Meagan Jones

Meet Meagan Jones

Age: 42 (born the same year whales were protected in the north Pacific) Stomping ground: Maui— North Shore, up-country, and the west side Job: Whale researcher and executive director of Whale Trust (www.whaletrust.org)

What began as a master degree’s research project about dolphin cognition turned into a 20-plus-year career for whale researcher Meagan Jones, who started her PhD research and her nonprofit organization, Whale Trust, in 2001. “It wasn’t the smartest thing to begin both at the same time,” she says, laughing. It’s her busy season on the water, but Meagan took some time to tell WAM what she loves about her job.

How did you get involved in whale research, and to Hawaii?
I was studying kids for a psychology master’s degree in Texas—totally landlocked—and my professor wanted to compare the way kids and dolphins process information. He asked me to go to Hawaii to learn as much as I could about dolphins to help with his research. I wrote my master’s thesis about dolphin cognition, and ever since then I’ve been involved in environmental education and researching whales.

What qualities do you have that make you a good researcher and nonprofit director?
As a researcher you have to be organized and detail oriented, and patience is definitely required. When you’re studying animals in the wild, you also do a lot of waiting. My job is really varied, so I would say my flexibility and adaptability are important, too—and my ability to communicate, not just from a scientific perspective but also to communicate something meaningful about my research to both kids and adults.

What’s a typical day at work?
My field season is in the winter, and my summer and fall are geared toward data analysis, writing, and/or running Whale Trust. When the whales are here—January through April— most of my days are out on the water in a boat about the size of a whale’s head, finding a group and staying with them as long as possible, trying to figure out what is a day in the life of a whale. Most days I wear a lot of different hats, so I might also be talking to the press, trying to get a grant, writing curriculum, or teaching kids. We also run a three-day education event about whales: Whale Quest Kapalua.

Do you have career goals that help you stay satisfied with work?
For me personally, a big goal is to finish my PhD. I’m trying to finish by August of this year, and I’ve been working on it for seven years. For Whale Trust, we’re looking to connect researchers with the community, bridging the gap between research and education. We’re hoping to develop a research and education center, where we can team up students, researchers, and environmental educators with policymakers.

What’s the most surprising thing about your work with whales?
People think that because I live in Hawaii and study whales, there’s no stress to my job. People imagine a glamorous life, but the reality is that I often work very hard for very little money. Although, the reason I do it is that there’s nothing I’d rather be doing than listening to a whale singing under my boat.