2009 - 2011 Duke Fellows

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

Ria Berns
Joint Public Policy/SNRE, Environmental Policy and Planning

Ria is pursuing degrees from the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy.  Before graduate school, Ria worked as an environmental policy consultant in Seattle, where she advised state and federal environmental agencies on a range of issues including, Columbia River management, Great Lakes water quality, and climate change strategy.  Ria is originally from Seattle and Kodiak, Alaska, where she spent many summers commercial fishing.  She is an avid traveler and, among other places, fell in love with Mongolia, where she lived and studied, researching the effects of Mongolia’s development initiatives on natural resource management and protected lands.  Her primary interests are water policy, climate adaptation, and large-scale ecosystem management.  Ria received her B.A in Political Science from Williams College, with concentrations in international environmental policy and the geosciences. 

Julian Dautremont-Smith
Joint Business/SNRE, Sustainable Systems

Julian Dautremont-Smith is a co-founder of the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) and served as the organization's Associate Director from November 2004 to August 2009.   In that capacity, he played leadership roles in AASHE's major programs, the American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment and the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). He was also responsible for AASHE's online resource center, partnerships, communications, and publications. Prior to joining AASHE, he co-founded a social enterprise that produces biodiesel in Barbados while studying there on a Fulbright Scholarship. Julian earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Lewis & Clark College, where he spearheaded a nationally recognized effort to make Lewis & Clark the first American college to declare compliance with greenhouse gas emissions reductions stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol.  Julian is also a Harry S. Truman Scholar, a Campus Ecology Fellow, and a USA Today Academic All-Star.

Jessica Gorchow
Conservation Biology, Behavior, Education, and Communication

With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Production from University of Michigan, Jessica moved from her hometown of Birmingham, Michigan to Los Angeles, California.  While living in California, Jessica seized the opportunity to explore a number of National Parks.  These experiences reinvigorated her life-long love of nature, wildlife, and caring for the environment and she decided to volunteer as a docent at the Los Angeles Zoo and Botanical Gardens.   Inspired by her volunteer work she began working as an environmental educator, joining the L.A. Zoo’s education staff and working as a Teacher-Naturalist for National Audubon Society at their Audubon Center in Debs Park.  At the Audubon Center, Jessica developed and implemented outdoor school programs for grades K-5 in support of the Center’s mission to inspire people to experience, understand, and care for the local natural world.  She also volunteered at Los Angeles’s Wildlife Waystation, a sanctuary that provides rescue, rehabilitation, and refuge for native and exotic wildlife.  Jessica’s career interests are in wildlife conservation, land management, and engaging communities in natural areas to foster an ethic of stewardship and public participation in the protection of local habitat. 

Rebecca Held
Environmental Policy and Planning

Rebecca grew up in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and earned a B.A. in political science from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN.  Her early focus on the political process expanded to include environmental issues after spending two years in Senegal as an Environmental Education Peace
Corps Volunteer.  Upon her return to the US, Rebecca moved to Washington, D.C. where she obtained a job performing research and analysis on energy and climate change policy.  Rebecca is especially interested in environmental policy relating to climate change assessment, mitigation and adaptation.

Ariel Shaw
Landscape Architecture

Ariel earned her B. A. in English and Anthropology at Kenyon College in 2006. After moving to Michigan she worked with the Michigan Environmental Council in Lansing, educating politicians, community leaders, and citizens on clean energy and smart growth land use. Inspired to put sustainable agriculture ideas into practice, she then worked on a small organic farm for a season before deciding to pursue a degree in Landscape Architecture. The perfect combination of land use advocacy and creative thinking, she is excited to use her MLA to create livable urban spaces, encouraging density in aging cities while promoting the preservation of rural areas against sprawl.

Kat Superfisky
Joint Landscape Architecture/Terrestrial Ecosystems

To Kat, conservation means more than preserving “wilderness.” She sees it is a delicate and interdisciplinary dance involving all things living and non-living; the safeguarding of works of art—art in the form of snow-capped mountains, meandering streams, agricultural fields, urban streetscapes and public parks. Given her commitment to conservation, Kat is dedicated to combining both science and art in a union that will yield a mutualistic relationship between people and place. She aspires to stitch together the torn seam between humans and the environment by creating healthy ecosystems and open spaces, promoting environmental education, and instilling environmental ethics within the souls of humans that will translate into future conservation. Kat is a long-time Wolverine, having received her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies with a specialization in Land Use Management from the University of Michigan.

Tina Tam
Joint Business/SNRE Environmental Policy and Planning

Tina is interested in innovative multidisciplinary solutions for sustainable development. Prior to returning to school Tina held a user education role at Microsoft, where she also co-founded an internal organization to promote environmental awareness and influence company policies. Tina spent the summer of 2009 interning at two non-profit organizations. In Ashoka, she worked on a social investment fund aimed to bring low-cost solar energy to the developing world. At the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, she conducted market analysis and planning for an initiative that facilitated cross-sector sustainability programs. Tina grew up in Hong Kong and earned a Bachelor of Science in Cognitive Science with a Computing Specialization from the University of California, Los Angeles.