Brettny Hardy ’07
Marine biologist to environmental advocate
Majoring in biology at Pomona College, Brettny Hardy ’07 imagined going on to investigate marine science in a remote corner of the world. While her interest in ocean life remains as strong as ever, field experience and strong role models have led Hardy to pursue a joint J.D./M.E.M. and a career in environmental advocacy.
Hardy moved to Key West, Florida, following her college graduation, living aboard a dive boat and becoming certified as a scuba diving instructor. While she originally saw the move as a first step toward travel and ocean study abroad, the small community and unique environment of the Keys enticed her stay to explore the area. Hardy spent four years working in the education department of the Dolphin Research Center (DRC), where Education Director Peggy Sloan became her biggest role model.
“It’s amazing how one person can influence your life so profoundly,” says Hardy. “Even though I’ve always been interested in science, conservation was never at the forefront of my mind until I met Peggy, who approaches environmental problems from a realistic perspective. She taught me that there is often no one to blame for marine issues like pollution or overfishing. Addressing environmental challenges is not as easy as saying, ‘don’t pollute.’ Instead, solutions involve a complex compromise between the desire to protect an environment and the need to use its resources.”
Hardy witnessed many compromising situations through her work at DRC. As a member of the facility’s Manatee Rescue Team, working with the Department of Fish and Wildlife to help protect the endangered Florida manatee, Hardy saw first-hand how political power struggles — and misguided good intentions — often got in the way of effective action.
“Because they are endangered, only select organizations are permitted to assess and rescue injured manatees. But some organizations without permits wanted to share in the prestige of rescue responsibilities. Other organizations were passionate about contributing to manatee welfare, but couldn’t find an outlet. As a result, those groups would race to help an injured manatee before the proper authorities arrived. In their flourish, they often unknowingly scared a manatee from the area, thus preventing rescue, or caused a struggle that delayed rescue operations.”
The difficulty of matching policy with an effective outcome on the ground level intrigued Hardy. “The most fascinating part of environmental management is its complexity. More often than not, conservation clashes do not involve right versus wrong. There are many different perspectives and personal desires interwoven through every issue. Understanding the cause from all sides takes time, but can create success in the long run.”
Hardy’s new passion for environmental policy brought her to the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences at Duke. Because the environmental management degree at the Nicholas School is interdisciplinary, she was able to explore not only policy and science, but also economics, business, and law.
“Two of my first classes at Duke were Environmental Law with Professor [Jonathan] Wiener and Ocean and Coastal Law with Senior Lecturing Fellow [Stephen] Roady ’76. Not only did I love both these classes, I also quickly realized that law would provide the best tools for truly becoming immersed in an environmental struggle. More importantly, Professor Roady and Professor Wiener inspired me to work harder and delve deeper into environmental situations. They both have become important role models for me, as well as mentors and friends. Because of their guidance in large part, I decided to extend my stay at Duke in order to obtain a J.D. as well as an M.E.M. The flexibility and breadth of Duke’s environmental program made it easy to transition.”
Now in her third year of the joint degree, Hardy intends to pursue environmental law professionally and remains particularly zealous on marine topics. As president of the Duke Bar Association she notes that she is also more curious about politics.
“Duke has really nurtured my environmental passions, but has also challenged me to explore myself, forcing me to build inner confidence,” she says. Whatever lies ahead, Hardy says Duke has offered her unique opportunities to design an education which will serve as a resource as she continues to follow the winding road of life’s new adventures.
