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Stephanie Bertaina
Nathan Engle
Sarah Hines
Emily Kelly
David Laclergue
Kat Ridolfi
Rebecca Schillo
Lisa Spalding
Lauren Theodore
Drew Vankat
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Originally from Delaware, Stephanie spent her undergraduate years in Santa Barbara, California, where she attended Westmont College. Stephanie majored in biology and psychology at Westmont, combining her interests in the environment and human behavior. During her undergraduate studies, Stephanie availed herself of multiple off-campus study programs. One of these was the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies program, during which she lived on Mt. Baker, Washington and Orcas Island in the Puget Sound, while she studied environmental stewardship and field ecology. Shortly after her experiences with the Au Sable Institute, Stephanie studied abroad in Western Samoa and New Zealand with the Creation Care Study Program. Her studies in these South Pacific countries focused on ecology, culture, and development, during which Stephanie gained an appreciation for the interconnectedness between human welfare and environmental integrity. It was during her experiences at Au Sable and abroad that she began to more clearly articulate her growing passion for biodiversity conservation. After earning Bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology at Westmont College in 2003, Stephanie applied and was accepted to the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and the Environment. Currently, Stephanie is a Resource Policy and Behavior student at SNRE, focusing on Conservation Biology and Ecosystem Management. In her studies at SNRE, Stephanie is learning to integrate human needs with conservation objectives, in hopes of motivating community involvement in conservation in the future. After graduating from SNRE, Stephanie hopes to combine her interests in biodiversity conservation and community welfare by working for a non-profit organization that integrates social justice concerns within the broader goals of biodiversity conservation. 
A native of Palm, Pennsylvania, Nate attended The Pennsylvania State University for his undergraduate education. He earned his B.S. degree in Earth Sciences and served as a student liaison for the university’s Alumni Association. For two summers, Nate instructed high school students about sustainability, environmental science, and leadership at the Conservation Leadership School, run by Penn State. His study abroad experience on Semester at Sea attracted him to global environmental problems and the role of the United States within these issues. After graduation, Nate worked as a grassroots organizer for The Fund for Public Interest Research, a national organization that assists other environmental non-profits in their campaigning efforts. As Assistant Director, Nate was responsible for hiring and managing a staff to implement citizen outreach initiatives, lobby elected officials, and formulate media campaigns. He subsequently organized voters in his home county to pass the nation’s largest ever open space referendum, and has since worked on another voter turnout project in Florida for the 2004 Presidential election. At Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, Nate is interested in how climate change policy can be formed and implemented so that communities can preserve their livelihoods and conserve important resources. Also, as a research assistant for the Dean of the school, Nate is involved with a United Nations scientific expert group project that will produce a climate change mitigation and adaptation recommendations report in 2006. Upon graduating, Nate hopes to further his work on conservation and climate change issues in the public and non-profit sectors. 
Originally from Rhode Island, Sarah Hines graduated with honors from Harvard University in 2002. It was as an undergraduate pursuing a degree in biological anthropology at Harvard that Sarah first became acutely conservation-minded; she spent her junior spring studying in Kenya, where she worked with local academics and community members researching and developing an integrated land and water-use plan combining sustainable agricultural and pastoral practices with the creation of protected areas for wild game. After graduating, Sarah worked in a veterinary clinic with the idea of pursuing a degree in wildlife veterinary medicine; this, combined with her increasing appreciation of and involvement with the preservation of southern Rhode Island’s coastline and wetlands, ultimately translated into a desire to pursue a more broad-based policy approach to biodiversity preservation and land conservation. Sarah is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Resource Policy & Behavior, along with an MBA from the Ross School of Business at Michigan. Sarah is particularly interested in issues of corporate social responsibility, as these translate into potential market and non-market strategies for land and biodiversity conservation. 
Emily Kelly hails from Bethesda, MD. She graduated Cum Laude from Duke University in 2003 with a B.S. in Biology and Environmental Science and a minor in Earth and Ocean Sciences. During her undergraduate years, Emily spent time at James Cook University, Australia, the Duke Marine Laboratory, and the Bermuda Biological Station for Research. Through these experiences, she gained an understanding of conservation issues in a variety of settings, from tropical North Queensland to coastal North Carolina to isolated Bermuda. On campus, Emily was a member of several choral groups and began her lifelong journey as an avid Duke basketball fan. After graduation, Emily headed overseas to Namibia where she worked for the Cheetah Conservation Fund. Her main projects there focused on education within surrounding communities as well as with Namibian college students. Community education centered on better livestock management practices that eliminated many of the conflicts between humans and cheetahs. For college programs, Emily worked on a team to organize fieldwork and seminar trips for University of Namibia students pursuing careers in wildlife conservation. In addition to education, Emily also developed the park’s giraffe identification manual, analyzed game count data, and participated in daily care of captive cheetahs as well as medical assessments of wild cheetahs. Emily is currently a master’s student in Resource Ecology and Management at the University of Michigan. Some of her current work includes adapting a model for hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay, working with her master’s project team on analyzing collaboration in western state trust land management, and working with a group on assessing the environmental ethic within the United Methodist Church. After graduation, Emily is eager to pursue a job in the non-profit or government sectors, working on engaging new populations in the environmental movement. She is particularly interested in ocean and aquatic ecosystem conservation. 
Growing up in Olympia, Washington, Dave witnessed the rapid and often haphazard development of much of the Pacific Northwest. This stimulated his interest in the conservation of natural resources and biodiversity at an early age. He attended Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he majored in English with extensive coursework in natural sciences. During his junior year, Dave studied tropical ecology and environmental policy in an OTS semester abroad program in Costa Rica. After graduating from Carleton in 2001, he spent a year conducting research in the Spanish region of Galicia as a Fulbright Post-Graduate Fellow. Conservation-related jobs in the U.S. have included environmental education, curriculum development for the Oakland Museum of California’s Natural History Division, and an editorial internship with the Sierra Club’s Sierra magazine. Most recently, Dave spent two years working for the Department of Agriculture’s Exotic and Invasive Weeds research unit in California and Nevada. His work at the USDA focused on the control of saltcedar, a major riparian invader throughout the West, as well as habitat restoration in degraded riparian areas. At the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment, his academic priorities are landscape ecology and ecological restoration. He studies the ways in which society can accommodate and benefit from the preservation of native ecosystems. After graduating from SNRE, Dave hopes to specialize in the restoration and protection of urban and rural rivers. 
Kat grew up in New Jersey, and later northern California, hiking, skiing, swimming, and sailing at every chance possible. Pursuing her fascination with the natural environment, she attended UC Berkeley and spent a year abroad at the University of Sydney, Australia. After receiving a B.S. in Environmental Economics and Policy with a minor in Geography from UCB, Kat spent two years working for the Natural Heritage Institute, a non-profit environmental law and consulting firm in Berkeley, CA. At NHI, Kat worked as a paralegal representing national and local environmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy, American Rivers, the California Hydropower Reform Coalition, and Sierra Club chapters in hydropower, water rights, and flood control project negotiations. Working with a coalition trying to prevent approval of a dam in Glacier Bay National Park in Gustavus, Alaska further solidified her commitment to river protection. She continues to pursue her passion for community-based watershed management and river restoration at the University of Michigan. Her Masters project involves designing a management plan for the 2700 km 2 River Raisin watershed in southern Michigan. Kat looks forward to a career in the non-profit sector promoting clean rivers and community-based watershed management programs in the West. 
Originally from Chicago, Rebecca Schillo attended the University of Colorado at Boulder as an undergraduate to explore her interests in environmental issues and her love of the outdoors. At CU she majored in environmental studies and spent a semester in Belize studying the country’s natural and cultural ecology. This keystone experience highlighted the delicate balance between humanity and the earth’s resources and helped spark Rebecca’s dedication to a career in conservation. Upon graduation Rebecca interned with the environmental justice department of the Region 8 EPA where she assisted in monitoring drinking water at migrant farm worker camps in Colorado. After working with the EPA Rebecca returned to Chicago to work with The Nature Conservancy of Illinois. While at the Conservancy Rebecca managed contracts and land transactions for the Chapter. She also worked with the Volunteer Stewardship Network of Illinois in arranging volunteer workdays and trainings, and administered a small-grants program for volunteer groups. Through her work with the Conservancy, Rebecca became increasingly interested in conservation planning, ecosystem management, and finding innovative solutions to land protection. Rebecca is currently pursuing a masters of science in Resource Ecology and Management with a concentration in conservation biology & ecosystem management. At SNRE Rebecca will be working with The Nature Conservancy, the US Forest Service, and the State of Michigan to develop a landscape scale conservation plan for the Graylings Outwash eco-region of northern Michigan. 
Originally from Massachusetts, Lisa graduated from Oberlin College in 2000 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a minor in Religion. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, she lived in Boston and worked for the New England Aquarium’s Conservation Division. There, she managed the Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF), which provides emergency funding to community-based aquatic conservation projects around the world. She also worked with a team to develop films, books, and exhibits on climate change and biodiversity, and the Aquarium’s EcoSound Project to develop reports assessing the viability of specific commercial fish stocks for a national supermarket retailer. 
Lauren grew up in the Boston area and then attended Bryn Mawr College, where she graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology in 1999. Originally, she intended to pursue a career as an anthropologist and ethnoecologist studying the interactions between human beings and the environment. However, after graduating and working as an intern and biologist for the National Park Service at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), she realized that a career in ecology and natural resource management was the ideal setting in which to pursue her interests in people and the environment. While at CRNRA, she served as its Park System Resource Protection Act coordinator; worked as a wildland firefighter; organized streambank and wetland restoration projects; oversaw volunteer events to remove invasive plants; monitored E. coli levels in the Chattahoochee River; and assisted in the research for and writing of environmental compliance documents. She has also worked as a disaster relief worker for the American Red Cross, and as a Conservation Crew Worker for the City of Ann Arbor Natural Area Preservation Division. As a master’s student in Resource Ecology and Management at the School of Natural Resources and Environment, Lauren will be investigating the effects of shrimp farm effluent on coastal ecosystems; and she hopes to pursue a career in coastal zone management after graduating. 
Drew grew up in the small town of Oxford, Ohio and spent his childhood playing in the woods, investigating streams and camping in the backyard. One summer in middle school he ripped out invasive honeysuckle from the woods behind the house. Drew’s passion for the outdoors and natural areas grew in high school, as cycling took him through area parks, the rolling countryside, and around town on two wheels instead of four. Before beginning college, Drew spent one year as an exchange student in a village outside of Munich, Germany, living with a host family and attending a German school. Back in the United States Drew attended Miami University, graduating with a degree in Environmental and Urban Planning. During his undergraduate years he also helped lead groups on backpacking and mountain biking trips, enjoyed three years as a peer science tutor, presented research at local and national conferences, helped found a sustainability club, and had the privilege of visiting many wonderful natural areas across the globe. He also completed internships at city and county planning offices in Oxford, Ohio and Flagstaff, Arizona. Upon graduation Drew spent a year in the mountains of Colorado skiing, mountain biking, and camping. He held a timber crew position with the USDA Forest Service, cruising lodgepole pine in the Arapaho N.F. Home | Site Map | Search | © 2009 Ecosystem Management Initiative. Terms of Use