Expertise

Assistant Professor, Marine Affairs

Mendenhall earned her Ph.D. in International Relations in 2017 from Johns Hopkins University, and she now teaches International Ocean Governance in Marine Affairs. Her research centers on the ocean governance regime, especially the Law of the Sea Convention. Recent work addresses artificial island building, sea level rise, marine plastic debris, strategic nuclear submarines, and the ‘Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction’ negotiations. Active in both her academic and local communities, Mendenhall serves on the Research Committee, the Membership Committee of the URI chapter of AAUP, the Executive Committee of the Environmental Studies Section at the International Studies Association and is a member of the Policy & Programming Committee for Save the Bay, a nonprofit dedicated to protection of the Narragansett Bay. Since 2018, she has also served as an Associate Editor of Frontiers of Marine Science.

“The international legal regime to regulate marine plastic pollution is very weak, despite a large number of voluntary agreements. My research examines how the progressive development of the ocean governance regime can be a means of enhancing and strengthening international law around land-based pollution.”

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