THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL NETWORK CLASS OF 2006

Saulo Araújo, Global Program Assistant, Grassroots International
Saulo Araújo has dedicated himself to working for the resource rights of rural and urban communities in Brazil, Mexico and the U.S. In his native country of Brazil, Saulo worked with rural communities in the arid northeast region to develop sustainable water sources and protect local genetic materials. He also worked with water management programs in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. In New England, he has worked with environmental justice groups in inner city neighborhoods, supporting the work of residents to protect open and green spaces, food security and environmental health. Currently, Saulo is a board member of two community-based organizations in Central Massachusetts--Worcester Roots Project and Worcester Earn-a-Bike--and is a member of the Grant-making Committee of the New England Grassroots Environmental Fund (NEGEF). Saulo has a Master's Degree in International Development and Social Change from Clark University.

Melissa Bailey, PhD Student, Agriculture, Food and Environment Program, Tufts University.
Melissa Bailey is pursuing her PhD at Tufts in livestock production systems and their impact on the health of water, people and animals located near farm operations. As a "Water and Health" doctoral trainee fellow through the National Institute of Health (NIH) and a candidate to receive a Water: Systems, Science and Society (WSSS) Certificate through Tufts, Melissa is working to integrate the environmental health and agricultural aspects of water science and policy. Her academics have focused her efforts both domestically and in the Central American region through work on watershed assessments and management projects. In addition to academics, Melissa heads up an outreach organization (FEAST: Food Education and Action for Sustainability at Tufts) and is a part-time research analyst for SJH Inc., a Boston-based agribusiness consulting firm.

Regan Brooks, Environmental Curriculum Consultant
Currently, Regan Brooks is in the process of moving to Anchorage, AK and will take time off 'official' duty to be a mother. Previously, Regan was an environmental curriculum consultant and science teacher in Boston. Currently she consults on projects at the Urban Ecology Institute, Courageous Sailing Center, and Codman Academy Public Charter School, where she blends her background and experience as a classroom teacher with her interest in ecology. Her work ranges from writing urban water quality lessons to searching for owl pellets in Franklin Park with high school students in her "Birds of Boston" course. Previously, Regan taught high school Physics, Math, and Environmental Science in San Francisco and later in Boston.

Dawn Chávez, Education Program Director, Urban Ecology Institute and Environmental Network Coordinator, Beyond Boston
Dawn Chávez is the Education Program Director at the Urban Ecology Institute, where she facilitates the design and implementation of curriculum for urban students on long-term ecological field studies. She also works at Beyond Boston as the Environmental Network Coordinator. Dawn is pursuing a doctoral degree in Environmental Studies at Antioch New England Graduate School. She hopes to use her doctoral research on the ecological worldviews of young immigrants in order to design culturally sensitive environmental learning experiences. Previously at Cornell University, Dawn coordinated an environmental science internship for low-income high school students. As a Graduate Teaching Fellow at Montclair University, she developed a youth program called "Birds of the Bronx." Dawn also directed the Manice Education Center - a residential outdoor environmental education center that prepared urban youth to be informed citizens and concerned stewards of natural areas in their neighborhoods.

Janna Cohen-Rosenthal, Sustainability Coordinator, Brandeis University
Janna Cohen-Rosenthal is the Sustainability Coordinator at Brandeis University. Prior to this, Janna was the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at Energy Consumers Alliance of New England- the umbrella organization of Mass Energy Consumers Alliance and People’s Power & Light. Formerly Janna was the Northeast Organizer for EnviroCitizen, training college students on clean energy and environmental justice campaigns. EnviroCitizen also brought her to Seattle and New Hampshire working to get out the vote. Janna was a teacher for several environmental education programs including the New England Wildflower Society's Garden in the Woods.

Omay Elphick, Deputy Director, Energy Consumer Alliance of New England
Omay Elphick is Deputy Director at the Energy Consumer Alliance of New England's Rhode Island office. Previously as policy specialist at Save the Bay, Omay researched the brownfield regulatory landscape and developed recommendations for improving the redevelopment process for coastal brownfields in Rhode Island. Omay also oversaw construction of the Save the Bay Center, a "green" educational and administrative building. He has over ten years of experience working with various nonprofit organizations in education, fundraising, strategic partnering and strategic business planning. Before joining Save the Bay, Omay was a Senior Analyst and Nonprofit Consultant at a private branding and business consulting firm in Boulder, Colorado. His ongoing volunteer efforts include the creation of an after-school wooden boat building program for fifth graders at an urban public school.

Jocelyn Forbush, CT River Valley Area Manager, The Trustees of Reservations
Jocelyn Forbush is the CT River Valley Area Manager for The Trustees of Reservations, and as such is responsible for land conservation, communications, coordination of land management projects, and the oversight of an urban environmental education partnership in the Pioneer Valley. Jocelyn has also served The Trustees as the first Director of the Highland Communities Initiative, where she developed a community-based program focused on the conservation of the distinctive landscape and rural character of the Highlands region of western Massachusetts. Previously Jocelyn held internships with the Quebec-Labrador Foundation and the Massachusetts Riverways Program, and has been involved in marine research at the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory. She is actively involved in several cultural and conservation-related organizations in the CT River Valley.

Kristin Martin, Web Editor, The Humane Society
Kristin Martin is Web Editor for the international arm of The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), where she manages and edits website content and supports online messaging, advocacy and fundraising functions for the organization's international programs. Previously, Kristin was Communications Manager at The Environmental Careers Organization, which offered paid environmental internships for students and recent graduates. She also worked for The School for Field Studies, an environmental study abroad program. Kristin taught American history and English in China and spent a year as a social worker in Michigan. She tries to combine her passion for conservation with her interests in languages, cultures, and animal welfare to make a difference in the world.

T.J. Hellmann, Youth Program Coordinator, Chelsea Green Space
T.J. Hellmann is the Youth Program Coordinator and Community Organizer for Chelsea Green Space in Chelsea. There he works with a talented team of seven youth from Chelsea High, helping them with Environmental Justice and urban ecology projects. T.J. also organizes some of Chelsea Green Space's local EJ campaigns and the annual Chelsea River Revel festival. Before moving to Chelsea, T.J. volunteered for three years with Maryknoll in El Salvador. There he worked with youth on environmental education, activism and the formation of small youth co-ops.

Elke Hodson, Graduate Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Elke Hodson is a post-doctoral researcher in atmospheric chemistry in the department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Elke's PhD thesis focuses on estimating emissions of CFCs from U.S. landfills using field measurements. Besides her thesis work, Elke has been very involved for the last four years with the MIT student sustainability movement, through Students for Global Sustainability(SfGS) and SfGS's parent organization, the World Student Community for Sustainable Development (WSC-SD). Elke has been president of both organizations over the last two years. Currently, she serves on the executive board of the WSC-SD.

Jonathan Lewis, Staff Attorney, Clean Air Task Force
Jonathan Lewis is an attorney with the Clean Air Task Force in Boston, where he works with citizen groups, governments, and companies to reduce the health and climate impacts associated with air pollution. His primary focus is on developing state, national, and international policy initiatives for addressing global warming. Before joining CATF, Jonathan worked for the George Washington University Law School’s Center on Sustainability and Regional Growth, the Ocean Law Project in Washington, D.C., and The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, Virginia.

Lee Matsueda, Community Organizer, Alternatives for Community and Environment
Lee Matuseda is a Community Organizer with Alternatives for Community and Environment (ACE) in Roxbury, MA. There Lee works with the T Riders Union (TRU) core committee of ACE, organizing and advocating for first-class public transit for communities of color and lower income in New England. Previously Lee was a community organizer with the Greater Four Corners Action Coalition (GFCAC) in Dorchester, MA. At the GFCAC, Lee's efforts included campaign work to gain access to rapid transit along the Fairmount line commuter rail corridor. He also furthered Boston Schoolyard Initiative projects at the Sara Greenwood K-8 Middle School and the former William E. Endicott Elementary School.

Bernard McHugh, Citizen Education Coordinator, Environmental League of Massachusetts
Bernie McHugh is the Citizen Education Coordinator for the Environmental League of Massachusetts (ELM), who named him 2003 "Citizen Activist of the Year." Bernie owns a floor and tile company, but spends his time primarily focused on conservation efforts. Currently Bernie serves on the Boards of Manomet Center for Conservation Science, Sudbury Valley Trustees, Crystal Spring Center, ELM, Massachusetts League of Environmental Voters, and Massachusetts Outdoor Heritage Foundation.

Phoebe Morad, Community Operations Manager, South Shore Habitat for Humanity
Phoebe Morad recently began at South Shore Habitat after working with education programs at the international conservation organization, Earthwatch Institute. After 6 years of training volunteers how to translate their scientific field experiences back to their community, Phoebe decided to get involved directly with her own local civic issues. This local Habitat affiliate south of Boston strives to foster communities as they build houses for South Shore families in need. Phoebe’s recently conducted an independent investigation on the potential support a mainline faith-based group has to offer sustainable development. Her efforts to expand religious perspectives of Christian stewardship responsibilities continue as she serves on the Church Council at her Lutheran church in Hingham.

Anne Ogilvie, Program Manager, Earthwatch Institute
Anne Ogilvie is a Program Manager at Earthwatch Institute, where she works with scientists to provide opportunities for volunteers to participate in and support scientific field research. She recently shifted focus from primarily marine-related research to supporting terrestrial and coastal research in eastern and southern Africa. Previously, Anne has taught and managed hands-on science education programs in field and community settings and from ships at sea. Her work has taken her from southern California to coastal Maine through positions with the Catalina Island Marine Institute, the Sea Education Association, and the New England Aquarium. Anne has a strong interest in organizational learning and works both within Earthwatch and externally as a trainer and facilitator.

Edna G. Rivera-Carrasco, Director of Programs, Committee for Boston Public Housing, Inc.
Edna G. Rivera-Carrasco is the Director of Programs for the Committee for Boston Public Housing, Inc, where she supervises staff and volunteers under the Tenant Leadership and Environmental Justice Programs. Currently she oversees two environmental justice programs, the "Action Against Asthma" and the "Integrated Pest Management Program." Both programs educate residents on identifying environmental hazards and empowers them to take action in leadership roles. Edna has worked in public housing for over fifteen years. As a former Youth Worker and Director of youth programs for the Boston Housing Authority she organized services for high risk youth and gang members. Edna now serves on Boston Urban Asthma Coalition Steering and Housing Committees and the Board of Trustees for the Boston Renaissance Charter School.

Jessica Sargent-Michaud, Associate, Industrial Economics, Inc.
Jessica Sargent-Michaud is an associate with Industrial Economics, Incorporated an economic and environmental consulting firm. She conducts analyses of the costs and benefits of proposed environmental and natural resources policies, and natural resource damage assessment for various federal and state government agencies. Her current work focuses on economic analyses of critical habitat designation for threatened and endangered species and estimating economic damage to natural resources from contamination and other catastrophic events. Previously Jessica was a research assistant in the Department of Resource Economics and Policy at the University of Maine, where she completed a cost-effectiveness study of arsenic abatement for households consuming water from private wells for the Maine Bureau of Health and analyzed public opinions of wildlife management for the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Tiffany Skogstrom, Project Coordinator, Boston Public Health Commission's Safe Shops Project
Tiffany Skogstrom is the Project Coordinator at the Boston Public Health Commission's Safe Shops Project. Tiffany manages a new and innovative program within the Commission to work with employees at automotive businesses that are overburdened with toxic chemicals, have little or no protection measures, and no health care. Tiffany works to deliver education and health care to this workforce, and get a commitment from auto shop managers to establish pollution prevention measures in the work place. Throughout her career, Tiffany has worked with Massachusetts Jobs with Justice in the call for universal health care and organized toxics campaigns for Health Care Without Harm. Previously, she worked with Clean Water Action, MassPIRG, and advocated for children as a caseworker in an adolescent group home.

Ajantha Subramanian, Assistant Professor, Harvard University
Ajantha Subramanian is an Assistant Professor in the Anthropology department at Harvard University. She offers courses on social movements, cultural and political rights, immigration, environmental politics, and leads an inter-disciplinary workshop in political ecology. Ajantha is currently completing a book on resource rights struggles in southern India's fishing economy. Her research interests grew out of political involvement in three different social movements: mobilization around slum dwellers' rights to housing and other urban resources in Madras City; artisanal fisher activism against domestic and global capitalist restructuring of Indian fisheries; and opposition to Hindu majoritarianism in India and the Indian diaspora. She has held research and teaching positions at the Institute for Policy Studies, and at Cornell and Yale Universities.

Daniel Sullivan, Chief of Staff, Massachusetts House of Representatives
Daniel Sullivan is the Chief of Staff to the Dean of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, Chairman David L. Flynn. His duties include constituent services, legislation drafting and process, budgetary matters, meeting with citizens, lobbyists and organizations, drafting letters and representing the Dean at various events and functions. He is a current Global Health Scholar of the American Medical Student Association, a former Henry Toll Fellow and Eastern Leadership Academy Fellow of the Council of State Governments and has just completed a Fellowship with the Civic Leadership Institute at Boston Cares. He served as a volunteer at the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative. Dan is involved with the UN Association of New England, Democratic Leadership for the 21st Century, the Boone and Crockett Club, has been a Delegate to the Commission on Social Development at the United Nations, the Youth General Assembly, and serves as an Ambassador for Youth Service America.

Danah Tench, Assistant Attorney General, Massachusetts Attorney General's Office
Danah Tench is an Environmental Law Attorney. Danah's most recent position was an Assistant Attorney General in the Environmental Protection Division of the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office where she litigated cases under a variety of state and federal laws, and addressed issues relevant to wetlands protection, clean water, oil and hazardous materials, asbestos and lead paint. She has also provided legal comments to the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts legislature on proposed regulatory and statutory amendments to environmental justice laws. Danah served as the Office liaison to a local environmental justice organization, Alternatives for Community and Environment, and is active in local community groups, one of which she organized a fundraiser by running in two-marathons in one year.

Thidinalei Tshiguvho, Assocaite Director of Education, Urban Ecology Institute
Thidinalei Tshiguvho is the Associate Director of the Education Program at the Urban Ecology Institute. She oversees the Out-of-School Time Program, to improve science learning for underserved middle and high school students at Boston public schools. Previously Ms. Tshiguvho was a conservation biology lecturer in South Africa. She is currently pursuing a PhD degree in Geography, focusing on how human-environment relationships influence environmental protection efforts. Ms. Tshiguvho's other area of focus is on how diversity in its many forms presents challenges and opportunities with regard to collaborative efforts towards environmental resource management; and specifically the role of culture brokering techniques in promoting mutual understanding among diverse groups.

Kristen Wyman, Program Manager, Island Alliance
Kristen Wyman manages two youth programs for the Island Alliance, the legislated non-profit partner of the Boston Harbor Islands national park area. During the school year, Kristen is Director of an after school internship program for Boston teens, known as B.E.A.N. (Boston's Environmental Ambassadors to the National Park Service). During the summer, Kristen manages the Park's Junior Ranger program, providing students with summer employment opportunities in the world of parks. Ms. Wyman serves on the Board for the Volunteers and Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands, a non-profit environmental and educational organization. She is also involved with the affairs of her tribe, the Natick Nipmuc of Natick, Massachusetts, researching and developing initiatives to reconcile the common misperceptions related to Indian history and identity.