Institute at Brown for Environment and Society

What did you find most valuable during your time as a Voss Environmental Fellow?

The fellowship was most valuable to me because of its call to look beyond science to effect environmental change; as an undergraduate biology major, I would not have learned about the importance of communication and the need for meaningful science-policy linkages if not for the Voss program.

What are you doing now?

I am currently finishing my master's degree in Environmental Management at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, which I began in 2014 after several years working on coastal and marine law and policy in Washington, DC and New Orleans, LA.

How did your experience as a Voss Environmental Fellow influence or impact your life after Brown?

The fellowship was pivotal in determining my post-college trajectory. I transitioned into environmental policy work after Brown directly because of my experience conducting policy-relevant research with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and because of the emphasis on using science to inform policy in the Voss spring seminar. Those experiences were a huge asset in my job search and later in my graduate school search, and I continue to use the policy strategies and science communication techniques we learned through Voss in my work today.