MELISSA MOORE
Melissa is the Associate Director of Events for the Office of Admissions at George Mason University and the Director of Logistics for the Washington Scholars Program. Melissa attended WSP’s Washington Journalism and Media Conference as a high school student and worked as a staff member for the programs throughout her undergraduate tenure. She received a B.A. in Communication and MBA from Mason. She has worked in events for the Washington Capitals (and has a ring to prove it!) and a tech startup before returning to her alma mater. Melissa is dedicated to fostering meaningful experiences through impactful events!
MELISSA MOORE
Melissa is the Associate Director of Events for the Office of Admissions at George Mason University and the Director of Logistics for the Washington Scholars Program. Melissa attended WSP’s Washington Journalism and Media Conference as a high school student and worked as a staff member for the programs throughout her undergraduate tenure. She received a B.A. in Communication and MBA from Mason. She has worked in events for the Washington Capitals (and has a ring to prove it!) and a tech startup before returning to her alma mater. Melissa is dedicated to fostering meaningful experiences through impactful events!
Stephen Taglieri is a 2017 alumni of the Washington Scholars Program. He is currently the CEO & Founder of Kingdom Multimedia, an agency working with impact-driven organizations to tell their story. As a photographer and cinematographer, Stephen has collaborated with the Smithsonian National Zoo, the Washington Post, The Nature Conservancy, and a host of other change-makers. Most recently, he has been working with Tribal and Indigenous communities across the United States to produce award-winning short films discussing Indigenous stewardship and the intersection between conservation and culture.
Laura attended MIT where she earned a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering. She worked for 7 years at Lockheed Martin as a Mechanical Test Engineer, building, testing and launching commercial satellites. During that time, she earned an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology. In 1999, Laura started a Lean Sigma consulting business with clients in the appliances, automotive, advertising and healthcare industries. During that time, Laura also started teaching Physics at the local Purdue University campus. She found a love teaching high school and obtained her teaching license. She loves teaching Aviation, Engineering, Physics and Environmental Science and will be at Sacred Heart Academy in Louisville, KY this fall.
Lillian (she/her) works as a Wildlife Field Technician gathering research data for conservation management projects. She is currently working on a grassland in Illinois tracking Bobwhites and Black Racer snakes as well as conducting vegetation surveys and bird counts. Her past projects include trapping and tagging Bobwhites to study habitat use also located in Southern Illinois, and a small mammal mark and recapture project to study population distribution on GrandFather Mountain in North Carolina. Lillian graduated from Appalachian State University with a B.S. in Ecology, Evolution, & Environmental Biology. She is a 2016 WYSE alumna and a former JFA. When not working Lillian enjoys cooking, hiking with her dog and cat, and hanging out at the rock climbing gym.
Donna is the Senior Legal Policy Advisor at the National Association of Wetland Managers (NAWM) which include states and tribes implementing the Clean Water Act as co-regulators with the federal government. She served as Jurisdiction Team Leader in the U.S. EPA’s Office of Water from 1998 to 2020 working on a variety of issues, with a recent focus on the Clean Water Act. Prior to EPA, Donna worked for the U.S. Congress of Technology Assessment and in private law practice. She has a B.A. magna cum laude from Harvard, a MPP from the UC Berkeley a JD cum laude from Georgetown Law School, and an L.L.M in Environmental Law summa cum laude from GW Law School. She has been an adjunct professor of environmental law at GW Law School since 1996. In her free time, she is a professional potter and an unprofessional horse trainer.
As the Curator of Large Carnivores (and Kids’ Farm) at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, Craig Saffoe is responsible for the overall care and management of 18 species and more than 50 individual animals. He works with a team of animal keepers to not only care for, but facilitate breeding with most of the Zoo’s large carnivores – which includes one of the most critically endangered species (Sumatran tigers) managed at the National Zoological Park. Craig started his career as an intern in 1994 and worked his way up to Animal Keeper, Biologist and now Curator. In that time, he has been a part of many successful teams including the team that managed, bred and successfully produced the first two cheetah litters ever born at the Smithsonian. Craig now leads a team that has been incredibly successful at breeding large carnivores – boasting multiple successful litters of lions and tigers and yes bears….Oh my!