The Susan L. Williams National Coral Reef Management Fellowship is a partnership between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Nova Southeastern University (NSU), the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and the U.S. All Islands Coral Reef Committee (AIC). There are seven (7) U.S. states and territories participating in this program: American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Coral Reef Management Fellows are placed in state and territorial natural resource management agencies (the host agencies) in each of these jurisdictions every other year where they work on specific projects related to coral reef conservation. Although fellows are employed through NSU, they are essentially working for the host agencies and should consider their on-site fellowship supervisors to be their direct managers.The fellowship program's mission is two-fold:
1. Provide coral reef management support in each participating jurisdiction by placing highly qualified individuals whose education and work experience meet each location's specific coral reef management's needs.
2. Provide individual fellows with professional opportunities and training in coastal and coral reef resource management.