THE NEW ENGLAND CLASS OF 2008

Amy Alfieri, Wildlife Specialist, Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife
Amy Alfieri has been employed by the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife for three years in a variety of positions. She started as the coordinator for a bald eagle restoration project, supervising volunteers and leading the reintroduction and monitoring aspects of the program. Her current duties involve regulatory review pertaining to critical wildlife habitat as part of Vermont's landmark land-use permitting process. She is also active in wildlife management such as collecting deer harvest data and banding waterfowl. Amy holds a graduate degree focusing in conservation biology from Antioch University where she designed a research thesis involving reptiles. She currently serves as a volunteer monitor for the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas and her free time she enjoys hunting, fishing, and serving as a community mentor to a 13-year-old girl.

Andrea Atkinson, NEXUS General Manager, The Green Roundtable.
Andrea Atkinson is General Manager of the NEXUS Green Building Resource Center. NEXUS is a program of The Green Roundtable, an organization dedicated to the mission of mainstreaming green building. Andrea worked to launch the center from 2004-2007 and currently manages the center's operations, staff and activities. Her work was instrumental in helping to make NEXUS what it is today - a recognized educational resource for building professionals and the general public in Boston and beyond. Andrea's background is in International Relations with a focus on sustainable development. She has worked with the Integrative Design Collaborative, the U.S. Department of Energy and other organizations in Latin America and Africa. In addition to her work at NEXUS, Andrea is focused on creating sustainable programs locally, as well as in Africa and Latin America.

Cynthia Carlson, PhD Student, University of New Hampshire
Cyndy is a first year graduate student in Natural Resources and Earth Systems Science in the Department of Environmental Engineering at UNH. At UNH she is investigating methods of measuring changes in the physical sustainability of communities over time and of combining those results with metrics of social capital and the overall well-being of residents in that same community. Before arriving at UNH, Cyndy spent 10-years as a water resources engineer, working locally and internationally on projects related to storm water, combined sewer flow, and local governance of water resources. She volunteers with a variety of local projects, including the Upper Merrimack River Local Advisory Committee macroinvertebrate sampling/identification and the UNH transportation advisory committee.

Bryan Connolly, PhD Student, University of Connecticut
Bryan Connolly is a first year doctoral student at the University of Connecticut studying the combined impact of deer and invasive plant species on the native flora of New England. Bryan is also a small-scale organic vegetable grower conserving rare heirloom crop diversity and developing new plant varieties on his farm. Additionally, he is a botanical consultant for the Connecticut Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. Previously Bryan has worked surveying rare plant populations for the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, coordinating a volunteer invasive plant survey at the New England Wild Flower Society, and as an instructor at Connecticut College teaching classes in environmental studies, sustainable agriculture, and field botany.

Tyke Crowley, Staff Planner/President, Town of Concord/EnergySavvy Inc.
Tyke Crowley is the Staff Planner for the Town of Concord, Massachusetts, where he offers technical advice to town boards on assessing development projects and other planning related issues. He is also the Vice-Chair of Concord's Comprehensive Sustainable Energy Committee. In addition to his day job, Tyke is the co-founder of EnergySavvy, a new start-up company offering strategic energy planning to help businesses, campuses and municipalities use energy more efficiently. As an experienced facilitator and mediator, he currently mediates for the US Post Office under their REDRESS program addressing Equal Opportunity Claims. Aside from his interests in green building and energy, Tyke has an interest in public policy, which led him to work as former policy adviser for U.S. Senator John F. Kerry on environmental, public health and health care policy.

Jessica Dominguez, Project Officer Brownfields Program, Environmental Protection Agency
Jessica Dominguez is a project officer in the Brownfields Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In that role, she works with recipients of federal grants for the assessment and cleanup of brownfields sites in New England. She is also the sustainable development lead for the Brownfields Program and provides guidance on issues of sustainability and brownfields redevelopment. Prior to working at the EPA, Jessica was an environmental scientist with a private consulting firm, providing a diverse set of clients with services related to ecological science and planning. She has served as Secretary for the RI Chapter of The Coastal Society and is an active supporter of several local non-profit organizations. Jessica has strong ties to New England, growing up in Massachusetts and attending college in Maine and Rhode Island. Professionally, she has a special interest in restoration and natural resource management in the context of community values and planning.

Emily Enderle, Associate Director of Admissions & Admissions Diversity Coordinator, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
As Associate Director of Admissions and Admissions Diversity Coordinator at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (FES) Emily Enderle works to increase diversity at FES and to build a more inclusive FES community. Emily completed her Masters in Environmental Management at FES in 2007 with a concentration in policy, economics and law. She focused specifically on climate change adaptation and mitigation, corporate environmental and social responsibility, and environmental justice. While a masters student she completed the book "Diversity and the Future of the U.S. Environmental Movement." Emily's work experience includes a consultancy with London's municipal fuel poverty eradication program "Warm Zone," a research position examining India's forestry policy evolution at the Bank Information Center in New Delhi and, as a corporate environmental consultant in the San Francisco office of Kearns & West.

Kate Harvey, Associate, Consensus Building Institute Kate Harvey is an Associate at the Consensus Building Institute (CBI), a Cambridge, MA-based, non-profit institution that works to improve the way leaders use negotiations to make organizational decisions, achieve agreements, and manage multiparty conflicts and planning efforts. Kate works as mediator, facilitator, coach, and trainer for communities, nongovernmental organizations, and government agencies involved in public-interest issues ranging from local development; planning and land conservation; natural resource protection; regional air quality improvement; state energy policy; and habitat management. She is interested in helping stakeholders engaged in complex and emotional environmental conflicts to engage in dialogue, build common understanding, and use their collective wisdom to inform and implement better decisions.

Jennifer Hashley, Director, New Entry Sustainable Farming Project Jennifer Hashley is the Director of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project, a beginning farmer training program that assists limited-resource individuals to begin small-scale commercial agriculture in Massachusetts as a way to preserve farmland and to expand consumer access to high-quality, culturally appropriate, and locally-grown foods. Jennifer co-owns a grass-based livestock enterprise raising chickens, eggs, pork, and rabbit. Jennifer serves on steering committees for the emerging Massachusetts Food and Farm Policy Council, the emerging Massachusetts Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative ("Mass Grass"), the Lowell Sustainability Forum, and the Dracut Agricultural Commission. She also is a farm business planning instructor for the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources and teaches farm-based field labs for graduate students in the Tufts University, Agriculture, Food and Environment program. Prior to her work in Massachusetts, Jennifer served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras working with rural subsistence farmers and she held a staff biologist position at an environmental consulting firm in Idaho.

Charles Hernick, Senior Analyst, The Cadmus Group, Inc.
Charles is a Senior Analyst at The Cadmus Group, Inc., a Watertown based consulting firm. He works primarily with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on making drinking water systems more sustainable by focusing on improving management practices. Charles is broadly interested in translating the value of environmental goods and services into economic terms. For water systems, he focuses on translating the full-cost of providing clean drinking water into rates. He is also working to identify how climate change will affect freshwater resources, and ensure that water systems adapt. Prior to joining Cadmus, Charles worked at the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. He received a MA in international relations and environmental policy from Boston University, and a BS in ecology from the University of Minnesota. Outside of work, Charles stays active in local politics, enjoys bird watching, sailing, and canoeing/kayaking.

Patrick Herron, Post-doctoral Researcher, Marine Biological Laboratory- Ecosystems Center
Patrick Herron is a post-doctoral researcher at the MBL- Ecosystems Center at Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He completed his PhD in 2007 in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut, where he was an EPA STAR Fellow. His research focuses on two areas: 1) the application of microbial biosensors to study the interaction and exchange of carbon and nitrogen between plant roots and soil microbes, and 2) the identification of key life-history traits that allow plants to become invasive in defined ecosystems. Outside of his research activities, Patrick is exploring the development of alternative avenues for urban children to become engaged in the environment and science. Prior to his work as a scientist, he was a high school teacher in rural Louisiana as part of the Teach for America program.

Elizabeth Hoover, PhD Student, Brown University
Elizabeth Hoover is working on a PhD in Anthropology, with a focus on environmental justice in Native American communities. She is currently conducting her fieldwork in the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, looking at how the Superfund site and subsequent health studies affected people's perceptions of their bodies and the environment, and working with subsistence revival organizations such as Kanenhi:io Ionkwaienthon:Hakie (We Are Planting Good Seeds) who are trying to reconnect the community with farming and a healthier lifestyle. She is also a research assistant on the Superfund Basic Research Project, working with community groups in RI who are dealing with issues of contamination. In addition she is a member of the Outreach Committee of the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island, a coalition formed to education Rhode Islanders about issues of environmental justice, as well as a founding member of NAWIP (Native American Women in Providence), an organization that works with urban Indian youth in Providence.

Victoria Jas, Doctoral Candidate, Antioch University New England
Victoria is a researcher working with small rural hospitals in New Hampshire. She is examining how environmental management is learned and promoted in small facilities and how innovative practices such as pollution prevention can be created to encourage economic stability and social change. She was previously the Manager of Biosafety and Environmental Programs at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, where she created the award winning environmental management programs for a 400-bed hospital and 800-physician clinic. Victoria's interests are translation of technical environmental information and incorporating policy, social and ethical concerns into the conversation about how hazardous materials and waste can be managed - and taught - in rural health care. She anticipates completion of her doctorate in the summer of 2008.

Pete Land, Partner, Tamarack Media
Pete Land is the co-founder of Tamarack Media, a Burlington, Vermont-based company that produces websites, videos, and print materials to help environmental organizations reach new audiences. Tamarack's clients include National Audubon Society, Urban Ecology Institute, Vermont Land Trust, and the Center for Whole Communities. Pete also serves as a Director on the Boards of the Vermont Natural Resources Council (the state's National Wildlife Federation affiliate), Wild Gift (a national grant program for environmental leaders), and DREAM (a mentoring program for youth living in low-income housing communities across Vermont). Pete's passions include working landscapes and lifestyles that connect people with the resources they use, and fighting the politicization of environmental values. When he's not attached to his laptop he enjoys exploring lesser-known wilderness areas with his dog, Willy.

Celina E. Lee, Membership and Communications Coordinator, Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE)
Celina is the Membership and Communications Coordinator at ACE, an environmental justice organization based in Roxbury, MA. There, she fights against environmental racism, cranks out newsletters and occasionally wins office eating contests. Previously, Celina worked for a corporate accountability group where she helped organize a union to improve working conditions and eradicate racial oppression. She is a board member of the Asian American Resource Workshop (AARW) and volunteers with incarcerated women in Boston. When she grows up, Celina would like to be a cupcake expert or hot air balloonist and in her spare time, she likes to enjoy her spare time.

Paige Manning, Assistant Director Advising and Student Services, Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley University
Paige oversees recruiting, marketing, and academic advising for the Audubon Expedition Institute at Lesley University. AEI is a field-based program that offers undergraduates and graduates an opportunity to pursue a deeper ecological understanding of environmental education, leadership, and advocacy. With experience in higher education and environmental consulting, a master's degree focusing on environmentalism and the sustainability movement, and a passion for politics, Paige is most interested in preserving the core values of the environmental movement while bringing an urban focus to environmentalism. She is actively engaged in the development and planning for AEI's emerging masters program in urban environmental leadership. As a member of the university's sustainability task force, Paige is leading dialogue and action to make the Lesley community more sustainable and ecologically literate.

Jesse Pyles, Service-Learning & Sustainability Coordinator, Green Mountain College
Jesse Pyles is the Service-Learning & Sustainability Coordinator at Green Mountain College, an environmentally focused liberal arts college in Poultney, Vermont. His work focuses on education that serves community needs and decreases environmental impact. Jesse is active with the Vermont Campus Compact, an organization that supports service-learning and civic engagement among colleges in the state. He serves on the Technical Advisory Committee for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education's (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS), and will lead Green Mountain's pilot of STARS this year. Jesse chairs Poultney's Town-Gown Committee, and is a founding member of the College's Campus Sustainability Council. He and his wife Laura live at the base of Dorset Mountain where she works as a Crew Leader at the Smokey House Center.

Allison Furbish, Media Relations Coordinator, King Arthur Flour
Allison Furbish is the Media Relations Manager for King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont, America's oldest flour company and premier baking resource. She is also a key member of the company's Stewardship Team, leading its work on social and environmental issues. Allison is the Windsor County Ambassador for Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility. She also serves on the Advisory Council of 10 Bricks, a nonprofit organization working to provide guidance and temporary housing in a safe and dignified environment to individuals experiencing homelessness in the Upper Connecticut River Valley of Vermont and New Hampshire; as well as the Windsor County Juvenile Restorative Panel, designed to give youthful offenders the opportunity to accept responsibility for their actions, make amends to their victims, and explore ways to improve their behavior. Allison is also a freelance writer. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic.

Kate Stephenson, Director of Operations, Yestermorrow Design/Build School
Kate Stephenson is the Director of Operations at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren, VT. Kate is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the school, dedicated to teaching students of all ages and backgrounds the hands-on skills to sustainably design and build their homes and communities. She is a co-founder of the Mad River Valley Localvore Project, a grassroots organization dedicated to celebrating and supporting local food in the Mad River Valley. Kate is the volunteer Residential Green Building Advocate for the state of Vermont. Her experience also includes planning and facilitating workshops on sustainability education, restoring historic gardens, researching bioenergy projects in developing countries, and promoting land conservation.