plans to offset those impacts. The Office of General Counsel has also been very supportive of Nathainel exploring different divisions within the office, giving him the opportunity to work with an attorney in the enforcement division working on fisheries violations.
When his Knauss Fellowship experience ends in February 2026, Nathaniel says that he would be excited to accept a position at NOAA, but he is open to other opportunities.
“I’d love to be part of a legal team at a non-profit that focuses on ocean conservation work,” Nathaniel said.
Although Nathaniel’s path was not exactly what he expected, he is happy it all worked out the way it did and credits his interdisciplinary education with making him a competitive applicant and more well educated about his passions.
“Expand your horizons. If you care about something, you can still have that passion and look at it from a different viewpoint as a career.”
Written by Grace Sawyer, Edited by Kelly Donaldson
Grace Sawyer, summer 2025 digital communications CEI intern is a senior at James Madison University in Virginia, where she is working toward a Bachelor of Science in Media Arts and Design (Journalism Concentration) and a minor in Biology. Grace has also written feature stories about Sahara Rios-Bonilla and Chelsea Russ, 2025 Knauss fellows. Grace also works with AKSM Media in Washington, D.C., as Chief White House Producer where she attends and photographs press events, conducts interviews, writes news articles, and navigates security clearances for other AKSM reporters.
