Alumni Notes
Hey EV Alums! Have a good story to share about life after CC? Send a message to ev@coloradocollege.edu about your latest experiences, and any recent/fun pictures are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
From Julia Ela (1/7/08) I currently have a year-long AmeriCorps position working for The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin as the Assistant Land Steward. So, I am basically doing a lot of land management work around the Southern part of the state. I have been able to do a lot of work outside on the different properties working with contractors and volunteers removing invasive species and doing a lot of good restoration. As the position continues I have begun to have more of a part in easement monitoring, developing land management plans, working with researchers on a wide array of studies, planning stream restorations, along with an assortment of other odd jobs. The most exciting part of this position has been the fall (and will also be the spring) because that is when we perform our prescribed burns. So, I've become a certified burn crew member and get to participate in that aspect of land management, which has been really exciting. It's something I never thought I would do, but I really love it and hope that I can continue to do it in the future. I have really loved working for The Nature Conservancy; everyone here has been so helpful and thoughtful, nd I am amazed at how much I am learning about the prairies of my home state. I do miss the mountains, though.
From Maggie Mangan '04 9/04. I am living and working at Willow Lake Farm in Windom, Minnesota. It is a fairly large farm growing corn, soybeans, prairie grass seed, and a small organic patch. We will begin harvesting native grass seed this week (September 2004) followed by soybeans. The head farmer, Tony Thompson, has a lifetime of experience as an ecologically conscious farmer and progressive ideas about the agricultural landscape. In the last decade he has restored many wetlands on his land and is instrumental in the restoration of much of the local prairie. I look forward to a Fall of hard work and beautiful scenery – so many migratory birds!
1/05 I am living in Minneapolis for an urban reprieve between seasons at the Willow Lake Farm. I worked and lived there this fall; I drove a tractor and all! The experience really complimented my EV education. It provided the hands-on component, the reality of agricultural production. The farm is fairly big, environmentally conscious while producing conventional corn and soybeans. I am deconstructing some preconceived notions and embracing what it takes to stay alive as a farmily farm. This experience has directed my next academic step. I have been meeting with some professors at the University of Minnesota and am planning on applying to the Agronomy/Agroecology program in the department of Applied Plant Science. I am looking to interface this degree with a number of economics courses or possibly a sustainable agriculture major.
From Jason Kreitler ’01 9/04. I am currently at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at UCSB. I gave a talk to Jim Ebersole’s Advanced Ecology class while I was back (in the Springs) and would do the same for EV if I find myself in the Springs. I am very impressed with the new building and will be following the progress of the EV department.
From Peter Erb ’04 9/04. My summer research on grizzly bears went very well. I didn’t see any grizzly bears (not a bad thing!), but saw 17 black bears while bushwacking through the mountains. I learned a lot from the project, which is the biggest large animal study in the country, so I am very grateful to have been a part of it, even though it fully tested me physically and mentally. Now I’m off and rolling on this sustainability project of mine and my parents. The planning has been crazy and it should be an exciting learning experience if I can pull it off, and it already has been. I’ll try and keep you updated on the project as it starts to come along. I’ll also be working part-time for an environmental consulting firm if I can fit it in with everything else, so things are working out well so far up here in Montana!
Update 11/06 It's been awhile but I thought I'd say hello and give you an update on how things were going. After the grizzly bear project I began working on developing this non-profit based in rural northwestern Montana that addresses issues of rural sustainability and ecological design. I worked exclusively on the project for over a year until I decided it was time to switch gears and start working my way towards graduate school. After leaving the non-profit in good hands I took an internship at the Smithsonian Institute's Conservation and Research Center. Over the last year I've been working at the CRC's Conservation GIS Lab on a project to reintroduce the Przewalski's wild horse back into China. Along with making all the maps and tracking released horses by satellite I've been able to gain some great experience in international conservation. The majority of the work, which took me to China over the summer, involves working with the local Kazak nomads to develop conservation strategies that don't involve destroying their nomadic lifestyle. The experience has been amazing, but my time here at the Smithsonian is almost up and I'm ready to head back to school before too long. I'll be sure to let you know where I end up from here!
From Samantha Less ’02 8/04. Just thought I’d let you know what an EV alum is up to these days. I just accepted a naturalist position (without “intern” behind it, finally) to start this Fall at KEEP Cambria Pines-Kern County’s version of Outdoor Science School for their 5th and 6th graders. I’ll be located right by Cambria on the central coast of California (halfway between San Fran and LA). Very exciting. My passion for environmental ed is staying strong.
From Emily Marisa Scherer ’98 9/04. I don’t remember exactly what I was up to last time I saw you at the CC reunion (and grand opening of the new building) but, as of a month ago, I am back at Cornell in the Waste Management Institute as research support. I mainly support the compost projects and the more involved I get, the more I realize how relevant it is to my goals and values. For example, many of our projects center on farm sustainability. Many farms are now required to have very detailed nutrient management plans and often have excess nutrients to dispose of. One option is to compost manure and export it off of the farm. Our projects help farmers make more consumer-friendly and higher-quality compost products and find markets for these products. One market is playing fields. An added bonus is that by using compost, groundskeepers can reduce the amount of chemical fertilizers and fungicides.
From Dave Chalmers '03 10/04. I have been glad to hear that the EV program is growing and doing really well. Life has been quite an adventure since graduation. The summer of '03 I was in British Columbia on a Ritt Kellog Grant funded backpacking trip and then only two weeks after coming home to Michigan from that adventure left for Nepal with the Peace Corps. I loved being in Nepal and learned a lot I think, including Nepali, which was challenging but ultimately fun and very useful. I lived in a really great village a couple hours from Kathmandu working primarily on developing and implementing soil conservatiion projects as well as environmental education programs at local schools. Unfortunately the civil war going on has been intensifying which eventually resulted in the entire Peace Corps program being suspended and all volunteers evacuated in late September. I did not feel in danger and wanted to stay, as did many of the other volunteers, but I also can understand why the embassy and Peace Corps folk in Washington had to make the call they did. Anyway, that's a brief summary of what I've been up to since graduating. Now I am home in Michigan for a few weeks applying for graduate school. I am applying to a collaborative Peace Corps Fellows/USA, Michigan Tech University, and USDA Forest Service program which will result in a Masters of Science in Forestry Degree. In brief, the program entails a year of forestry and resource policy focused coursework at Michigan Tech followed by a year of working for the Forest Service Content Analysis Team which receives, analyzes, organizes, and oversees public comment on a variety of natural resource management and policy questions. If you wanted to know more about the program you can find a detailed description at http://peacecorps.mtu.edu/fellows.htm.
From Micah Lang '02 5/04 I recently arrived back in Seattle after three months with the Bank Information Center in Washington, DC. The 9-5 office and computer work was not my cup of tea, but overall it was a valuable experience and I made some connections with a variety of environmental NGOs around the world, which I'm sure will prove useful down the road. I ended up spending most of my time working on a user's guide for the World Bank's Environmental and Social Safeguard Policies, targeted at the average person in Southern countries who are trying to understand their rights and role in World Bank financed projects. I also worked on a database of transparency indicators at international financial institutions - IFIs. Both of these projects involved lots of arcane details and IFI policy work lingo...something which I will hopefully be able to put to use in the future.
I am heading up to Alaska for a three-month internship with the Anchorage Waterways Council, an organization that is affiliated with the Alaska Conservation Foundation internship program that I applied for back in February. I will be assisting with a watershed assessment, doing a bit of community education on watershed ecology, and helping prepare for the removal of a dam at the end of the summer.
And the most exciting news...this fall I will be starting graduate study at UC-Berkeley in the Energy and Resources Group on a MA/PhD track! There must have been several things about my application that caught Berkeley's eye, because they are providing me with guaranteed full funding and a living stipend for five years. I was also accepted at the University of Bergen and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship for one year of Study in Norway. It was a hard decision between the Fulbright and Berkeley, but I ended up turning down the Fulbright because Berkeley's offer seems much more like a "once in a lifetime opportunity."
Update 4/05: Like the CC Environmental Science Program, ERG is really interdisciplinary, which has facilitated my dabbling in different disciplines. As tempting as it is to return to Colorado to do field work, I've decided to move more towards the social sciences. This summer I will be going to Baja California Sur (the southern-most state of the peninsula) to work on a project that I will most likely use for my Masters thesis. Me and three other students will be conducting in-home trials of an ultraviolet water disinfection unit in rural communities. My role is to look at the social-cultural aspects of water use in the communities and how the disinfection unit fits into the lives of the trial families. Here is a link to a description of the project: http://bridge.berkeley.edu/research_uv.html. I'm also involved in a project that might take me to Sri Lanka during August to conduct water assessments in several Tsunami affected communities and to disseminate information about simple water technologies like rainwater harvesting and the ultraviolet disinfection unit that I'm working with in Mexico.
From Samantha Lampert '03 11/04 I have just started a new position in Atlanta at the Georgia Conservancy, a statewide non-profit environmental organization. Our mission statement is: The Georgia Conservancy is dedicated to responsible stewardship and protection of Georgia's natural resources. Through environmental education, principled advocacy, and inclusive decision-making we strive to make Georgia a better place to live.
I am working as the Grants and Membership Coordinator, which means lots of grants applications and research, as well as being involved in most of our events geared towards increaasing our membership. It's great to be working with an environmental organization after a long search since returning from Brazil in January.
From Daniel "Max" Christiansen '04 11/04 Greetings from El Salvador! My Peace Corps experience has proven to be wonderful thus far. I am in the process of completing my ten-week pre-service training, and I will be officially swearing in as Volunteer on December 2nd, whereupon I will be beginning my two years of service (yikes!). El Salvador is hot, seedy, and great. I am going to be living on the side of the Volcano Conchagua in the province of La Union in a small town. I am going to be 3 hours from the summit and a half hour from the beach. Incredible! I am in the Agroforestry and Environmental Education program here, and my job there will be teaching at the local K-9 school as an environmental educator (I'm thinking non-formal education will be best, like taking kids up the volcano and such, but that could just be my interests coming out), and I will be working with local farmers and fishermen on improving their techniques in the way of sustainability.
I have found a house in the community that, by luck of the draw, has terraces in the backyard filled with phosphorus-rich volcanic soil, leading down to a dry creek bed. I have running water at the house for potential irrigation, but not all of the time. I was thinking that I could turn that area into an experimental agriculture area, with organic compost fertilizer, but also with a sort of trickle-down terraced irrigation system, as many of the environmental issues that I am working with here stem from run-off and soil erosion problems on agricultural hillsides (yeah Water class!). I know that in EV we addressed the topic of terrace-irrigation, where each level is sequentially flooded and the crops are arranged from highest water demand on top to lowest on the bottom, but I'm having trouble finding resources here. I have found my EV background very helpful here, as it causes me to think ecologically and systematically. Excellent. You all are doing a good thing there.
From Cheryl Van Dyke '97 3/05 I run a non-profit natural history research organization in Alaska. We are currently focused on detailed GIS mapping of brown bear habitat and patterns of use. Be well!
From Shea Pickelner '99 3/05 I am currently working in Utah at the City Academy teaching Chemistry to high schoolers. Here's a bit about what I'm up to: Cruising on Cooking Oil: Students at City Academy have found a way to motor from Point A to Point B pollution-free -- all they need is a little cooking grease. FULL STORY: http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/l%2C1249%2C600115329%2C00.html.
From Trisha Thoms '04 3/05 Contrary to popular belief, one can actually graduate from a liberal arts college and find a job that requires recollection of previous course work, therefore utilizing their degree! Although I don't feel very far removed from the last 20 or so years of my student lifestyle considering that I'm still in a university setting. I spent the summer in western Tanzania as an REU student through the Nyanza Project. My individual research project focused on nutrient limitation and spatial variation of benthic algae in Lake Tanganyika. The rest of my limnology "team" covered other trophic levels, with the goal of combining our efforts to create a larger-scale nutrient cycle story of the littoral zone. Anyway, lots of hard work mixed with the benefits of snorkeling and diving in tropical waters on the NSF nickel and overall a wonderful experience. Mid-summer I received an email from Steve Perakis, an ecosystem ecologist at Oregon State University, inviting me to work in his lab. I gladly accepted, thereby blowing my ski bumming in Bozeman plans with Jamie Shinn. So here I am, in lovely Corvallis, working as a Research Technician for a year. My primary duty is to act as the care-taker of the Ion Chromatograph. As glamorous as that sounds, it's actually been quite challenging because it is a new addition to the lab and no one else has a clue how to run it. I've troubleshot my way through the installation of the instrument and customization methods for the various graduate projects, and I'm currently in the process of developing a new method for measuring calcium oxalate in soils. I've also become the primary field assistant for a couple of projects--we all know field work is the ultimate goal of every EV student. I can't complain about getting paid to hike around Olympic National Park for a study investigating how climate change will effect carbon sequestration in forests. Graduate school is definitely in the future, but not for a few years. I would like to test out a few other fields of research aside from forest ecology (such as snow hydrology - living in Oregon has made me realize how much I miss the winter), before I commit to a graduate program. Plus, I still need to fit in that season of skiing!
From Alison Samter '04 3/05 Hello all! Well, I've done it. I've finally left Paradise. It was a difficult choice but I figure there are more adventures to be had. I was also getting a bit worried that my muscles and my brain may start to atrophy. It was pretty sad. My little island had definitely started to feel like home. People didn't believe me when I said I was going to leave. I almost cried a few times saying goodbye to people, especially the kids who work at where I was staying. Anyway, I'm in Ranong, a city on the west coast, aka where the boat from paradise brings you. I'm going tomorrow to talk with a scuba diving shop. I think I'll go on their next trip to the Similan Islands. Supposed to be one of the best dive spots in the world. If I do go I am going to get my advanced certification and begin working my way towards master diver. That way I can work on marine biology research projects, and take my environmental science degree out of the mountains and into the water. I am really excited. It will be a four day trip where I'll live on the boat. There are manta rays (can be up to 24 ft. across) and frog fish and sea horses, oh my! Not sure what I'll do until then. I am thinking of going to a national park near here (Kow Sok) where I can stay in a tree house in the jungle. There are wild elephants and tigers and lotuses and waterfalls there. I think I'll go even if just for a few days. It will be good for me to be off the beach for a little bit. Maybe go for a few hikes. The guidebook assured me that the leeches aren't too bad this time of year! After diving I have to go to Burma for a visa run -- take a boat to Burma and come back so I can get another month in Thailand. Well, I think I am going to go take advantage of my night in the city and get some pizza. I haven't had any since I left New York. Love you all. Hope all is well. I'll be in touch when I can.
From Trevor McLeod '04 7/05 I've been doing great and enjoying living here in my hometown, Nevada City. I was lucky enough to land a job with a local non-profit (Friends of Deer Creek) last summer. I'm working as one of their environmental consultants. I've been doing a lot of research into alternative tertiary treatment for our local wastewater treatment plant, and assessing the operations of a large, private reservoir on the creek. That work has led to similar consultations for other groups (national heritage institute, American rivers, sierra connections, south yuba river citizens league). So I've kept busy and managed to learn a lot along the way. I've realized that my passion lies with rivers and their health, management and protection.
I'm thinking about going to grad school next year. I'd like to get a masters in hydrology or water resource management. Right now UC Davis, U Nevada Reno, Cal, UCSB, and U New Mexico are the hydrology departments I've looked into
From Jamie Pinto "04 7/05 I am starting grad school this summer at the University of Maine, am a little nervous but also excited. It will be good to get back in the swing of things. Currently I am enrolled in their Ecology and Environmental Science MS program and hope to be moved to the PhD program before the end of my second semester. I have had a couple meetings but am still a bit unsure exactly what I will be doing here. I am hoping I'll start to get into a rhythm and have a definite schedule. All in all I think that I will really like it here.
From Tony DeLois '04 8/05 Doesn't seem like that long ago that I graduated, but the time sure has flown. I spent some time after graduation in Spain working and traveling through WWOOF. It was a great experience from many aspects. The last farm I stayed on was probably the most beneficial, because the man was heavily involved in politics in Spain. It was interesting to see how different Spanish and US policy are in regards to the environment and agrivulture, especially the organic revolution. I spent a good amount of time in rural Spain living off the grid at almost all the farms. I returned and spent the winter skiing in Utah. It's what I wanted to do, so I went for it. I have now moved out to California and am living in San Francisco. I currently am working the details out for an internship with the Pacific Forest Trust, and I am also looking into graduate schools.
From Danica Lombardozzi 04 10/05 I'm still here working the same job (Scientist in Residence at a small private school). It's definately better the second year! I'm working on some really great projects with the kids, like leaf decomposition rates, bug communities in the local ponds, and beach profile changes. We've been having lots of fun! I never took your Energy class, but I remember people (mainly Emily) doing ecological footprints. I'd really like to do that with some kids here this winter, but I'm not sure how to start.
I'm working on putting together an NSF application to study urban biogeochemistry in cities with different amounts of rainfall. Right now, people have figured out that urban areas have changed nitrogen cycling but do not know exactly where the nitrogen goes. I would like to see how precipitation might affect the fate of nitrogen and its retention in the ecosystems surrounding urban areas. I'm working with a professor from Cornell, Jed Sparks, as well as Sharon Hall to put this together.
Update 04/06 Thanks so much for all your help in getting my recommendations complete for my grad school applications. I wanted to let you know that I've decided to attend Cornell. They awarded me an IGERT fellowship, which will be paying me for my first 2 years there. I'm very excited to be starting next fall.
From Emily Wright '04 11/05 I've been steadily skipping through all sorts of environments since graduation. A year ago I was working on the Olympic Peninsula outside of Port Angeles. I hitch-hiked up Highway I to get there from Santa Barbara, after stepping off a Greyhound bus and immediately realizing my mistake. Toting my yellow suitcase, I found a farm called Salt Creek; its waters intermingle with those from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was a well-established CSA in the community, so I got to learn the intricacies of harvest schedules, delivery routes, pick-up spots and creating colorful crates of vegetables.
Once the season slowed, farmer Doug dragged a little Toyota out of the weeds and sent me on my way. I stopped over for a stint back in Colorado, where Howard introduced me to Teresa Cohn. Teresa is a graduate of the program in holistic science at Schumacher College, into which I hope I will someday be accepted. She's a brilliant teacher. We spent time with the students exploring stories of water, including hydrology, wastewater treatment, water management, water in poetry and native american relations with water. We also contemplated our own stories by the banks of the Snake River in Wyoming.
I left CC for the second time and over-wintered in Missouri, happily being a part of communities I had fled as a teenager. Then to New York, with a desk in an office in midtown Manhattan, working for an organization called Earth Pledge. Of their three initiatives: green roofs, farm to table, and anaerobic digestion (AD), I worked on the third, applying a whole lot of chemistry and systems thinking to figure out the feasibility of using AD to process urban organic waste streams (feeding would-be compost to methanogenic bacteria and collecting the methane as a local fuel source while using the digested material as soil enrichment).
Alas, I left those projects and the city behind for the Tuscan countryside, where I am now working as an intern at a place called Tenuta di Spannocchia, an organic farm with vegetable gardens, vineyards, olive trees, chestnut groves, and pigs, sheep, cows and horses that are native species to the agricultural landscape of Tuscany. I've just come in from pitch-forking straw in their stalls and calling them in from the forests and fields. And tomorrow, chi lo sa?
From Tony DeLois '04 12/05 Just a few weeks ago I got together with Brooks, Matt Lee, and Trevor. It was great to see those guys again, and it seems that everyone is doing great work out here in California. I just started a great internship with the Center for Urban Education and Sustainable Agriculture. It's a great non-profit that promotes sustainable food systems. I will be creating programs in their educational department once that gets underway early next year. For now I am calling and meeting with farmers to make profiles for their stalls at markets and for the website. There is a good deal of competition out here in the Bay Area for non-profit work. It seems that these organizations ask first for your time before offering any sort of job. Unfortunately, some places ask for 30-40 hrs/wk and it's hard to fulfill their requests because of my own financial needs. But I think I found a good one. I really enjoy the work that I am doing, and promoting sustainable agriculture is something that I care about.
I am still thinking about going back to school. This time I am focused on education. I am still unsure whether to receive my masters in another subject other than education, and then go for my teaching credentials. Anyway, I have a number of applications to start looking at and filling out as well as other job opportunities. That's all that is new in the world of Tony. Hope things are going well.
From Brooks Mason '04 3/06 I moved down the hill from Truckee, CA to Reno, NV in January to pursue a Masters in Atmospheric Science. School has been great so far. I'm taking classes in physical climatology, atmospheric-biospheric exchanges, and differential equations. It's kind of refreshing to be out of the block plan arrangement in some ways, not in others. I miss field trips but like the schedule. As an arrangement with UNR, I also work for the Desert Research Institute where I am working on an environmental justice air quality study in a low income area of Los Angeles. The field study has not begun yet so I have been busy testing the accuracy and precision of passive air monitors in a large atmospheric chamber that we built. Shahryar Samy is working on his doctorate there as well and his cubicle is next to mine. Samy showed me his masters thesis a little while back and there is a picture of Max Crisbins donning his blue lab coat taking cannister samples at CC! I got a real kick out of it.
I get to see Tony Delois, Trevor McProud (Trevor actually just took off to teach in Argentina) and Matt Lee pretty frequently these days as well as the occasional Crisbins...always a pleasure! Also saw Anne Havemann and Chris Jenkins recently in NYC. Everyone seems to be doing well. For play, I've been climbing and boating whenever I get the chance. Hopefully I'll make it back to Colorado Springs one of these days to say hello to all and snag an extra grumpy grump from the king's chef. My email is brooksmason@gmail.com now in case anyone's passing through.
From Rob Lamb '99 04/06 Greetings to my former professors and advisors. I hope life and work have found you all well since I left Colorado College many years ago. Life has certainly been going well for me. I received a Masters from Yale last year in Forestry and am currently working in the southern Appalachian region. For the past nine months I've worked for a land trust just south of Asheville, but will soon be moving on to a university position where I will be doing more active forest management while teaching forestry to undergraduates. The impetus for this career in forest conservation and management certainly began for me back at CC with my work in fire ecology research. The opportunities and education you provided for me at that time were invaluable experiences for me that I look back on with fond memories.
Thanks again for everything you do and I hope our paths cross again someday. Please let me know if you ever come through western North Carolina. It is a nice place to visit if you have not considered it before. My wife and I would be happy to host you.
From Michael Foley '05 12/06 I am back to living in Hawaii; but rather than rural Haiku, Maui, I am now in the middle of Honolulu. This city is crazy! It is like no place I have ever been. At first it seemed really big and wild, but now I am used to it I guess and it doesn't seem that unmanageable. I figure that living in any city with beaches and good waves is fine by me.
I started school in the fall at University of Hawaii Manoa. I am working toward my Master's degree in Civil Engineering with a concentration in Environmental Engineering. The classes are pretty neat, but the main perk is the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute located right next door. I got myself a research assistantship with them working on developing biofuels/biomass energy production in Hawaii. I'm trying to focus the majority of my degree around renewable energy engineering and it seems like good timing now that more and more politicians are throwing the renewable energy word around. We'll see where this leads me.
I also have a job smack in the middle of downtown Honolulu. I work as a "civil engineer" for an engineering/scientific development firm called Oceanit Labs. I am the modeler for the engineering department. (I'm working my way up to Vogue or maybe Victoria Secret...Hehe). But seriously, the majority of the models I build are to predict the hydrological and hydraulic characteristics of watersheds. I use geographical information systems (GIS) and other information to construct several computer models of a watershed area. With these models, I predict exactly where water will flow in a given flood event and the volume of the flow over time. We just got a contract to do several dam break analyses for the state, so I will be doing the modeling to determine the threat these major dams pose to people downstream.
All in all, life is good. As you could probably tell, I am keeping myself busy. I am doing what I want to be doing, so I can't complain at all! I really like my job with Oceanit and my graduate work looks promising as long as I can find a specific research topic within renewable energy that will provide an interesting and progressive thesis.
From Ali Samter '04 1/07 We are having a snow day here in Portland, so I thought I would take the opportunity to say "hi".
When I first moved to Portland I decided it would be a good idea to learn a bit about business, most likely pre-empted by my EV internship at Wisdom Works. I met a man who owns several restaurants, saw my opportunity, and in a few months had been promoted from his assistant to the business manager for all of his endeavors. I learned a ton, but ultimately decided that the restaurant business involved too much stress without enough gratification.
The day I gave my notice there was a job posted for Friends of Forest Park (5,000 acre urban forest bordering downtown Portland, if you are unfamiliar). Ironically, the position they were looking to fill (office manager/membership coordinator) required all of the skills that I had learned in the position I was leaving. Anyway I am now back in the environmental arena, and very happy about it. Gail Snyder, who was a founder of Friends of (Pikes) Peak, is the ED, I am the membership coordinator and we have a program director, who handles trail work, education, hike series, etc.
Gail is great. She is ensuring that I attend meetings, conferences and workshops so I learn different aspects of NW ecology, land management, and keeping a non-profit going. I work closely with our Treasurer, who is the CEO of Sequential Biofuels, and he recently told the board that he would like me to take over the preparation of the financials for the organization. Our other board members and members of the organization are all amazing, inspiring people. It's a pretty exciting time, as later this year we are planning some major steps in the development of the organization. Hope all is well with everyone.
From David Chalmers 4/07 Upon graduating from CC David Chalmers worked for Peace Corps Nepal as a Soil Conservation Extension Volunteer. His experience there, though often challenging, was ultimately deeply satisfying, rewarding, and formative. The program was sadly, and suddenly, evacuated due to civil war after he had been in-country for a year. After working as an outdoor educator in California he re-enrolled in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua where he worked as an Environmental Extension Volunteer, which proved to be another phenomenal and life shaping experience. He currently works as an outdoor at the Cal-Wood Education Center, located near Boulder, Colorado. Beginning in the fall of 2007 he will be studying in a dual-degree masters program at American University and the UN-mandated University for Peace in Costa Rica. He will graduate with MAs in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from both institutions.
From Sarah Cashman (06) I thought I would update you on what I'm up to, as I am working on some exciting research in Colorado. I am currently a grad student at the University of Michigan in the School for Natural Resources and Environment specializing in Sustainable Systems. My research work here is in industrial ecology and life cycle design. I am involved in a life cycle analysis and carbon footprint research project for Aurora Organic Dairy, a Boulder-based company, and the largest US provider of private label organic milk. I have been developing a model for the project since November, and will be spending the summer out in Colorado and parts of Texas collecting more primary data. This is the site for the press release for the project: http://eon.businesswire.com/releases/organic/aurora/prweb610031.htm
From Sarah Lydon (03) First I want to say it was great visiting CC in March. We really enjoyed seeing everyone and spending some time catching up. So, I guess I will share a little of what I have done since my time at CC. After graduation I moved out to Seattle. I lived there for about 10 months, coaching gymnastics, nannying for two very sweet boys and teaching science with the parks department. That was a great experience - they still have salmon in one of the city streams! It was a beautiful city buy very expensive (hence the 3 jobs!). From there I moved to Fort Worth to work as a naturalist at a YMCA camp. I taught science outdoors to local school children, mostly 4-5 grade. I met some wonderful people there and enjoyed living and working on almost 400 acres of forest. I spent a semester in Fort Worth and then decided to move on since there was little opportunity for advancement. I then moved to Albuquerque and started my masters in Secondary Education at UNM. I did not finish my masters but did obtain my teaching certificate. I have been teaching middle school science since then. I am enjoying it and trying not to burn out from a generation of unmotivated children. I took another shot at my masters with NM tech this past year, but to no avail. I figure 3rd time is a charm. I am still looking for the perfect program and the time to finish it while holding down a full time teaching job. Mitch and I are moving to Austin this summer after a vacatioin to France and Switzerland. We both need a change. We will be getting married some time next spring after things have settled down from the move and we both have jobs. He has been busy too since graduation, but I will talk him into writing his own little note to share what he has been up to. I am trying to sign up with the Alumni group to keep in touch, but have run into a minor snag. I will include my personal email if anyone wants to say hi. It's great to read how well former classmates are doing. Good luck to everyone! I will not wait so long next time to write. My email is: sshuttrbugg@aol.com
From Meg Daly: Phew! It's been a busy couple of weeks trying to figure out where I will be heading to school in the fall. While all of the programs were good, they were very different from eachother, which made it hard. I went to visit both BU and Columbia, which was really helpful. The program at BU was good, but it was pretty clear that the program at Columbia was a much better fit for my longterm goals and interests - so New York City it is! It's nice that it will be a one year program - BU and UW would have been at least 2 1/2 years - but it's going to be busy!!!