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2003-2005 Doris Duke Conservation Fellows

 

For more information on the Doris Duke Conservation Fellowships, please return to the Doris Duke Conservation Fellows Page.

Kizzy Charles-Guzman
Resource Policy & Behavior


Kizzy Charles-Guzman grew up in Venezuela and moved to Brooklyn, New York, in 1995. She is a Carleton College graduate, where she earned a B.A. in Geology, with concentrations in Environmental Science and Cross-Cultural Studies. At Carleton, Kizzy’s research of the environmental, cultural and socio-economic dimensions of water quality, resource conservation and development, and land use patterns in Minnesota, Arizona, Mexico and the Brazilian Amazon taught her that a thorough understanding of the links between scientific and local knowledge within our socio-political frameworks is vital for the sustainable management of resource-rich ecosystems. Having explored the complexities between global markets, the exploitation of natural resources and issues of social justice and equity, she has since been devoted to promoting the interdisciplinary dialogue on the human aspects of resource conservation and hopes to integrate both scientific and humanistic approaches in her future work. After graduation, Kizzy joined West Harlem Environmental Action (WE ACT), a community-based non-profit organization committed to improving environmental protection, safeguarding public health and securing environmental justice in the predominantly African American and Latino communities of Northern Manhattan. Kizzy assisted in campaign development and implementation, attended and reported on workshops, conferences, City Council hearings and community board and technical meetings. She helped to promote citizen activism and education and translated educational publications. Kizzy also volunteered at the Global Resource Action Center for the Environment (GRACE), an organization committed to environmental health, sustainable energy, corporate accountability, and nuclear weapons and factory farms abolition. She focused on nuclear disarmament, human rights and public policy issues, promoted student activism in colleges nationwide and corresponded with national and international scientists to compile a bibliographic guide for activists on the health effects of low level radiation. Kizzy continues to work on WE ACT’s environmental justice campaigns to this day. She seeks to challenge the current paradigm that equates environmentalism solely with wilderness conservation as a benefit to the elites, ignoring the stakes and concerns of local peoples, dissociating humans from “nature,” and creating discord based on class and race among communities. Her career goals include raising awareness about the socio-economic effects that mainstream resource conservation projects have in communities, focusing on community engagement into the conservation and environmental justice movements and encouraging the scientific and environmental communities to trust the local community’s knowledge of natural resource management and conservation.


Eric Hesse
Resource Policy & Behavior:
Collaboration & Conflict Management

 

Originally from Ashland, VA ("The Center of the Universe"), Eric graduated from Amherst College in 1996 with a B.A. in Political Science and a Five College Consortium Certificate in International Relations. After college, Eric moved to Washington, DC to pursue a career in international security policy. After a year of working at a foreign policy think tank, Eric realized that environmental security issues were of paramount concern to him and decided to transition to an explicitly environmental career path. For the next six years, Eric worked in the development office of Co-op America, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to harnessing the economic power of consumers, investors and businesses for promoting social and environmental responsibility. In addition to managing the development team for four years, Eric also served two terms as Staff Representative on the organization's Board of Directors. While living in Washington, Eric also volunteered for four years as emcee of the Noodle Club, a networking group of progressive professionals. Currently, Eric is a first year student in Resource Policy and Behavior, with a strong interest in collaboration and conflict management. He is also a co-founder of Transformers, a student group working to coordinate activity regarding sustainable production and consumption at the University of Michigan. After graduating SNRE, Eric would like to become a practitioner of alternative dispute resolution in natural resource conflicts.


Cindy McKinney
Resource Policy & Behavior


Originally from El Paso, Texas, Cindy Tarver McKinney graduated Summa Cum Laude from Southern Methodist University in 1998 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. After graduation, Cindy worked for Raytheon Systems Company in Dallas, Texas, where she focused on satellite design and life cycle analysis. While in Dallas, Cindy volunteered at the Dallas Zoo, serving as a “Great Apes Docent.” The position, which involved extensive interaction with zoo guests on the topics of conservation, ecology, and wildlife biology, re-shaped her views on conservation and wildlife management. The experience sparked her interest in environmental policy. In 1999, Cindy moved with her husband to Denver, Colorado where she worked with Avaya Communication as a Supply Chain Manager. In this role, Cindy honed her leadership and management skills, supervising cross-functional teams that developed and implemented manufacturing plans for enterprise-class telecommunications devices. In 2003, with the support of family and friends, Cindy decided to leave Avaya and pursue her long-held aspiration to work in the field of nonprofit conservation. Cindy is currently a first-year master’s student in the Resource Policy and Behavior program at the University of Michigan. Having spent most of her life in the arid west, Cindy is interested in land use and water resource issues affecting the Western United States. However, her experience at the Dallas Zoo has also left her with a deep interest in wildlife conservation. Cindy hopes to work for a nonprofit group or a federal agency after graduation.


Ariana Rickard
Resource Ecology and Management: Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Management

 

The televised images of the sinking Exxon Valdez in 1989 shaped the professional path of Ariana Rickard as a nine-year-old growing up in San Diego. After observing the damage to the Alaskan flora and fauna from the resulting oil spill, she knew she would dedicate her life to preserving natural habitat and wildlife. Upon high school graduation, she spent three years at Harvard University, earning a degree in Environmental Science and Public Policy. Ariana then joined Americorps to work for the Urban Ecology Institute, an environmental justice organization based in Boston. After her year of service, Ariana moved to the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. At the EPA, Ariana worked in the field of conservation biology, rotating through several federal agencies, including the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Endangered Species Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Mammal Division, and the Chicago regional EPA office. These rotations exposed Ariana to the management of endangered species and marine mammals in the field and the implementation of the Endangered Species and Marine Mammal Protection Acts. In summer 2003, she assisted the Sarasota Dolphin Research Program with the capture and release of wild bottlenose dolphins as part of a long-term study on contaminants, communication, and population structure. At the University of Michigan, Ariana continues to study wildlife populations as a master’s candidate in Resource Ecology and Management with a focus on wetlands restoration and amphibian reintroduction programs. When she graduates, Ariana intends to gain practical experience concerning the obstacles facing natural resource managers in the field by working for a government wildlife management agency, a zoo, or an environmental organization.


Lauren Ris
Resource Policy & Behavior: Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Management


Originally from Colorado, Lauren graduated from Willamette University in Salem Oregon in 2002, with a BA in English and Environmental Science. As an undergraduate student, Lauren helped coordinate a community “yellow bike” alternative transportation program that provided bikes for student and faculty use around the city. Lauren studied abroad in Scotland and Ecuador, where a trip to the Galapagos Islands cemented her interest in the interface between conservation biology and policy. Internship experiences have included exploring issues surrounding climate change and the contribution the social sciences and humanities can make in public policy at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and researching the history of drought in the Western United States at the Center of the American West. After graduating, Lauren spent a summer tracking changing salmon migration habits for the University of Idaho along the Snake River before working for the National Wildlife Federation field office in Boulder, Colorado. At NWF, Lauren spent her time working on public and tribal lands policy issues. Her interactions with the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service through NWF incited her interest in the relationship between non-profit organizations and government agencies that she hopes to continue exploring. Now a Resource Policy and Behavior student with an emphasis in Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Management, Lauren is primarily interested in land-use and wildlife policy issues. Upon graduation, Lauren hopes to work for an environmental non-profit organization in the West, and enjoy weekend excursions into the Cascade Mountains.


Marvin Roberson
Resource Ecology and Management: Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Management

 

Marvin Roberson is a lifelong resident of Michigan. After high school, he attended the University of Michigan for undergraduate and graduate studies in Philosophy. After this period of schooling, he moved to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to work with developmentally disabled and mentally ill clients in the Keweenaw Peninsula. He has been active in the Sierra Club for many years, including the past 10 as the staff Forest Policy Specialist for the Michigan chapter. He was the founding Chair of the Wild Planet Strategy Team, which oversaw the Sierra Club’s national efforts to preserve wildlands and habitat. He has been involved in all aspects of forest protection in Michigan, and has returned to the University of Michigan to pursue an M.S. in Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Management in order to further his abilities in his professional life. While attending school, he continues to work full time for the Sierra Club, as well as pursue formal study of Zen Buddhism.

 

Heather Rorer
Resource Policy and Behavior


Heather Rorer graduated from Yale University in May 1999 with a major in psychology. Although not majoring in environmental science, Heather was very active in local and national environmental groups. After college, she worked as an intern for the National Parks and Conservation Association in Washington, D.C. She worked for a lobbyist on the campaign to keep snowmobiles out of the
National Parks. After moving to Michigan, she worked part-time as an office administrator for the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In addition, she volunteered with the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, MI and worked with cities and hospitals in MI to reduce their mercury emissions. Heather also volunteered with the Sierra Club in Lansing, MI and supported grassroots activities to prevent drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. She was then promoted to development director for the Southeast Michigan Land Conservancy where she created a land stewardship program, researched and wrote grant proposals to private foundations to fund land purchases, and created and implemented a new membership program. Heather is a first year master’s student focusing on Resource Policy and Behavior at SNRE. She is also working as a research assistant for the Ecosystem Management Initiative. After graduating, Heather would like to work on environmental policy analysis for a nonprofit or for the government.


Erin Uloth
Resource Ecology Management: Conservation Biology Ecosystem Management


Erin Uloth, a student following the resource ecology and management concentration at SNRE, came to the University of Michigan fresh from a summer season running backcountry vegetation surveys at Grand Canyon National Park. A member of the park’s Revegetation Crew for over a year, Erin worked on several restoration projects, including salvage work, riparian restoration, endangered species surveys, and non-native plant species identification, monitoring, and eradication. However, she also became intensely interested in fire as a system disturbance, and while working overtime for the park’s fire crew acquired hands-on experience with the use of fire for management purposes. She therefore returned to academia in order to explore the interactions between exotic plants and fire in ecosystems.
Prior to government work, Erin attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison completing majors in Philosophy and Biological Aspects of Conservation. While there, she volunteered with the Madison Rape Crisis Center and worked as a program coordinator for the Greater University Tutoring Service (GUTS), a student-run tutoring program. Struggling to decide on a career path, Erin ventured to New Zealand in her junior year to attend a semester-long ecological field studies program. Upon returning, she took a job in northern Wisconsin conducting a survey for an elk reintroduction program, and knew field ecology and research was the right direction. She hopes to pursue work with the National Park Service or a non-profit organization after graduation, working on research and planning for restoration and management.


Ann Vail
Resource Policy and Behavior

 

Ann Vail graduated from Columbia University in 2000 with a degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. During the spring of her junior year she studied ecology and conservation at the Biosphere2 Center Earth Semester in Oracle, AZ. There she participated in a research project where she assessed a characterization of the Biosphere2 enclosed rainforest canopy. The following summer she spent studying the behavior of the Franciscana dolphin in Northern Patagonia with a research group from the Museum of Natural Sciences in Buenos Aires. Upon return to New York, she worked with a few other Columbia students to found Urban ROOTS (Revival of Outdoor Opportunities Through Students), a Columbia Club that provided urban environmental education and wilderness opportunities for Harlem youth. A native of Colorado, Ann returned to Denver after graduation to work for Clean Water Action (CWA) as a community organizer. At CWA she worked as a field manager on environmental and public health campaigns. With visions of living with the Rocky Mountains in her backyard, Ann moved to Steamboat Springs, CO. There she worked for the non-profit, Yampatika, as a naturalist. Before coming to Michigan, Ann worked with the Colorado Environmental Coalition on a land survey crew investigating RS 2477 claims in Moffat County, CO.

 

Sara Williams
Resource Policy and Behavior: Policy


Sara Williams attended Cornell University and graduated with a B.S. from the Department of Natural Resources Management in 2001. At Cornell, she focused on environmental policy and natural resources management, specifically public lands. During a summer internship with the National Audubon Society in their policy headquarters in Washington, D.C., Sara worked with the core campaign team of a national public policy initiative that protected the remaining roadless areas in our National Forests. After graduation, she moved to Sun
Valley, Idaho where she worked for the Idaho Conservation League doing outreach for a state wilderness bill and research on government timber and grazing
plans. Sara spent two years in San Francisco, California working for the Environmental Policy Center on water efficiency and conservation, trying to get local governments in the state to implement programs. As a representative for her organization, Sara worked closely with the California Urban Water Conservation Council to produce a written report on the current status of water conservation efforts in the state. As a graduate student in the Resource Policy and Behavior plan at the University of Michigan, Sara’s focus is on the management of public lands, especially wilderness designation. Her policy focus has motivated her to secure an internship working on Capitol Hill for a Michigan congressional leader on environmental issues this upcoming summer.

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