Alumna’s life built around the sea

By Rosemary McClure

Chanel Hason has a dream job. But it took her a while and some interesting turns to get there. 

"I went to SeaWorld when I was 5, and I fell in love with the ocean," she recalls. "That passion stayed with me." 

Cal State Monterey Bay seemed a natural choice for college. She studied environmental science, graduating in 2010 and, while a student, volunteered with sea and river otters at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. 

She also spent a semester studying in Australia in 2009, conducting marine research on the Great Barrier Reef through the CSU Study Abroad Program. 

After graduation, Hason stumbled into several roles that were a lot of fun; some that were downright wacky.  Among her pursuits were fitness-industry gigs, a restaurant accountant, social media, marketing, and a job as director of operations for the California Philharmonic. 

Her journey continued its unconventional course. 

"I applied for Australia's Best Job in the World contest, which was an international crazy thing," she says. The prize: to become a Wildlife Caretaker in South Australia. 

To compete in the contest, “I did all this marketing outreach and rented this giant kangaroo costume that was made for a six-foot, 300-pound man, I went all over California interviewing people for my YouTube channel.”   

She didn't win Australia’s Best Job in the World, but all that social media brouhaha got the attention of the Miss Scuba USA organization in 2012. She was invited to participate.

She hosted fundraisers in Monterey Bay and Pasadena to help pay for her attire and flights to Malaysia. There, Hason competed in the Miss Scuba International Beauty Pageant 2013. 

"I got Miss Best Diver and Miss Marine Conservation. I was the only marine biologist there and the only rescue-certified diver. I don't like wearing heels at all, but there was some really beautiful diving in Malaysia." 

One of her interesting jobs was with Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ambassadors of the Environment program, held at various Ritz-Carlton hotels. She spent a year working at the Ritz-Carlton Reserve hotel in Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico. 

"It was fun and beautiful to be on an island and play in the water and see manatees outside my office window."  

Eventually, she decided to pursue a teaching credential. “But I realized that it wasn’t my path,” she said. I couldn’t be told what to teach and how to teach in a cookie-cutter box.” 

Ten years ago, Hason moved to Portland, Oregon, where she had family, and began a master's degree program at Portland State University. After graduating, she was hired and eventually worked as director of outreach and community relations at Elakha Alliance, which is exploring efforts to bring sea otters back to Oregon. 

She also works with local Portland artist Mike Bennett, who opened the Portland Aquarium, a kid-friendly waterless aquarium with eye-popping art installations of sea creatures. 

Hanson keeps many irons in the fire. 

The Oregon coast teems with marine life. The only thing missing from the local ecosystem, as far as she is concerned, is otters. But that doesn’t stop her from letting people know about the furry creatures. 

"This truly is my dream job,” she says. "I pinch myself that I talk about sea otters every day and get paid for it. And, hopefully, [I’ll] be part of one of the most historical reintroductions of a keystone species back to the Oregon Coast.”