Washington and Lee University Environmental Studies Program Newsletter

WA S H I N G TO N A N D L E E U N I V E R S I T Y

The Environmental Studies Program N E W S F R O M T H E D E PA RTM E N T

Hello and best wishes from Lexington; amid all the challenges that the global pandemic is causing, we first and foremost hope that you and your families are healthy and safe.

It certainly has been quite a year since our last alumni newsletter in 2019. When the pandemic emerged in March, students returned home and courses transitioned to virtual instruction for the remainder of Winter and Spring terms. Fifteen seniors from Environmental Studies completed their capstone projects on a range of fascinating topics and presented them in a virtual poster session with ENV faculty. Weeks later they would attend their graduation ceremony via video conferencing, a tool we’ve all become very familiar with over the past eight months. We missed the chance to celebrate with them in person, but their resilience and positivity was inspiring. We maintained contact through social media groups through the summer, and even now we continue to hear reports on new jobs, grad school opportunities, and future directions. With luck we’ll get the chance to see them, catch up, and celebrate properly – in person – in 2021.

Welcome: 2020 Update

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he 2020 academic year looks a little different on campus, but we are grateful for the way the university community has worked hard to bring our students back into our classrooms. It’s wonderful to have students here again. The challenges are manifold and the strategies to address them play out in ways that are at times predictable and inconvenient, and other times unexpected and… well, somehow oddly delightful.

Masks are a constant and necessary presence, but are not required outside of buildings if social distance can be maintained; so more people have been gathering in the outdoor spaces of campus. When the weather is nice – and it has been really nice this Fall – almost every outdoor space is alive with students. It seems more people have a newfound apprecia-

tion for the fresh air and freedom the outdoors provides. That can only bode well for us, right? Masks also complicate communication in classrooms – my under-the-breath jokes are sometimes too muffled to be heard (I’m certain that’s why the students aren’t laughing at them) – but I’ve come to notice and appreciate when people “smile with their eyes” as a form of connection. In Zoom conferences we see each other’s faces without masks for the first time, with predictable reactions (“Wait – you have a beard??”)

At some point, you see someone smile without their mask for the first time.

Those moments have really stood out and stayed with me. It is a momentary affirmation of the joy we get to share together at W&L. I’ve really gotten a kick out of some of those “first smiles” continued on page 11

Eric Schleicher ’21, Haley Stern ’20, Chantal Iosso ’20, Ginny Johnson ’20, Robert Humston, Ruth Abraham ’22 and Dan Nguyen ’22.

Inaugural John Kyle Spencer Endowed Directorship Lecture

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n Oct. 17, 2019, students, faculty, staff and members of John Spencer’s family celebrated the appointment of the first John Kyle Spencer Director of Environmental Studies, Professor Robert Humston.

Humston presented “Environmental Optimism is not an Oxymoron,” which reviewed recent progress in Environmental Studies at W&L and the direction for the program in light of expectations for the future of our environment. The presentation was followed by a reception where everyone enjoyed discussing Humston’s lecture, as well as sharing stories about John Spencer ’13.

A recording of Humston’s lecture can be viewed at https://vimeo. com/368359502

2019 Bates Memorial Lecture

Sustainable Food Systems with Dr. Samina Raja and Dr. Mahadev Bhat How can we make our food systems more sustainable in the 21st century?

In October 2019, the Environmental Studies Program hosted a public conversation between two experts who may have answers to that increasingly important question. Dr. Mahadev Bhat, of Florida International University (FIU), and Dr. Samina Raja, of State University of New York–Buffalo (SUNY-Buffalo), visited W&L to speak at the Earl Bates Memorial Lecture. The event, titled Sustainable Food Systems, was moderated by Dr. Chelsea Fisher.

Raja and Bhat’s fascinating panel discussion covered questions of food, sustainability and environmental justice from a wide range of perspectives.

Bhat, a professor of natural resource economics in the Departments of Earth and Environment and Economics at FIU, spoke to the intersections of 2 | wlu.edu/environmental-studies-program

From l. to r.: Professor Chelsea Fisher, Dr. Mahadev Bhat and Dr. Samina Raja

economic and policy issues impacting agriculture. Raja, a professor of urban and regional planning at SUNY-Buffalo, brought her expertise in urban planning, food justice and public health to the conversation. The dialogue that

evening in Stackhouse Theater explored the nitty-gritty of urban farming in Buffalo and Miami, the roles of equity and justice in sustainable food, how history shapes our modern food landscapes and the potential roles small

rural-setting universities like W&L could play in promoting local and regional food systems.

The 2019 Bates Memorial Lecture attracted an audience of W&L students, faculty and staff as well as members of the greater Rockbridge County community — including several local farmers who stayed after the event formally

ended to talk with the speakers and Environmental Studies Program folks. We in the program are grateful that our guests so generously shared their knowledge, not just at the Bates Lecture itself, but also in their visits to Environmental Studies classes and during lively lunches with Environmental Studies students.

Class of 2020 Capstone Projects

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or environmental studies majors and minors, the capstone project is the culminating experience of our program, offering students an exciting opportunity to engage deeply with a research question and to apply their interdisciplinary knowledge and skills, developed over four years of learning at W&L, to a specific environmental topic.

Fourteen majors and minors completed capstones in 2020. Most began their work in the Fall 2019 pre-capstone seminar, and all successfully completed their projects in the Winter 2020 capstone seminar, guided by co-instructors professors Jim Kahn ’75 and Chelsea Fisher and other faculty mentors. After developing their research questions and methodologies in the fall, collecting data in the winter and preparing their results for sharing as winter turned to spring, the capstone students’ plans were interrupted — along with the rest of the world — by the COVID-19 pandemic. The capstone students exhibited remarkable resiliency in managing to finish their projects even while navigating the turmoil of the early spring. One standout example of the capstone students’ adaptability was how they navigated their poster sessions — a major event of the year typically conducted in-person with program faculty and students — completely virtually over Zoom. It wasn’t easy, but these students met the challenge.

The list of 2020 Capstone Projects gives a sense of the far-reaching range of interests our students cultivate in the Environmental Studies Program.

Several students applied their skills to local environmental issues right on campus.

• Kaitlyn Fitzsimmons ’20 examined the roles of gender dynamics in environmental studies.

• Caroline Florence ’20 shed light on the prospects of renewable energy at W&L. • Ginny Johnson ’20 dug into composting patterns and behaviors on campus.

• Ashleigh Meade ’20 explored sustainability culture among W&L students, staff and faculty.

• E.C. Myers ’20 investigated costshare programs meant to keep cattle out of streams in Rockbridge County.

• Anna Soroka’s ’20 analyzed a constructed wetland on Woods Creek.

Still other students situated their projects further afield, often drawing on their experiences traveling and conducting fieldwork • Ellie Bradach ’20 analyzed the biological, cultural and economic implications of the Yellowstone Bison Policy.

• Allie Case ’20 developed a model to explore associations between sea lion pup mortality rates and ENSO-related prey shift distributions in California • Madeleine Geno ’20 examined

links between credit availability and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.

• Chantal Iosso ’20 used geological fieldwork and radiocarbon dating to understand stream change in Yellowstone over the last seven millennia.

• Haley Stern ’20 and Eric Schleicher ’21 unpacked how the possibility of leasing land for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge threatens ecosystems and undermines Indigenous ecological knowledge.

And finally, some students zoomed out to explore national-level environmental issues: Katherine Ingram ’20 investigated the effects of extreme weather on utilities’ climate change risk disclosures.

• Anne Shannon ’20 examined the role of potential green-washing in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index • Mikki Whittington ’20 used survey data to understand American knowledge of the environmental impacts of menstrual products.

We congratulate all the 2020 capstone students on the completion of such a compelling array of projects — especially given the unusual circumstances of this past spring! wlu.edu/environmental-studies-program | 3

Faculty Spotlight Greg Cooper, Professor of Philosophy What classes are you teaching?

This fall I am teaching a seminar in Environmental Ethics (Env/Phil 365). The course explores the nature and normative significance of ecosystem function. Do, for example, concerns about ecosystem function provide a rationale for the preservation of biodiversity? Can ecosystem function help unpack other normatively relevant ecosystem properties such as resilience, integrity, and health? Aldo Leopold was the first to urge the adoption of ecosystem level values and we begin with his work. We then turn to contemporary literature.

What research projects you are working on right now Has your work been affected by the pandemic?

I am currently working on two research projects. The first is on the nature of ecosystem function. Function talk in ecology and evolutionary biology is typically associated with the products of natural selection. To say, for example, that the function of forked tongues in reptiles is to detect the edges of scent trails is to suggest a past history of selection shaping that adaptive trait. Does talk of eco-

system function similarly implicate natural selection? Probably not. There is widespread skepticism about the existence of ecosystem level selection. So, what are we talking about when we speak of ecosystem function?

My second research project focuses on Ethics and Environmental Valuation. What are the ethical issues surrounding environmental valuation generally, and the valuation of ecosystem services in particular?

What makes you optimistic about the future?

The thing that buoys my spirit most is interacting with our students. I haven’t taught since last fall and I suspect my outlook will brighten when I start teaching again (even if it is remotely).

What activities do you enjoy lately when you are not working?

The activities I enjoy are hunting and fishing, gardening, and working with my new Wirehaired Pointing Griffon puppy Greta.

Lisa Greer, Professor of Geology What classes are you teaching?

I teach several courses in geology, some of which also apply to Environmental Studies. I am very excited to teach a brand-new SL intro lab course called Sustainable Earth. In the winter I will teach one of my favorite courses, Global Climate Change. That course is always challenging and fun, as there is something new in both the science and the politics of climate change daily. In the Spring Term, assuming COVID does not prevent it, I am scheduled to teach Regional Geology of the Grand Canyon and Colorado Plateau again which includes an eight-day raft trip through the Grand Canyon.

What research projects are you working on right now?

Has your work been affected by the pandemic?

I have been working on a project in Belize since 2011 that has included collaboration with 34 summer research students so far. We have been using a variety of tools in-

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cluding GIS and satellite imagery, radiocarbon dating, photographic analysis, field observations, environmental data loggers deployed on the reef, genetic analysis, photogrammetry and geochemical analysis to monitor one of the few remaining ecological refugia for an endangered species of coral. Introducing students to one of the most remarkable environments on earth is one of the best parts of my job. It has been a particular privilege to co-author many presentations at national and international meetings and several scientific papers with students. I have a paper in review with three alums and another in progress with three additional alums. Unfortunately, the pandemic interrupted our plans for fieldwork. I was able to work with five fantastic students remotely for a few weeks this summer (three ENVS majors, one GEOL major, and a rising sophomore), but my hope is that they will all find their way to a reef in the near future.

What makes you optimistic about the future?

It can be hard to remain optimistic about our future these days, especially when teaching Global Climate Change or working with coral reefs. We have made, and continue to make, so many bad choices in the way we navigate our relationship with the environment.

Politics, money, convenience and power have gotten in the way of facts and sound reasoning by economic, social justice and scientific experts.

But I remain optimistic about our future. I look to the incredibly creative work by many people who care about the future of coral reefs as an example.

Restoration, conservation, regulation, valuation, inoculation, breeding and even genetic or geoengineering efforts compliment the ever-evolving work by marine scientists to understand the reefs that work. There are a lot of really smart people among us. We have a narrowing window to right the ship, but the case for change is clearer every day. If we can amplify and respect the voices of experts, we can improve our present and future quality of life.

What music (artists, genre, album, etc.) is getting the most play on your speakers lately?

I love music, a wide variety of artists and genres, especially when I run. At the moment Quinn XCII is most often in my ears. For everyday music (at least for today) I love Ryan Bingham, G. Love & Special Sauce, All Time Low, Hozier, Tove Lo, Halsey, Billie Eilish and new music by Taylor Swift and the Chicks and a bunch of oneoffs like Shoes too tight, Jackie and Wilson, Watermelon Sugar, Thanks and Praise, Sunday Vibe, Don’t Stop (Oasis), Say it Ain’t So, Rock and Roll (Velvet Underground), Good Time (Leroy), Still in Hollywood (Concrete Blond). For a run I prefer YUNGBLUD, Nine Inch Nails, Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock and a bunch of more recent songs — anything to make me feel I am moving faster than I really am!

Megan Hess, Associate Professor of Accounting What classes are you teaching?

I am teaching Sustainability Accounting (ACCT 303) and Introductory Accounting (ACCT 100). I’m really excited about being able to offer the Sustainability Accounting class again after being on sabbatical last fall. We are going to talk about what sustainability means from the perspective of a corporation, explore the ways that market-based solutions both help and hurt when it comes to protecting the environment and examine the reporting frameworks used to hold corporations accountable when it comes to their environmental and social impacts.

I think that students will be surprised to learn what an important role accountants are starting to play in the sustainability movement!

What research projects are you working on? Has your work been affected by the pandemic?

My main research project right now examines goal-setting in the context of corporate sustainability reporting. I’ve been working with Professor Colin Reid and a whole host of summer research scholars on this project for a while, and we are finally nearing the end of a massive data collection effort. Although lots of scholars have looked at patterns in corporate sustainability reporting before, no one has ever dug deeper to see whether setting goals for sustainability performance and reporting progress (or lack thereof, as is often the case) against those goals makes a difference. Since there are no databases available that include information on corporate sustainability goals, we have had to create one from scratch. We hope to explore a number of research questions using this new data set, including: Do companies that set sustainability goals outperform those that do not? Do stakeholders re-

ward companies that meet their goals and punish companies that miss them? Do investors value goal-setting above and beyond traditional corporate sustainability disclosure? What kinds of goals are companies setting for themselves when it comes to sustainability?

This research project has not really been affected by the pandemic. Our summer scholars have been working hard on the project remotely. It has also been interesting to think about how corporate disclosures around employee health are going to take on a whole new level of importance since the pandemic. Social issues have traditionally taken a back seat to environmental ones in corporate sustainability reporting, but between the pandemic and the BLM movement, that dynamic may reverse this year.

What makes you optimistic about the future?

It is really hard to be optimistic right now or even to think much about the future.

So much is uncertain, and what we are certain about is mostly bad news. I’ve taken a great deal of solace from getting to spend so much time with my family lately, especially my two teenage kids. They are growing into such amazing people (both with a wicked sense of humor, which they definitely don’t get from me), and our extended time together has made for some very thoughtful conversations. They keep me looking forward and make me hopeful that we will all emerge from this dark place with a new appreciation for life and the people that make it worth living.

If you could be anyplace in the world right now – real or fictional – where would you go?

Copenhagen is my favorite city in the world (other than Lex Vegas, of course).

The Danes really know how to make sustainability fun! wlu.edu/environmental-studies-program | 5

Student Awards 2020 Earle Bates Award Winners Katherine Ingram ’20

Bates Prize for Academic Achievement in Environmental Studies Ingram received this award not only in recognition of her outstanding record of success in her courses, but also her excellent work in the capstone course. Her thesis, “Responding to Catastrophe: Effects of Extreme Weather on Utilities’ Climate Change Risk Disclosures,” was a great example of what we hope our students can achieve in our program. Ingram applied her understanding of economics to examine the interdisciplinary landscape of climate change impacts; it was a rigorous, original study with interesting findings.

Ingram did a year-long exchange program at Oxford University’s Mansfield College her junior year and spent the summer prior to her senior year as a summer research scholar in accounting working with W&L professors Megan Hess and Colin Reid as a data coder for a project focused on firms’ sustainability performance and goal-setting.

In the fall Ingram will be attending Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, completing a master of arts program in international economics and energy, resources and the environment.

Kaitlyn Fitzsimmons ’20

Bates prize for Environmental Citizenship in Environmental Studies Fitzsimmons received this prize in recognition of her efforts in support of sustainability at W&L and in the local community over the past four years. Her work as the first sustainability chair for the Mock Convention was particularly impressive and appreciated. Ingram said, “As Mock Con’s first-ever head of Sustainability, I consulted members of the Operations Department on sustainable best practices. We did our best to uphold the convention’s commitment to sustainability by designing low-impact memorabilia and organizing a majority paperless convention weekend. Our biggest accomplishment was partnering with the local Boxerwood Nature Center to offset the 156 metric tons associated with our political guest speakers’ travel. I’m hoping we set a precedent for future organizers to prioritize sustainability and community, as well as set more ambitious carbon neutrality goals.” Kaitlin is currently working for a firm in New York where her responsibilities are focused on socially responsible/sustainable investments.

Virginia “Ginny” Johnson ’20

Bates prize for Environmental Citizenship in Environmental Studies Johnson was honored for her efforts in support of sustainability at W&L and in the local community over the past four years. She was involved in the Student Environmental Action League throughout her four years and served as co-president of the organization as a senior. She was consistently involved in SEAL’s efforts to raise environmental awareness in our campus community, whether that be weighing food waste at the Marketplace or supporting composting and recycling at “zero-waste” campus events. Johnson was a visible leader on campus, and we appreciated all her efforts to promote environmental conservation and sustainability on campus.

American Fisheries Society Conference

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n early February 2020, W&L and the Environmental Studies Program welcomed over 100 students, faculty, and conservation professionals in the field of fisheries science to campus as we hosted the 30th annual conference of the Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society (AFS). The VA chapter is a subunit of AFS, which is the largest and oldest professional society promoting the conservation and management of aquatic resources.

Researchers from around Virginia, as well as North Carolina, Missouri and Oregon, presented the latest findings from their studies over two days.

The university generously provided the use of Stackhouse Theatre for the conference presentations, and in return registration fees were waived for any students, faculty and staff at W&L who wished to attend. Professor Robert Humston discussed the results

of his work on smallmouth bass dispersal ecology in the James River basin, which includes contributions from several past students in biology and environmental studies. Though no current W&L students were among the presenters this year, AFS chapter meetings provide an outstanding opportunity for students to gain experience in professional conference presentations. Environmental Studies alumni Sasha Doss ’13, Oliver Nettere ’16 and Spencer Alascio ’19 previously received awards for their research presentations at Virginia Chapter AFS conferences. This is a wonderfully talented and collegial group of researchers primarily from state agencies and Virginia universities. It is always fun and fascinating when the Fish Heads come to town, and we look forward to hosting the conference again in the near future.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Send Debra an email at freind@wlu.edu to: ➣

Let us know what you’ve been up to since your days at W&L.

➣

Let us know if you would like to be involved in connecting our students with an internship at your place of work.

Be sure to update your personal information at ColonnadeConnections.wlu.edu so we can continue to get information to you.

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Knight Internships During the Summer of COVID-19

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n February of 2020, four outstanding students were selected through a competitive process to be our 2020 Knight Interns in Conservation. Mark Lamendola ’22, AJ Mabaka ’22, Kate Nassab ’22 and Gus Wise ’22 were all excited about their upcoming summer in Idaho.

Then COVID hit. Throughout the months of March and April we were all hopeful that they would still be able to go to Idaho and complete their internships. After thoughtful deliberation by our partners in Idaho, and in collaboration with W&L, it was determined in May that the interns would not be able to work on site in Idaho.

All parties involved were disappointed, but also remained committed to the safety of everyone.

My name is AJ Mabaka ’22 and I am on the wrestling team, majoring in environmental studies and was fortunately able to partake in the Knight Internship Program in Conservation this summer. Given the pandemic, the serendipitous transition to online allowed me to genuinely connect with the Henry’s Fork Foundation and its message. Even while remote, I still learned about the general hydrology and ecology of rivers, especially the Henry’s Fork; basic programming using R software; rigorous data management, analysis and organization; the importance of stakeholder collaboration in environmental management decisions; as well as variables affecting fish survival and growth for my independent project.

In particular, my project aimed to use multivariable modeling to predict fish habitat selection or suitability. By

The good news, however, is that one of the interns was able to do his internship remotely, from his home. Mabaka worked with Ph.D. student Jack McLaren from Utah State University on a research study of nutrient cycling and aquatic productivity in the Henry’s Fork watershed.

Also of importance for the Knight Internship program was a visit to campus by Gail Knight to meet with the 2019 interns and with faculty and staff to discuss the future of the program in the wake of Mr. Knight’s death. We are happy to report that the future of the program looks bright and will continue on with the same level of support by the Knight family.

assessing different biotic and abiotic variables, such as temperature, prey availability, turbidity, water velocity, etc., and correlating these variables with fish presence vs no fish presence, I was able to use bioenergetic software to generate the net rate of energy

intake (NREI) for target species (rainbow trout) at certain research sites or locations. The NREI values produced by BioenergeticsHSC software is an output that provides a fish’s energetic potential at every 3D point within a stream channel and is measured in joules per second given specified hydraulic conditions as aforementioned (temperature, prey variability, etc.). While I am currently still creating graphs to interpret the NREI data via R programming, I have noticed a tendency for fish to prefer, or select if you will, higher water velocities, which based on the variable in question most affecting preference/ selection, could have interesting implications!

Nevertheless, across a myriad of topics, what I’ve learned and my experience as a Knight intern has proven nothing short of an inspiring, informative and enjoyably unique way to spend a quarantine summer.

“Nevertheless, across a myriad of topics, what I’ve learned and my experience as a Knight intern has proven nothing short of an inspiring, informative and enjoyably unique way to spend a quarantine summer.”

AJ Mabaka ’22

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Summer Internships

Olivia Brister ’21

Caroline Snyder ’21

Maisie Strawn ’21

Joey Dunn ’22

I worked for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Vernal, Utah. I was a GIS analyst intern. I worked mostly with animal migration corridor mapping and did some field work as well. For the field work, I got to go out into the field with people from different departments within BLM to help them map things.

I helped a botanist map a newly discovered plant species (Frasera gentianaceae, for anyone interested), mapped some new trails on BLM land and helped map some archaeological findings for the archaeologists. On the weekends, I was fortunate enough to be able to safely explore a lot of public lands in the Western U.S., including Great Basin National Park, the Grand Tetons and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, among others! I learned a lot about GIS and managing public lands overall. I learned a ton and had a great time while doing it!

I worked as a research intern for Save Barnegat Bay, a non-profit environmental group focused on protecting the Barnegat Bay watershed in Ocean County, New Jersey. Specifically, I worked with the executive director of Save Barnegat Bay and local New Jersey ArcGIS professionals to create a water impairment map of the Barnegat Bay watershed. The impairment map was targeted toward bay residents who recreationally enjoy the bay, but do not understand the hazards of local pollutants, atmospheric deposition, runoff and fertilizers. The map is displayed on the Save Barnegat Bay website in an ArcGIS ESRI story map format, where local residents can log on and use the tool to find their location and consequent water rating.

I did two Environmental Studies related internships this summer! The first was interning with the USGS through the State Department’s Virtual Student Federal Service program (I have been writing articles for their Geology and Ecology of National Parks webpage through all of last year and will continue to work with them this school year.) Additionally, this summer I interned with the Education Office of the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR) at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. I helped them with their social media content, developed educational materials, and designed a ArcGIS StoryMap page for them. The mapping project was really fun because I got to go out in the field — seining and stomping through the marsh, as well as doing a shark dissection.

I spent my summer as a marketing intern for SEAF (Small Enterprise Assistance Funds). The internship was business oriented with an overlap in sustainable development and clean energy. SEAF is a global impact investing firm that provides growth capital and business assistance to SME’s (small to mid-sized enterprises) in emerging and transitioning markets underserved by traditional sources of capital. SEAF invests in high-growth entrepreneurs seeking to build scalable businesses, hoping to realize both returns for investors and strong development impact in local communities. I assisted with managing and generating content for SEAF ‘s website, social media accounts and general marketing materials, including the annual impact report and the corporate identity document.

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Alumni in Action Kerriann Laubach Shabanowitz ’13, ’16L What is your current professional position? Briefly describe your journey from W&L to your current position.

I am an attorney-advisor with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. I work in the Office of Site Remediation Enforcement (in the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance), which focuses on Superfund enforcement under CERCLA. When I was an environmental studies major at W&L, I knew I wanted to go into public interest environmental law.

I actually attended W&L for law school, as well. During my 3L year, I worked in the Black Lung Clinic, representing coal miners who suffered from chronic lung disease as a result of coal mine dust exposure. Partly as a result of my work in the clinic, I was selected for a clerkship with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Administrative Law Judges. OALJ hears and decides matters including black lung benefit claims, whistleblower claims, some immigration cases, and longshore and harbor workers’ compensation claims.

After working as a clerk for a few years, I was lucky enough to get my current position at EPA. Who or what had the greatest influence on your getting to your current professional position?

Unequivocally, working in the Black Lung Clinic was the most formative opportunity of my legal career. Although it is not environmental law in the conventional sense, I believe that black lung disease is an environmental health issue. Professor MacDonnell is an incredible educator, and I really enjoyed working directly with and representing clients in their claims.

The clinic really exposed me to the positive impact that attorneys can have when representing people who may 10 | wlu.edu/environmental-studies-program

learning curve for me, but I’ve found it both interesting and very important.

not otherwise be familiar with the legal system. I was also lucky enough to clerk for an administrative law judge at DOL who valued mentorship, legal education and professional growth.

He inspired me to be the best attorney I can be and taught me critical legal analysis and writing outside of the law school environment.

Describe a project you are currently working on and what you like most about it.

I’m part of the bankruptcy team with OSRE, and I’ve found that work to be really interesting. We work closely with the U.S. Department of Justice and many other state and federal agencies to protect human health and the environment when a party files for bankruptcy. Before joining the EPA, I did not know that environmental bankruptcy work was even a field that existed. We work to ensure that companies with environmental liability cannot use the bankruptcy process to escape environmental claims or abandon contaminated properties.

The bankruptcy work has been a steep

What motivates you?

I’ve always wanted to work in public interest environmental law, and I’m especially motivated by the intersection of public health and environmental justice. I think legal advocacy is an excellent tool for protecting human health and the environment when supported by scientific research. My background in environmental studies and biology gives me some scientific literacy in the legal field, and I’m motivated by the ways in which science and the law can work together to achieve better health outcomes and a more sustainable environment.

What was your favorite thing to do in Lexington when you were a student and what is your favorite thing to do now when you visit Lexington?

As a student, I enjoyed going out to the farm to see my horse and singing with the W&L University Singers.

I also loved walking around downtown and generally enjoying the natural surroundings (hiking House Mountain, going out to Goshen, etc.)

—something I very much miss in the D.C. area! My favorite things to do now when I visit are to catch up with former professors and walk around downtown and on campus. I still love going for hikes when we have a bit more time.

What is your current favorite movie/ TV show/podcast/etc.?

I’ve enjoyed reading a lot over the last few months, and I just finished “The Vanishing Half “by Brit Bennett. It was the best novel I have read in a long time — incredibly well-written and such a poignant and engrossing story.

2020 Graduates Find Their Way in a COVID-19 World The Spring of 2020 certainly was not the ideal time to land your first postW&L position. With all the uncertainty and constant changes in the job market, however, our 2020 graduates have done phenomenally well.

Here is a sampling of some of the plans our 2020 graduates shared with us just after graduation: ◗

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I will be attending Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, completing a master of art’s program in international economics and energy, resources and the environment.

I will be working at Gitterman Wealth, a sustainable investment firm, in New York. I will be an ESG (environmental, social, governance) analyst.

I have accepted a position with Friends of Nevada Wilderness, a conservation nonprofit, out in Las Vegas. I will be starting and leading a springs monitoring program

for volunteers throughout southern Nevada. ◗

I will be working for an economic consulting firm called Berkeley Research Group in D.C.

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I will be interning in the Smithsonian’s Reproductive Science Lab for a 6-month stint, focusing on improving IVF techniques and researching oocyte development and storage. After that, I plan to attend graduate school.

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I am starting a job as a sales and trading analyst with Citigroup Global Markets in August.

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At the Memphis Zoo, I am doing reproductive physiology research on the Louisiana Pinesnake, which is a critically endangered species and the most rare snake in the U.S. This is a temporary position, so I will be looking for another job to start around mid-September. I will hopefully matriculate into medical school in the fall of 2021.

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I am getting my master’s in environmental engineering from N.C. State, starting this fall. I’ll be interning at Geosyntec while at school, but right now that’s a little up in the air because of COVID. Ideally, I’ll be working with them part-time during grad school, interning with them next summer and then have a full-time career in environmental engineering/ consulting after I graduate in December 2021.

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I am working on coral reef research for the third summer in a row with Lisa Greer. As for the rest of the year, I’m working on applying to grad schools and working at my family’s small business.

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I will be working as a real estate intern for Johnson Development Associates in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

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shared with my students over Zoom.

Amidst these strange days our Environmental Studies Program continues to grow and thrive. There are 25 ENV majors and minors in the senior class, which to my knowledge is our largest group ever. As always they bring with them an array of experiences from additional majors and concentrations, which are reflected in a diversity of capstone projects. This year’s capstone students are creating environmental art installations, designing soil carbon sequestration programs for local properties, writing Climate Fiction (aka CliFi) screenplays… the complete list would take

the rest of the newsletter. There is a growing sense of community among our students built around shared course experiences and centered on our burgeoning office space in Tucker Hall. We have welcomed new core faculty to our program in the last year and expanded our curricular offerings in the Environmental Humanities and new Sustainable Commerce elective tracks.

The pandemic hasn’t slowed us down. As much focus as there is on COVID these days, there is still work to be done on behalf of our planet. Our students have not lost their passion for sustainability, conservation, and ex-

ploring the depths of human relationships with the environment. I continue to be inspired by their dedication and their enthusiasm, and I feel fortunate as ever to be a part of it.

As we reach out to share the news about Environmental Studies and life back in Lex, we are also eager to hear how life is faring these days among our alumni and friends. Please drop us a line and let us know how things are and what you’re up to – an email, a text, a photo, a link to your latest TikTok… we’re in for it all!

Our best wishes from W&L, and with hope that we’ll hear from you soon. wlu.edu/environmental-studies-program | 11

NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE AND FEES PAID WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY

204 W. Washington St. Lexington, VA 24450-2116 www.wlu.edu

Environmental Studies DEPARTMENT HEAD Robert Humston, John Kyle Spencer Director for Environmental Studies and Professor of Biology humstonr@wlu.edu, 540-458-8341 CORE FACULTY Jim Casey Associate Professor of Economics caseyj@wlu.edu Greg Cooper Professor of Philosophy cooperg@wlu.edu Chelsea Fisher Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies cfisher@wlu.edu Lisa Greer Geology Department Chair; Professor of Geology greerl@wlu.edu Bill Hamilton Biology Department Chair; Professor of Biology hamiltone@wlu.edu

Admin. hessa@wlu.edu Lawrence E. Hurd Herwick Professor of Biology hurdl@wlu.edu Jim Kahn John F. Hendon Professor of Economics and Professor of Environmental Studies kahnj@wlu.edu Harvey Markowitz Associate Professor of Anthropology markowitzh@wlu.edu AFFILIATED FACULTY Paul Cabe Professor of Biology cabep@wlu.edu Kim Hodge Director of Sustainability Initiatives and Education hodgek@wlu.edu Leah Naomi Green Visiting Assistant Professor of English greenl@wlu.edu

David Harbor Professor of Geology harbord@wlu.edu

Joseph Guse Winfrey Term Professor of Economics gusej@wlu.edu

Andrew M. Hess Ehrick Kilner Haight, Sr. Term Associate Professor of Business

Rebecca C. Harris Professor of Politics harrisr@wlu.edu

Megan F. Hess Associate Professor of Accounting hessm@wlu.edu Margaret Anne Hinkle Assistant Professor of Geology hinklem@wlu.edu Elizabeth Knapp Director of the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity, Professor of Geology knappe@wlu.edu David Marsh Professor of Biology marshd@wlu.edu Sandy Reiter Darrold and Kay Cannan Associate Term Professor of Business Administration, Department Chair reiters@wlu.edu Kary Smout Associate Professor of English smoutk@wlu.edu Jim Warren Professor of English Emeritus warrenj@wlu.edu Julie Youngman Assistant Professor of Business Administration and Professor of Practice youngmanj@wlu.edu