EMI Fellows

EMI Fellows provide research and logistical support for a wide range of the Initiative's ongoing projects. At present, Fellows are involved with case study research, the design of the case study database, coordinating midcareer training courses, and website design and maintenance. Other projects include coordination of a speaker series and development of a series of case-studies for training workshops and mid-career educational programs. EMI Fellows are current graduate students in SNRE with academic and/or professional experience in ecosystem management.

Sara Cawley

Sara Cawley is a first-year student at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE), pursuing an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning.  She earned a B.A. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Gettysburg College in 2011, where her senior thesis focused on identifying and contextualizing collaborative natural resource management efforts in the Intermountain West. Sara is particularly interested in conservation issues arising from the intersection of public and private land interests. She first became familiar with EMI while utilizing case study materials hosted on the site during her thesis research. Sara is excited about the opportunity to contribute to the EMI site as a fellow, and Western land conservation in general, through her role as a Wyss Scholar.

Julia Elkin

Julia is a first-year student pursuing an M.S. in Environmental Policy and Planning at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.  Prior to attending Michigan, she spent five years designing and teaching field education programs at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, engaging local communities and high school students in watershed science.  She also worked with watermen, community organizations, and state agencies on shoreline and oyster reef restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay.  These experiences developed her interest in multi-stakeholder, public-private initiatives for sustainable land management. She is particularly interested in how such collaborative processes engage private landowners in the Western US. Julia holds a BA in Environmental Policy from The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.  

Nat Lichten

Nat Lichten is a first-year student pursuing an MS in Environmental Policy and Planning at the School of Natural Resources and Environment.  Originally from Takoma Park, Maryland, Nat graduated from Wesleyan University with a BA in American History in 2009.  After college, he made his way to Portland, Oregon, where he provided capacity-building, strategic planning and facilitation consultation to grassroots nonprofits while exploring the mountains, forests and rivers of the Pacific Northwest.  Now, Nat is excited to bring his love of western landscapes and his commitment to community-based action together through his studies at SNRE and his work at EMI.  His interests center on the role of stakeholder participation and collaborative process in building sustainable resource economies, with a focus on fresh water.

 

Click HERE to read about past EMI Fellows