SENIOR FELLOWS:
THE ELP FELLOWSHIP CLASS OF 2001-2003

Stephen Adams, Director of Planning & Strategic Projects, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Stephen C. Adams is Director of Planning and Strategic Projects for Florida's Department of Environmental Protection with responsibilities for managing a range of statewide planning, priority-setting, policy development, and evaluative activities. Steve has a dozen years of public policy and non-profit experience in energy, environmental protection, and natural resource management issues. In 2002-2003, he served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Senior Advisor to the Administrator’s Environmental Indicators Initiative, an effort that resulted in the publication of EPA's first national assessment of environmental and human health using environmental indicators. In 1998, he developed and implemented the FDEP performance measurement system, a program that twice won national honors in the Innovations in American Government program sponsored by the Ford Foundation, the Council for Excellence in Government, and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Steve is the founding board chair of the Florida Hydrogen Initiative, Inc., a non-profit corporation actively promoting the transition to hydrogen energy by funding research, development, and demonstration projects in Florida. Steve holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of West Florida and a Master of Public Administration from the Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at the Florida State University.

Michelle Alvarez, Staff Attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council
Michelle Baccay Alvarez is a staff attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council's New York office where she litigates environmental justice cases and works on regional and national policy initiatives. Previously, Michelle represented low-income community organizations while working at Alternatives for Community & Environment, an environmental justice law and education center, on issues ranging from the siting of solid waste facilities to the redevelopment of abandoned and contaminated properties. Michelle was a Jane Liberty Fellowship Attorney at the Center for Reproductive Law & Policy. Her background also includes work in the areas of domestic violence advocacy, AIDS activism, and employment discrimination.

Bodhi Burgess
Bodhi's undergraduate degree is from Humboldt State University in the field of Industrial Technology Management. With a focus on sustainable development, Bodhi worked in private industry serving as the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator for Birkenstock, in government as a Program Manager for the Alameda County Stopwaste Authority and in non-profits, serving on the Board of Directors for Marin Conservation League and the Environmental Education Council of Marin. In 2003, Mr. Burgess studied sustainable development in Guatemala with a grant from the Environmental Leadership Program where he is also a senior fellow. Currently he is attending the University of Michigan in the Erb Institute, a joint degree between the School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ross School of Business. Bodhi's focus is energy and finance having recently held positions with DTE Energy Technology Investments, the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative and Piper Jaffray as an investment banking associate covering renewable energy and clean technology.

David Cash, Director of Air Policy, Massachusetts Office of Environmental Affairs,
David Cash is director of air policy for the State of Massachusetts, where he develops strategic air quality agendas for a wide array of air-related issues including mobile, stationary and area sources and local, regional, national and global air quality. Previously, David was a fellow in Harvard University's Global Environmental Assessment Project and Sustainability Systems Project, researching the links between scientific assessment of global environmental risks and local decision making and environmental risk management. He has collaborated with the U.S. Global Change Research Program and Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Center for Environmental Decision-making Research, and the U.N. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. Before that, David taught high school and middle school biology, chemistry, and environmental science.

Kristin Chester, Communications Director, Forest Ethics
Kristi Chester Vance is the Communications Director for ForestEthics, a Senior Fellow in the Environmental Leadership Program, and a co-founder of MOMS – an organization dedicated to stopping the chemical contamination of our children. Kristi has been working for social and environmental justice for 15 years through harnessing the power of art, design, media and advertising. She is a cofounder of Half-Full , a design studio devoted to creating a louder, more powerful voice for environmental and social justice advocates, and is currently on the board of Green Media Toolshed, a non-profit working to build and strengthen the communications infrastructure of the environmental movement. Kristi is the mother of Stella, who is currently obsessed with gorillas, mushrooms, and bubble baths. She lives in San Francisco with Stella and her husband, Christopher.

Chip Giller, President, Gristmagazine.com

Daniel Gruner, Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab
Daniel Gruner is a postdoctoral associate at the UC Davis Bodega Marine Lab in Sonoma County, California. Dan earned his doctorate in the Department of Zoology and the Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he documented patterns of insect diversity throughout the Hawaiian archipelago. Currently, he is researching soil organisms in California coastal prairies and hopes to provide answers for agricultural management without the use of pesticides for root-feeding insects. Dan is also working to stem the tide of introduced species, both through research into effective management and outreach into K-12 classrooms. With assistance and training from ELP, he developed a curriculum and involved hundreds of intermediate and high school students in AntWatch Hawaii, an ongoing monitoring program for invasive ant species. Dan is also leader of a working group of international scholars at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis in Santa Barbara that is concerned with the ecosystem effects of eutrophication and the ongoing loss of consumers in natural food webs.

Jennifer Hill-Kelley, Environmental Quality Director, Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin
Jennifer Hill-Kelley serves as the Environmental Quality Director for the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, where she facilitates the Tribe’s protection and restoration work in water resources, environmental compliance, Brownfields and culturally significant plants. She currently serves on the Fox River Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustee Council, EPA Region 5 Regional Tribal Operations Committee, Environmental Leadership Program Board of Trustees, and the Oneida Tribe’s Seven Generations Corporation Board. Jennifer is the co-founder of Oneida Votes!, a grassroots group that works to get Oneida Tribal members to vote and into elected political positions. Jennifer will complete a Master’s in Environmental Science and Policy at UW-Green Bay in Spring 2006 and has a B.S. in Microbiology from the University of Oklahoma.

Alan Hipólito, Adjunct Professor, Northwestern School of Law and Portland State University; and Executive Director, Just Growth
Alan Hipólito is an adjunct professor at the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark College and Portland State University's School of Urban Studies and Planning. He is also economic development director for Hacienda Community Development Corporation and executive director of Just Growth, an unincorporated association focusing on environmental justice and smart growth. Previously, Alan worked as an attorney in private practice, and was director of environmental programs for the Urban League of Portland. He also served as vice chair, and later acting chair, of Oregon Governor Kitzhaber's Environmental Justice Advisory Board. Alan currently serves on the Coalition for a Livable Future's Board of Trustees.

Michelle Knapik, Environmental Program Officer, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
Michelle Knapik is the Environmental Program Officer at the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation. Previously she served as the director of energy policy for the City of Philadelphia where she developed and managed several city-federal partnerships related to energy efficient building strategies. Her work for Philadelphia focused on the introduction of sustainable building principles, including renewable energy options, and related economic and community development opportunities. Michelle also worked to develop an alternative fuel program for Philadelphia and to expand a regional Clean Cities program to promote alternative fuel vehicle use and infrastructure development. She serves as chair of the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Coalition and on the boards of the Energy Coordinating Agency, a local nonprofit that provides energy services to low-income families, and the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Women Environmental Professionals.

Trinh Nguyen, Northern California Campaign Manager, Surface Transportation Policy Project
Trinh Nguyen is the northern California campaign manager at the Surface Transportation Policy Project where she works to educate the public and decision-makers throughout the state on the linkages between transportation investments, community revitalization, open space preservation, and smart growth. Trinh recently helped assemble a regional coalition to block a freeway-oriented local ballot initiative and helped organize seventy groups statewide to influence California transportation funding. Previously, Trinh was the membership coordinator at the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, service learning coordinator at the San Francisco Urban Service Project, and an environmental organizer with Neighborhood Green Corps. She has conducted research in India on intentional communities and their societal impact.

Na'Taki Osborne, Manager, Community and Leadership Development Programs, National Wildlife Federation
Na'Taki Osborne is the Manager for Community and Leadership Development Programs for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF). In this position, Na'Taki is responsible for building the capacity of individual and community organizations to take personal and civic action to restore the greenways and watersheds where they live, work, play, worship, and learn through NWF's youth environmental education and leadership program, Earth Tomorrow and NWF's adult civic engagement programs. With over thirteen years of experience as an organizer, educator, and community builder working to improve environmental quality and quality of life for low-income and communities of color in Atlanta, Na'Taki has been recognized by and received numerous awards from a diverse set of organizations and agencies including the Georgia House of Representatives, the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, the Environmental Careers Organization, the Turner Broadcasting Systems (TBS), and Former U.S. President, Bill Clinton. She has also received recognition from Redbook, Ebony, Uptown, the Atlanta Tribune, Atlanta CityMag, and Atlanta Woman magazines. In addition to her role at NWF, Na'Taki teaches Community Health at the Morehouse School of Medicine, is a Senior Fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program, and serves on the Board of Directors of the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. Na'Taki is an alumna of Spelman College. She earned her Master's of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health from Emory University. .

Pablo Padilla, Law Student, University of New Mexico
Pablo Padilla is a law student at the University of New Mexico. Most recently, he was environmental protection specialist for the Zuni Tribe, on the Zuni Indian Reservation in west-central New Mexico, where he created and implemented environmental programs for 10,000 Zunis, and helped manage a half million acres of land. He is an active member of the U.S. EPA's National Tribal Operations Committee and Region VI Tribal Operations Committee. Pablo is a founding member of the New Mexico Intertribal Resource Advisory Commission, a confederation of twenty-one tribes engaged in environmental protection and conservation. He is also a member of the Western Roundup, a diverse group of organizations dedicated to land use and landscape issues across the western U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

John Perrine, Doctoral Candidate, University of California, Berkeley
John Perrine is a doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley. His research examines the ecology and taxonomy of mountain red foxes in northern California, and his broader interests include carnivore ecology and management and the conservation of biodiversity on public and private lands. Previously, John was a policy analyst for Defenders of Wildlife, where he focused on carnivore management, international wildlife trade, and endangered species conservation. He is an active member of the Society for Conservation Biology and The Wildlife Society.

Swati Prakash, Program Director, Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security
Swati Prakash is program director at the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment, and Security in Oakland, California. Previously, Swati was Environmental Health Director at West Harlem Environmental Action, where she worked to educate and empower community residents to address environmental health issues, promote community-driven environmental health research, and conduct air pollution monitoring and reduction projects. Swati worked as project director for the Environmental Diversity Forum and as the outreach and events coordinator for the Urban Environmental Initiative of the U.S. EPA's New England Region. Swati serves on various EPA advisory panels related to children's health and asthma and has volunteered as a youth leadership trainer with organizations in Boston and New York.

Brian Reilly, Manager, Menomonee Valley Redevelopment, Milwaukee Department of City Development
Brian Reilly is manager of Menomonee Valley Redevelopment, a project of Milwaukee's Department of City Development. The project seeks to create high quality development that produces jobs with family-supporting wages, near where people live, and in ways that strengthen and grow efficient and strong companies, while enhancing the environment. Before joining city government, Brian created the Johnson Foundation's sustainable development program at its Wingspread conference center, where he was instrumental in the creation of Sustainable Racine. Previously, Brian served as a U.S. naval officer on a NATO flagship. He advises a number of environmental organizations, university-community efforts, and boards of directors.

Thompson Smith, Director of tribal history and ethnogeography projects, Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation
Thompson Smith is director of tribal history and ethnogeography projects for the Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee, a department of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. He is preparing a number of books, including the four-volume "Voices of the Sqelixw: A Tribal History of the Salish and Pend d'Oreille People." Previously, Thompson was executive director of Flathead Resource Organization (FRO), a nonprofit that works to protect and restore the environment of the lower Flathead River drainage system and promote a healthy and sustainable human relationship with that environment. Thompson has also co-produced "The Place of the Falling Waters," an award-winning, three-part documentary film history of the Flathead Reservation, focusing on the construction of a major hydroelectric dam in the 1930's. Thompson is a doctoral candidate in American Studies at Yale University.

Donnan Steele, Associate, McKinsey & Company
Donnan Steele is an Associate with McKinsey & Company and a recent Ph.D graduate in atmospheric chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied how air pollution affects clouds and, more generally, the earth's climate. Previously, he worked for the Environmental Working Group on pesticide and water quality issues and with Ozone Action on reporting indicators of global warming. He is co-founder of Student.net Publishing, Inc., an Internet company that became Student.com, one of the first commercial student-oriented websites, and TVGrid.com, an internationally syndicated television listing service. He has published in the academic journals Environmental Science & Technology and the Journal of Applied Meteorology.

Quita Sullivan, Staff Attorney, Alternatives for Community and Environment
Quita Sullivan is staff attorney for Alternatives for Community and Environment where she assists communities of color and low-income communities by providing legal representation, advocacy, and capacity-building support. She is Program Director of ACEís Services to Allies Program, including the Massachusetts Environmental Justice Assistance Network, a network of pro bono attorneys and environmental and health professionals and the Greater Boston Environmental Justice Network. Previously, Quita was environmental justice staff attorney for the Sugar Law Center in Detroit, Michigan. Quita is a member of the Montaukett Tribe of Long Island, NY.

Margo Tamez, Fellow and GRACe Scholar, Washington State University
Margo Tamez is an environmental-social justice activist, poet, and community-based scholar. She is Lipan-Jumano Apache from the South Texas-Tamaulipas, Mexico corridor and the West Texas-Chihuahua corridor. Currently she is completing a PhD in the American Studies Program at Washington State University where she is the 2005-2007 GRACe Scholar (Gendered Research Across the Campuses). Her poetry and essays appear in regional, national and transnational journals. Her full-length poetry collections include Raven Eye (forthcoming 2007), Naked Wanting, Alleys & Allies. She is a member of an autonomous indigenous women's solidarity network which focuses specifically on environmental and social injustices impacting indigenous communities whose peoples, lands and cultural roots are severed by the existence of the Mexico-U.S. international boundary line. This solidarity network includes members of Gila River Alliance for a Clean Environment, Las Comadres, and One Voice Against the Wall. Each of the members of this network are indigenous to lands that are under militarization by both the U.S. and Mexico nationa-states. Former affiliations include: Maricopa Families for Natural Resource Conservation and Clean Air Outreach, Environmental Concerns Organization,Traditional Native American Farmers Association. Her current scholarly work is a film documentary which examines the intersections of gender, militarisms, indigenisms, sexual violence, neo-colonizations and genocide in the internal colonies, as well as the transnational and trans-hemispheric colonies at the peripheries of U.S. Empire.

Linda Tsang, Law Student, Vermont Law School
Linda Tsang is a law student at Vermont Law School. Previously, she was an environmental engineer in the Municipal Assistance Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's New England Region where she worked to implement Safe Drinking Water regulations. Prior to the EPA, Linda was project manager for Environmental Defense's Alliance for Environmental Innovation, engaging leading companies in cooperative partnerships to improve environmental performance through product, packaging, and process innovations. Linda also worked at Second Nature on integrating sustainability in higher education and at Interlock Media on environmental documentaries.

Max Weintraub, PCBs Coordinator, Environmental Protection Agency
Max Weintraub is polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Region 9 in San Francisco, California, where he oversees the implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act regulations for the use, storage, and disposal of PCBs in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and the Pacific Territories. He serves on the board of directors of Community Toolbox for Children's Environmental Health, a Seattle-based organization that provides infrastructure development training and funds to small community groups nationwide. Previously, Max worked at the National Lead Information Center and the Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning, and taught at San Francisco State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Graduate School. Max has written about issues related to toxics and environmental justice in journals ranging from the American Journal of Public Health to Race, Poverty, and Environment.