• MEM Environment Concentration: Terrestrial and Freshwater Environments (TFE)
  • MEM Management Concentration: Community Engagement and Environmental Justice (CEEJ)
  • Expected Graduation Date: May 2026
     

What is your previous work experience, if any? Please describe briefly.

After graduating with a degree in Public Health in 2019, I worked in a Family Medicine clinic through the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, I realized I wanted to pursue environmental and food justice work and I left the practice in 2021 and spent five months working on small-scale organic farms in Ireland and Maine. I then worked at Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light, a multifaith grassroots environmental justice advocacy organization, through a service fellowship with the Episcopal Service Corps. I worked on legislative and regulatory environmental advocacy campaigns on a variety of issues including energy justice, salmon and orca conservation, PFAS bans, and more with faith communities across Washington State. For the past year and a half, I have been working at ICF on state and federal grant programs for public assistance and workforce development services, focusing on providing technical assistance to grantees to help them prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion and better serve underserved populations in their work.

Why did you choose the Nicholas School's professional master's degree program(s)?

I appreciated the Nicholas School’s interdisciplinary approach and unique curriculum that placed equal focus on management and environmental concentrations. I felt this curriculum would allow me to develop both management skills and topical expertise without having to prioritize one over the other. It was also very important to me that my degree program centered environmental justice and community-driven environmental management in its curriculum and mission, so the CEEJ concentration was a perfect match for me.

Do you have any areas of interest or special focus you plan to undertake during your time at the Nicholas School and 51±¬ÁÏ?

I am especially interested in food and agriculture policy and sustainable agroecosystem management. I am working with the Sanford World Food Policy Institute to support the Resilient Communities Built on Farmer Flourishing: Policy Frameworks for Climate-Ready Local Food Systems research project. The project will engage farmers in Durham and Orange Counties to identify local policies that affect small farms’ productivity, profitability, well-being, and climate resilience to inform local policy decisions across North Carolina and the greater United States. I am also interested in environmental ethics and effective science education and communication as motivators for collective action and behavior change.

What are your career aspirations?

After completing the MEM program, I hope to work in agriculture policy or practice research and advocacy. I’d like to support policies and programs that advance a transition away from extractive industrial agrifood systems towards agrifood systems that invest in rural communities, small-scale farmers, and sustainable practices that protect soil resources and biodiversity.