Team
UOL is designed to be a hub of thought leadership and collaboration, working across disciplines to craft
climate and ocean policy solutions. Our team combines expertise in policy, science, design, planning,
research, and communications.
This convergence of complementary skills, plus our collective broad and deep networks, is our magic.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, PH.D.
Co-founder
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, PH.D.
Co-founder
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and Brooklyn native. She is co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab , a think tank for coastal cities, and co-creator of the Spotify/Gimlet podcast How to Save a Planet , on climate solutions. She co-edited the bestselling climate anthology All We Can Save and co-founded The All We Can Save Project. Recently, she co-authored the Blue New Deal , a roadmap for including the ocean in climate policy. Previously, she was executive director of the Waitt Institute, developed policy at the EPA and NOAA, and taught as an adjunct professor at New York University. Dr. Johnson earned a BA from Harvard University in environmental science and public policy, and a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine biology. She publishes widely, including in The New York Times , Washington Post , and Scientific American . She is on the 2021 Time 100 Next List and was named one of Elle’s 27 Women Leading on Climate . Outside magazine called her “the climate leader we need.”
Find her @ayanaeliza.
Marquise Stillwell
Co-founder
Marquise Stillwell
Co-founder
Marquise Stillwell is a designer and a catalyst for building communities and products across design, art, and culture. His career spans across two decades, and his curiosity for people and spaces developed into a passion for designing systems to make environments better for all people. In 2009, Marquise founded Openbox—a design research and planning studio based in New York City that works at the intersection of people, cities, and planet. Within Openbox, he later co-founded Opendox, a film company that tells lesser-known narratives around art, science, nature, and politics. At Opendox, Marquise has executive produced The New Bauhaus and most recently co-directed This World Is Not My Own, which premiered at SXSW and Hot Docs. A creative entrepreneur, investor, and cultural ally, Marquise's continuous focus is on making big ideas tangible for all people. He believes that we can help inform the future of cities by thinking about people first, and buildings and objects second. Under this framework, he co-founded Deem Journal, a collaboration between Openbox and Room for Magic. For Marquise, Deem offers a way to ask better questions. Seeking to investigate a new horizon in the overlap of fine art and tech, Marquise co-founded Artmatr, an international community of artists and engineers working to merge digital technology with painting methods. Most recently, he acquired Stae, a go-to open-source data hub that allows people to visualize and leverage open city data in a meaningful way. Additionally, Marquise serves as a board member for the Center for Architecture and on advisory boards for Creative Capital and Riverkeeper. He is also a member of the High Line Advisory Committee, a fellow at Urban Design Forum, and was a Founding Board Member and Co-Chair at The Lowline, the first underground park.
Jean-Flemma
Co-founder
Jean-Flemma
Co-founder
Jean Flemma is an expert in ocean policy and the politics of achieving policy change. She is an advisor for nonprofits and foundations on matters of ocean and climate policy, the Director of the Ocean Defense Initiative, and a co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab. She spent two decades advising members of the United States Congress on the conservation and sustainable management of our nation’s ocean and other natural resources. In addition to her congressional work, Jean also served as the Executive Director of Prairie Rivers Network where she now serves on the board. She also serves on the Advisory Board of the Elakha Alliance and the Endangered Species Coalition. She began her career in public policy on Capitol Hill as a Sea Grant Fellow from the University of Washington where she got her Master’s degree in Marine Policy. She has an undergraduate degree in economics from Middlebury College.
Opportunities
Applications for the 2024 fellowship are now closed. Please check back for future opportunities.