Austin J. Shelton III, Ph.D

Austin J. Shelton III, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Extension & Outreach Director - UOG Center for Island Sustainability and UOG Sea Grant University of Guam

Dr. Austin Shelton joined the faculty of the University of Guam (UOG) in 2016 as an assistant professor of extension and outreach. Shelton later received appointments to concurrently serve as the director of the UOG Center for Island Sustainability and UOG Sea Grant. In 2019, he was selected as an Obama Leader Asia Pacific. Shelton leads initiatives that support the transition of island communities toward a sustainable future. He currently co-chairs the Guam Green Growth G3 Initiative with the Office of the Governor of Guam to locally advance the 17 U.N Sustainable Development Goals.

Shelton grew up in Asan, Guam observing environmental challenges and was inspired to become a marine and environmental scientist. Shelton now conducts research to revive island ecosystems and builds STEM capacity in Pacific Islander communities through student research experiences and science fairs. Shelton manages a portfolio of grants from Sea Grant (NOAA), National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR, NSF INCLUDES, Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Hawaii-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Units (U.S. Navy), and the Northern and Southern Guam Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Shelton coordinates multiple regional and international collaborations as a board member/trustee of the Micronesia Conservation Trust; representative of the Guam focal point to the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA) and Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); delegate to the National Sea Grant Association; steering committee member of the Local2030 Islands Network; and UOG member representative to the Global Consortium for Sustainability Outcomes. Locally, he is a member of the Governor of Guam’s Climate Change Resiliency Commission, Aquacultural Task Force, and Islandwide Beautification Task Force; member of the Guam Legislature’s Council on Climate Change Preparedness and Resilience; and Vice President of the Guam Science and Discovery Society.

Shelton earned a B.S. degree in marine biology from Hawai`i Pacific University and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in zoology with a specialization in marine biology from the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa. He is the son of A.J. “Sonny” and Gracialla Shelton and brother of Melinda, Madeline and Senator Amanda Shelton. He is married to Lei Kobayashi Shelton, and they have three children.