By: Tom Bigford
We have lost a true coastal hero. Dr. Biliana Cicin-Sain, a pioneer in international marine policy and an advocate and mentor for many young women ocean conservationists over the last 50 years, passed away on September 1, 2020.
Biliana was a contemporary of other visionaries in the early decades of coastal management, including TCS members Bob Knecht—an honoree for TCS’s “Robert W. Knecht Award for Professional Promise,” an award given to a rising professional in the field of ocean and coastal management who best emulates his vigor, dedication, vision, and generosity—Bob was also Biliana’s husband; Marc Hershman—professor and director at the University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs and long-time editor of the Society’s official journal, Coastal Management; Mike Orbach—past TCS President and former long-term director of Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment; and Margaret A. Davidson—past TCS President and honoree for our “Margaret A. Davidson Coastal Career Development Program”. She was among the few who developed early courses for coastal management studies in the 1970s. Biliana specialized in international coastal issues, often hosting graduate students from around the world in her roles as director of the Gerard J. Mangone Center for Marine Policy and professor of Marine Policy at the University of Delaware. She was also editor-in-chief of the international journal Ocean & Coastal Management.
We in the coastal community owe much to Biliana. In her role at the University of Delaware she taught and mentored many who have now risen to be current leaders in our field. She will be missed by all, but remembered with a huge smile and an even bigger heart.
To read more about Biliana’s distinguished career, click here.