Category: Junior Faculty Advisor

Jacob is a rising Sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park,
majoring in Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences with a minor in Geographical
Information Systems. Jake is passionate about the climate, and he is pursuing the field of meteorology. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society, a paid employee of the Maryland Hydronet, and an intern for the Climate Resilience Network. This is the third summer he’s been involved with WYSE: one as a Delegate, one as an intern, and now as a JFA!

Lukas is a sophomore at Austin Peay State University working towards a bachelors
in Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology. He is working towards becoming
a wildlife biologist, hopefully focusing on conservation. Outside of school, Lukas
volunteers at a wildlife rehabilitation center and takes care of his ferrets. He attended
WYSE during the summer of 2023 and is very excited to return!

Julius R. Rodriguez is a clinical psychology senior at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, with a background in positive psychology and comparative animal behavior. His passion lies in finding physiological, observable data to support primarily mentalistic clinical and cognitive theories. He currently leads research on how optimism can moderate body image issues and how self-objectification, measured through eye-tracking, may be reduced in romantic relationships through admiration-based interventions that promote positive body image. He’s also studied sexual harassment in fish, deep-sea conservation, and sustainable college practice (recycling, gardening, pollinating, etc). He’s worked with psychologists, zoologists, conservation biologists, and park rangers, hosted sustainability and deep-sea education seminars, and spends most of his free time traveling to aquariums. At Rollins, he blends psychology and sustainability as Sustainability Senator, and as a WYSE 2023 alum, he’s excited to return and help students explore where behavior and the environment intersec

Madeline is an Environmental Science undergraduate at Georgia Tech, pursuing a
minor in Energy Systems and a Sustainable Business Certificate. She works with
the Tang Research Group, exploring rare earth element transformations for clean
energy applications. Madeline also contributes to methane emissions research
through Georgia Tech’s Methane Project team and was part of the first-place
Plastathon team developing a plastic-reduction app. She enjoys reading, hiking,
and photography. She uses visual storytelling to advocate for environmental
awareness and inspire curiosity through creativity and science.

Gabby is from Oshkosh, Wisconsin and is a sophomore at UW-Madison majoring
in Political Science and Environmental Studies with a minor in Public Policy. When
she attended WYSE, she found a passion for environmental sustainability though
the lense of government with policy regulations. She has experience in both
sustainability and government. A fun fact about Gabby is that she is horrified of
camels and will be avoiding them at any zoo. She looks forward to meeting the
Delegates at this year’s Summit!

Abby is a dedicated student who has always been interested in the environment.
She fell in love with birds after watching wildlife cameras online during the pandemic.
A high achiever in school, she wishes to continue her studies to become an avian
veterinarian focused on wildlife rehabilitation. After she attended WYSE in 2023,
Abigail went on to lead volunteers at a local program that brought speakers from
around the country to educate people in her community about problems facing
the environment and their solutions.