Sandra Meerwein is currently a research assistant and PhD candidate at the Obama Institute for Transnational American Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. She teaches seminars on U.S.-American cultural history and transpacific American studies. Her research interests lie at the intersection of transpacific American studies, environmental humanities, critical ocean studies, and international relations. Sandra is one of the co-founders of the Transpacific Studies Network (2022) which aims at providing an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform for aspiring researchers to discuss perspectives on the transpacific. Based on her work experience with both academic and governmental institutions, Sandra is curious to constantly explore the feasibility of transferring policy frameworks into reality. In her work, she values an interdisciplinary approach in correspondence with regional and institutional practitioners and experts. Her current project about territoriality and ocean governance deals with concepts of human-environment relations and how they translate into legal and political frameworks in Oceania.