Student Profiles
Danielle Azoulay
As a graduate student at NYU studying Environmental Conservation and Education, I am so happy to be learning about issues that will inevitably touch everyone on this planet in the years to come. My classmates and I will be equipped with the knowledge to contribute something meaningful to coping with climate change and the affects that will resound globally. Currently interning with Audubon of Florida in my home state, I am spending the summer mobilizing volunteers and experts in reaction to the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill. In addition to coordinating disaster response, I am helping the Audubon Society get their conservation message out to the general public by planning a 21 location, state wide, education event. This event will further Audubon's important conservation messaging on beach protocols during bird nesting season. This ensures that the public is aware of how to behave on Florida's beaches in harmony with their ecosystem. I am also responsible for Audubon of Florida's communications to the public via various social media outlets. This experience is serving as a valuable educational opportunity during the pursuit of my Masters degree. I feel grateful to have been able to find such a timely internship. However small, I am able to contribute to the oil spill clean up efforts, with the hope of preserving and maintaining the beaches that have meant so much to me since I was a child, growing up in a coastal Florida city.
Katharine Davis
Katharine Davis is attending the ECE program with the goal of specializing in environmental journalism. Over eight years of editing consumer health magazines and websites, she's taken a strong interest in the effects of the environment on human health, particularly the connections between environmental pollutants and illness, food systems and obesity, and climate change and public health issues. In her time at NYU, she plans to investigate these connections and learn how best to educate the public about them. Katharine received a BA in English from Wesleyan University in 2001. Now, in her first semester of the ECE program, she is attending classes part-time while working as editor of the magazine *Arthritis Self-Management.*
Mike Duggan
A Native New Yorker, Mike became interested in environmental studies because of his childhood growing up along the shores of Jamaica Bay in Breezy Point. His childhood interest led him to pursue a biology degree from Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio. At BGSU he began working in the school's marine science and research lab. This led him into the marine research field as an aquaculture "farmer" and aquarist/researcher for the Wildlife Conservation Society at the New York Aquarium. During his time at the NY Aquarium and a small research facility in the US Virgin Islands, he began teaching school groups about marine creatures. In 2005, Mike moved back to New York and received a Master's degree in education from Pace University. Mike was able to combine his education and marine science backgrounds working for the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment as a New York City Public high school teacher. In 2008, Mike started at New York University to further his love for science and education as a graduate student in the Environmental Conservation Education Program. Due to his work at NYU he has been able to create exciting hands-on curricula in urban ecology, marine history and science, field studies and biology for his students. During the spring and summer of 2009 he worked as an intern with the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy developing their estuary education program called Rove the Cove. He currently aids the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy with curriculum writing such as the "National Estuary Day" course as well as running his own marine education program in Breezy Point, NewYork. He hopes to continue weaving environmental education through more standard curriculum and opening doors in science for New York City students. For more information about the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy, please visit www.brooklynbridgepark.org.
Leah Giffin
I grew up in Syracuse New York, and received
my B.A. from the University of Connecticut in Environmental Policy and Legal
Studies in 2008. During my time at UCONN, I worked at the Office of
Environmental Policy on the Storrs Campus, and developed experience in
sustainability in higher education.
Currently, I am a
graduate candidate in the Environmental Conservation Education program with the
goal of
concentrating in environmental policy and governance. After spending
two years as the Environmental Sustainability Coordinator in a boarding school
community outside of Philadelphia, and I am ready to use what I learned in
education to influence the policy sector.
In spring of 2011 I took an internship working as an Advisor with Island First, an NGO whose mission is to assist Small Island Developing States who are at the front lines of the current environmental crisis, by building the capacity of their United Nations missions, creating networks of scientific, environmental and policy experts to share information, and devising political strategies that advocate for the Small Islands’ environmental agenda. Through my internship with Islands First, I am now serving as an Intern and Advisor at the Fiji Mission to the United Nations. I’m having and experience of a lifetime. Learning the United Nations System is knowledge that will be valuable in my future career, as I have aspirations of developing policy and strategic plans in the environmental sector for climate change adaptations, particularly in climate migrations. (Leah's photo is an official UN photograph)
Maggie Karlin
Prior to entering the ECE program, I attended Temple University and graduated Cum Laude with a B.S. in education and geology. I became a public school teacher in the suburbs of Philadelphia, teaching Earth and Environmental Science, as well as supervising the environmental club, and spearheading a district-wide environmental audit. I have also instructed and supervised programs at the Franklin Institute Science Museum and the New Jersey Academy of Marine Sciences.
Currently, I teach science at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School, integrating environmental studies throughout my curriculum. In the Spring I will be working on my graduate thesis, focusing on building a curriculum and business plan for a residential, environmentally-based summer camp. During previous semester, my internship with the Friends of the High School for Environmental Studies allowed me to incorporate my experience with secondary education in a non-formal setting. I was charged with connecting organizations and companies around the city to interested high school students for environmentally-focused summer opportunities. As the former Program Assistant at The Wallerstein Collaborative for Urban Environmental Education, I worked as an environmental educator for a day camp this past summer, for which Wallerstein designed curriculum. I also assisted with planning and programming development for teacher workshops and other environmental education opportunities through Wallerstein.
NYU's ECE program initially captured my attention because of the program's focus on the importance of education in the environmental movement, and it is their emphasis on education in action through available community outreach that makes this program stand out among others. I plan to use my new depth of knowledge to enrich student's lives inside and outside of the classroom. Whether it is as a high school teacher, a program director of a not-for-profit, or another part of the environmental education spectrum, I am looking forward to the doors that the ECE program opens.
Michelle Luebke
One of my favorite
undergraduate professors at the University of Wisconsin gave me two pieces of
advice that have helped shape my life and career goals. He told me that he
changed research focus every 5 years or so to keep himself current and that I
should travel the world as much as I could while I was young and had few
responsibilities tying me to any one particular place. After leaving Wisconsin
with a BS in Zoology and Environmental Studies, I went to the Peace Corps in
the Dominican Republic and fell in love with Environmental Education. From
there I went to the University of Georgia for an MS in Geography and
Conservation Ecology & Sustainable Development and then on to California
where I worked for a number of years running a citizen science program encouraging
field-based education in local creeks. It was then I decided I needed to know
more about education and the role of citizen science in ecological monitoring.
I am excited to be back in school learning how to become a more effective educator and how to use my background and experiences to help implement a citizen science program for NYC schools to study the Hudson River. The reason I chose the ECE program at NYU was not only the caliber of professors, but also the focus on the importance of non-formal education and the diversity of backgrounds represented in the ECE grad students.
Lisa Maher
From petitioning my elementary school to stop using Styrofoam to learning how to properly band a broken wing on a red-tail hawk, I've always been an environmentalist and animal lover. Through the ECE program, I've been able to further my environmental education and positively impact my personal and professional life.
I am originally from Canada and went to undergrad at George Washington University where I majored in International Affairs. I am also a graduate of the CERC program at Columbia University in Conservation Biology and Sustainability. In addition the ECE program, I work full time for the Wildlife Conservation Society in fundraising and development. I am also New York State certified wildlife rehabilitator and very active in the animal rescue community in New York City. I am currently serving on the board of Rational Animal, a non-profit working to increase awareness of New York City's at-risk animals. Rarely does a day go by when I'm not caring for an animal in need, be it furred, feathered, or scaled.
While I have always been active and involved within environmental and animal groups, my career trajectory has not been linear (to say the least!). Post undergrad, I worked in finance and as a buyer for a large department store chain in New York. The business and management skills learned in these fields have been helpful in my current position. The ECE program will enable me to further engage and interact within the environmental field.
Nick McGuire
I
am a relative newcomer to the world of environmental education, but the
outdoors and the environment have been my passion throughout my entire life. At Montana State University I double majored
in Economics and Soil Science. To
further my understanding of the relationship between people and the natural
world I spent a semester with the National Outdoor Leadership School in New
Zealand, worked on organic farms in Alaska and a winery in California,
volunteered for environmental nonprofits in MT such as the Sonoran Institute
and Bozeman Boulders Initiative, and have spent over 500 nights in the
backcountry in the last ten years. While
volunteering in MT I realized that well designed and integrated educational
programs for school-age children could be a powerful agent of change with
respect to environmental issues. In 2010
I was awarded a Naturalist Fellowship at Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning
Center in Lanesboro, MN and spent one fantastic year teaching environmental
programming to youth groups from around the Midwest. Through the fellowship I earned a Certificate
in Environmental Education from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN. Personal experience as well as my time at
Eagle Bluff lead to a summer position as a youth rock climbing guide at
Essential Skills Outdoor School where I taught geology and basic rock climbing
skills to middle school groups.
The ECE program appealed to me because of its interdisciplinary nature and the latitude we are given in designing our own course of study. After completing my core courses I plan to focus on the psychology of value structures and education’s role in fostering social change with respect to our environment. This is still a young field and I believe it is the innovation and experimentation that this program encourages which will lead to new and better approaches to fostering environmental awareness through educational programs.
Jennifer Ugolino
Growing up the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, I remember from a
young age looking to share my enthusiasm for plants with family and
friends. This interest led me to complete a BA in Biology from the
College of the Holy Cross, where I focused in botany and ecology.
During this time, I gravitated towards many education projects, which
involved tutoring young students, assisting in undergraduate laboratory
classes and teaching ESL courses in the community. From then on, I
decided to combine these two interests and explore more environmental
education-related activities. A summer internship at a central MA land
trust where I worked to educate the community about the local ecology
solidified this goal. After graduation, I spent a year in an AmeriCorps
program in Knoxville, TN where I organized and led environmental
outreach programs, waste reduction efforts at community events and
greening projects in community gardens, parks and the local nature
center. This work helped me realize that I most enjoyed working side by
side with young adults and adult populations in urban green spaces, but
that I needed more training and experience in order to make a career
out of it.
I am thrilled to be attending NYU's ECE program, where I am
constantly impressed by my fellow classmates' insight and experiences
and the wealth of opportunities provided to me by my professors. The
program pairs very well with my recent employment at Brooklyn Community
Services, a social service agency where I work as a horticultural
specialist. My responsibilities include managing a community garden and
providing horticultural therapy programming at a 40-bed women's shelter
for mentally ill clients. My time at NYU has given me the confidence
and resources to continue exploring informal education opportunities,
community activism and environmental justice issues, in an effort to
bring people and plants together to improve the quality of life in
underserved communities via sustainable projects.
Elizabeth Woodworth
The small northern New Jersey suburb where I grew up, between well-preserved nature and New York City, shaped my interest in both natural and urban environments. After a summer marine biology course at the Shoals Marine Laboratory in Maine, I realized I had a passion to understand and protect the environment, leading to my choice to pursue my undergraduate degree at the George Washington University in D.C. As an Environmental Studies major with a minor in Biology concentrating on natural resource policy, I interned at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's Office of Public Affairs as a liaison between the Institution's scientists and the press. I have since worked in science journal publishing and have spent several years on the global communications team of a financial advisory firm where a significant portion of my time has focused on the power, energy and infrastructure financial advisory groups.
I am excited to expand on my academic and professional background with the ECE program, where I intend to focus on urban energy and natural resource policy advocacy. I was drawn to the program's flexibility and the interdisciplinary structure, allowing me to strengthen my understanding of the scientific, political, economic and social issues related to environmental policy.