Tag: 2024

Lydia is an environmental health professional and outdoor enthusiast, who has lived and worked in the Potomac watershed her entire life. Her journey toward environmental justice began as a nursing student, working at free clinics, helping not only with medical needs, but also with housing and food. While her work in healthcare enabled her to see the vast disparities for those living in wealthy counties, her hobby as a whitewater paddler allowed her see the intimate every day changes that climate change brings to our environment, such as flooding, water pollution and increased algal blooms. These two seemingly different lenses have enabled Lydia to directly build from this experience to become an environmental justice advocate. She started Fairfax NAACP’s Environmental and Climate Justice Committee as well as Potomac Riverkeeper Network’s JEDI Committee. In less than 3yr of advocacy, Lydia successfully led campaigns to preserve parkland and significantly increase funding for parks as well as created a program that connected disfavored youth and families to their local environment. In addition to this work, she currently serves as a Gubernatorial Appointee for Virginia’s Council of Environmental Justice and sits on several county boards on climate and health. Lydia is an avid speaker and educator on environmental issues that affect vulnerable communities and how to partner with those communities to advocate for themselves. Ms Lawrence currently serves as Director of Conservation at Nature Forward.

Meaghan Parker was the executive director of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ) from 2018-2023. Under her leadership, SEJ raised more than $5 million; doubled its Fund for Environmental Journalism; launched new fellowship, training and outreach programs; and committed to integrating equity throughout its activities, which more than doubled the diversity of its membership. Previously, she was the senior writer/editor and partnerships director for the Environmental Change and Security Program and the Global Sustainability and Resilience Program of the Wilson Center, where she worked for 15 years. She was a founder and editor-in-chief of the award-winning New Security Beat, a daily blog covering environment, health and security. She was the supervising producer of the award-winning documentary trilogy, “Healthy People, Healthy Environment,” which was filmed in Tanzania, Nepal and Ethiopia. She was the lead editor of “A New Climate for Peace,” an online platform and independent study commissioned by the foreign ministers of the G7. Before stepping down to join the staff, she served for six years on SEJ’s Board of Directors. She currently serves on the Board of The Uproot Project, the membership association for environmental journalists of color, as well as on the Advisory Council of Planet Forward, a project of George Washington University. She is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, JAWS (Journalism and Women Symposium), the National Association of Science Writers and The Uproot Project.

Jason is currently a contractor with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Previously he was a Research Professional at the University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory where he managed projects and was co-principal investigator for multiple research projects. Jason earned a PhD at George Mason University with a research focus on the shark trade in Costa Rica.

Stephanie Schmidt, Ph.D., teaches the introductory environmental science lectures and labs at George Mason University. While she has always enjoyed being in an academic setting, she did not initially study environmental science—she even remembers joking with friends about the mere existence of the Fish and Wildlife major at her undergraduate college, Michigan State. Thanks to various classes and experiences, however—including a study abroad in Australia focused on water, agriculture, and sustainability—she decided to major in environmental science, adding on to her initial math and chemistry majors. After graduation, she participated in a one-year AmeriCorps program in Dubuque, IA, as well as a policy stint in Washington, D.C.; these experiences made it painfully clear that she needed science to be an integral part of her day-to-day work. She thus came to George Mason University to pursue her Ph.D., studying wetland ecology under Dr. Changwoo Ahn. Since graduating in 2022, she has remained at GMU as an instructor, where she is grateful for the opportunity to enlighten, and hopefully inspire, hundreds of students in environmental science.

Will studies the evolution and ecology of birds. He primarily uses field, genetic, and community science techniques to study how metapopulation dynamics affect speciation and extinction, and how behavior interfaces with genetics. Will received a BS in 2020 from the University of Puget Sound, where he studied song recognition and speciation in a White-Crowned Sparrow hybrid zone in Washington State. Will’s Doctoral thesis studies how understory, insectivorous birds respond to forest fragmentation in Borneo. 

Aaron is a rising junior at George Mason university pursuing a BS in biology with a minor in conservation. His passion is ornithology and he is currently working in the HC Lim lab for conservation genetics along with mentor Will Brooks looking at forest fragmentation in Bornean birds. He was a WYSE delegate in 2021, intern in 2022, and a JFA in 2023.

Sudha Balajapalli works at George Mason University and US Fish and Wildlife Service as adjunct professor and contractor respectively. Her research focuses on conservation biology, wildlife management, environmental policy, and climate change. Her study sites are national parks in Assam, India where she did her PhD research. Currently, she is working to publish her PhD research in anti-poaching management practices for wild tigers, elephants, and rhinos in Assam.

Richard Todd Stafford is the Director of Communications in the Honors College at George Mason University. The Honors College gives the most motivated undergraduate students from all majors and backgrounds the support that inspires them to pursue their curiosity and undertake meaningful civic engagement and experiential learning opportunities. Dr. Stafford mentors and supervises the Honors College Communication team. Dr. Stafford has written, spoken, and taught extensively about cultural dimensions of climate change, energy, and the environment, including on the “Capitalism, Climate, and Culture” podcast, in the media, and at @richardtoddstafford on Instagram.

Talia Mekinulov is a young professional currently working in the water sector as part of Xylem’s Engineering Leadership Development Program. Originally from Buffalo, New York, she earned her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. With a lifelong passion for water, Talia is committed to enhancing its accessibility and cleanliness for all. She works with Xylem’s Innovation Labs team, scouting new technology and innovations in the water world.Currently living in Washington, DC, she remains dedicated to her professional growth and making a positive impact in the world.