This section outlines the accomplishments of featured ES students and alumni and highlights  internship, activism, research and career opportunities available to ES majors and minors both at IWU and after graduation. If you are a student or alumnus and wish to submit or update your profile, please contact the ES Student Assistant

Students

Kelly Petersen is a senior Environmental Studies (Ecology) major with minors in Hispanic Studies and Biology. As vice president then co-president of the Sierra Student Coalition, and a member of the group's Talloires Declaration committee, she played an important role in IWU's adoption of the document as well as various other environmental initiatives on campus. Kelly has also served as a volunteer both at Funk's Grove and for the Ecology Action Center's environmental education program.  She has been an active member of GREENetwork and has worked as the Environmental Studies student assistant.   Contact Kelly.

Sarah Stumpf is a senior Environmental Studies major. She is an active member of the Sierra Student Coalition, serving as the group's president over May Term '08 and currently as its co-president. Sarah regularly attends GREENetwork, enjoys volunteering at Funks Grove, and has also served as the Environmental Studies student assistant. This past summer, she had an internship with a non-profit conservation group near her home. Contact Sarah.

Alumni

Danny Burke graduated in 2009 with a double major in Environmental Studies (Policy) and Hispanic Studies. He received the John and Erma Stutzman Peace Fellowship to study environmental justice.  During his senior year he worked on the topic of food justice and helped the Bloomington Farmers Market to accept SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly food stamps).  He also obtained the Weir Fellowship for action research to support his study of food justice in West Bloomington and SNAP at the farmers market.  He is currently participating in the Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship, in which he works on ant-hunger and anti-poverty efforts in the United States. For the first half of the Emerson Fellowship, Danny is working in Louisville, Kentucky with the Community Farm Alliance working to connect local farmers with under served urban populations. In February he will return to DC to work on the policy side of hunger issues. Danny plans to attend graduate school next fall to obtain a degree in public policy. Contact Danny.

Olivia De Meo is a 2009 Environmental Studies graduate with a minor in Music, for which she received the Loran & Frances (Denman) Cornwell Music Scholarship in 2009 and was a two-time recipient of the Arline Wills Ward Scholarship – both awards for outstanding achievement in organ performance. During her time at IWU, she studied Green Politics in the United Kingdom/European Union for a semester while abroad in London. She also volunteered nearby at Sugar Grove Nature Center and with the Sierra Club in Las Vegas, NV. She spent summer 2008 doing research at the University of New Hampshire through their Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space. In December 2008, she presented this research at the American Geophysical Union Fall Conference in San Francisco. In summer 2009, she will be doing another research internship at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Olivia has received a Research and Discover Fellowship at the University of New Hampshire, where she is pursuing a graduate degree in Oceanography. Contact Olivia. 

Sarah Gipp is a 2009 Environmental Studies (Chemistry) graduate.  She started college intending to be a Biology major, switched to Chemistry, and fortunately found Environmental Chemistry before it was too late.  In her senior year she studied waste management issues at a local elementary school, and in the process got to introduce several classrooms of fourth and fifth graders to the noble earthworm.  She takes particular interest in problems concerning water pollution and social justice, and while she has no specific post-graduation plans, she is considering law school. Contact Sarah.

Margaret Kane is a 2009 Environmental Studies graduate. In 2007 She took a May Term travel course entitled "Sustaining Self, Society, and the Environment" in which she traveled to Vancouver Island, British Columbia for a month of hiking and other exciting outdoor adventures. At IWU she was a Sustainability Educator and helped students living in the residence halls learn about ways to reduce their environmental impact. After graduation she had an internship in environmental education at Sugar Grove Nature Center, and is now serving with the national AmeriCorps service program. Contact Margaret.

Thomas Kendall is a 2009 Environmental Studies graduate.  In the fall of 2008, he studied in an ecology focused program in Ecuador and  spent a month following woolly monkeys for the primatology department of New York University. The summer after graduation, he will be working for a non-profit home repair organization. Contact Thomas.

Jason Koval is a 2009r Environmental Studies (Chemistry) graduate. After graduation, he will attend a graduate program at the University of Illinois in the field of microbial ecology with the objective to try and determine how nitrogen is cycled through microbes in an aquatic environment. He started my time at IWU as a chemistry major, but after a semester abroad in New Zealand he switched to Environmental Chemistry. He has worked on a variety of projects through the chemistry, biology, and other Environmental Studies-related departments and has enjoyed his time with each one.  For all four years of college, he has worked in the Center for Natural Sciences stockroom learning how to setup and clean out labs.  The experience pushed him towards the environmental field because he is interested in finding safe ways of disposing of hazardous chemicals.  His time at IWU has been a great experience and he is looking forward to graduate work in a field that he thoroughly enjoys. Contact Jason

Thomas Schroeder graduated in 2009 with a double major in Environmental Studies and Physics.  In collaboration with Dr. Given Harper, Thomas undertook an effort to recover the IWU's organic waste, set up a composter on site, and replace chemical fertilizers on campus with recycled organic residuals. His research was submitted to the cities of Bloomington and Normal and U.S. Representative Debbie Halverson and is now being instituted as a city-wide composting effort.  Additionally, in the fall of 2009 he assisted the IWU administration in the development of environmentally friendly and efficient building strategies for IWU's planned transitional housing facility.  He recognizes that after graduating, he will enter the job market at one of the worst times in many, many years but would like to someday work in sustainable development, either through green building or renewable energy. Contact Thomas.

Lindsey Sihau is a 2009 Environmental Studies (International Sustainable Development) graduate. For the 2006 fall semester, she studied  green politics and environmental history in Great Britain and the EU with Professor Jahiel,  in London. In her time at Wesleyan, she interned at the Ecology Action Center and has volunteered with the Center since her sophomore year. Her work included helping to formulate curriculum and teaching after school programs. In addition, she has helped with storm water management education as well as rain barrel workshops. She hopes to  pursue a masters degree in either  Environmental Humanities at the University of Pennsylvania or in Marine Affairs and Policy at another university.  Contact Lindsey.

Susan Abraham graduated in 2008 with a double major in Environmental Studies and Hispanic Studies. In May 2006 she traveled to Costa Rica for Dr. Harper�s Tropical Ecology Class During her junior year Susan studied in Ecuador with the School of International Training�s (SIT) Comparative Ecology and Conservation Program and in Granada, Spain with the International Education of Students (IES). Her academic and research interests include resource exploitation and environmental justice issues in Latin America, botany, quinoa, and the role of Orientalism in the Hispanic literary canon. Currently, Susan works for the Field Museum�s Environmental Culture and Conservation Program (ECCo) as an urban conservation project assistant. She is applying to graduate school in Hispanic Literature for the fall of 2009.

Robert Guise graduated in 2008 with a double major in Environmental Studies (International Environmental Sustainability) and English. He held internships at the Blue Schoolhouse Organic Farm and with the Action Research Center, where he tested water quality in local streams and rivers. Robert also studied abroad at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Contact Robert.

Leslie Morrison is a 2008 Environmental Studies graduate and a Morris K. Udall Scholarship honorable mention recipient. She studied in Costa Rica for Dr. Harper's Tropical Ecology class and in Australia with the School for International Training. In her time at Wesleyan, Leslie was highly involved with the Sierra Student Coalition, acting as president her junior and senior years. She has also conducted research on the effects of climate change on soybeans and the effects of PCBs on rats with the University of Illinois.  Currently, Leslie was also accepted into the Green Corps class of 2009. Green Corps is the field school for environmental organizing. For her first campaign, she worked to pass a ballot initiative for 15% renewable electricity by 2021 in the state of Missouri.  After that, she  worked on a solar energy campaign in Wichita Falls, Texas. Contact Leslie.

Will Palmisano is a 2008 Environmental Studies (Chemistry) graduate. In his time at Wesleyan, Will conducted research with Dr. Hoffmann on the quantitative analysis of estradiol in water systems and also served three years as a Residential Community Advisor, a position that entails the promotion of sustainable living and peer education on environmental issues. He spent the summer of his junior year interning with Project Vote Smart, a nonpartisan organization that provides political information to the public to help them make educated voting decisions. Will is currently going to graduate school at the University of Illinois at Springfield and is doing a year-long, full time internship with the Legislative Research Unit, a non-partisan research agency for the Illinois State Legislature, as their Science Writing Intern.  Contact Will.

Michael Koenitz-Hudac is a 2008 graduate with degrees in Environmental Studies and Business Administration.  Michael has enjoyed studying the many similarities between a healthy environment and business.  He interned at the Ecology Action Center where he developed a marketing plan to promote recycling in the Bloomington and Normal communities.  His senior project outlined an environmental certification program for small retail businesses to adopt.  Currently he is employed with Walgreen Co. in Deerfield, IL as a Purchasing Coordinator. Contact Michael.

Kathryn Rinder graduated in 2007 with a major in Environmental Studies and a minor in History.  She studied abroad in Australia with SIT's Sustainability and the Environment program. She participated in an environmental education internship with the Student Conservation Association in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and also served as an intern with the Ecology Action Center and the Sierra Club.  Kathryn spent the summer after graduation working as a naturalist on a ranch in Colorado. She is currently working as the Outreach and Volunteer Program Coordinator for the Northwest Earth Institute, a sustainability education non-profit in Portland, Oregon. Contact Kathryn.

Leslie Coleman graduated in 2007 with a double major in Environmental Studies and International Studies (Development). She co-founded the campus chapter of the Sierra Student Coalition and also participated in internships with the Illinois EPA, The Land Connection and the Merck Family Fund. A recipient of the Morris K. Udall Scholarship, Leslie is spent the summer after graduation working on a local organic farm and has been in The Gambia (West Africa) since September 2007 working as an NGO Development volunteer with the Peace Corps. Contact Leslie.

Jeff Scott graduated in 2007 with a major in Art and a minor in Environmental Studies. He spent the summer after his graduation working on a small organic farm in Northern California and currently works with AmeriCorps as an education intern at a farm in Northwest Wisconsin. In the fall of 2007, he will move to a farm in Vermont to work with at-risk high school students. Contact Jeff.

Ryan Smith graduated in 2007 with a major in Environmental Studies (Policy) and a minor in Political Science. He co-founded IWU's Sierra Student Coalition and interned with the Illinois EPA in Springfield and Greenpeace USA in Washington, DC. Ryan was also the recipient of the IWU Student Leadership and Distinguished Service Award for service to the community.  Since September 2007 he has been in The Gambia (West Africa) conducting environmental education work with the Peace Corps. Contact Ryan.

Megan Guse graduated in 2006 with a major in Biology and a minor in Environmental Studies. She is currently pursuing a Master's in Environmental Science from Indiana University's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Concurrent with her studies, Megan works for the Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, where she utilizes GIS systems, writes grant proposals and promotes alternative transportation. She will be spending the summer conducting water quality assessments of rivers for the Indiana Department of Environmental Management. Contact Megan.

Amanda Solliday graduated in 2006 with a double major in Environmental Studies and Biology. She will soon finish a Master's degree at Cornell University in the Crop and Soil Sciences program, with a focus on International Agriculture and Rural Development. Amanda recently studied international agriculture in Mexico as part of the program. In the fall of 2008, she will be starting a job at EPA Headquarters (Office of Pesticide Programs) in Washington, DC. Contact Amanda.

Kylee (Billings) Eblin graduated in 2003 with a major in Chemistry and a minor in Environmental Studies, and is now enrolled in a PhD program in Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arizona. Her research focuses on environmentally-relevant levels of arsenicals in drinking water in the US/Mexico area. Kylee studies how low levels of these arsenicals cause malignant transformation of bladder cells. She has published her work in the journals Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, Toxicological Sciences, and Toxicology. She will graduate in May 2008 with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology, and will work for S.C. Johnson and Sons in Racine, WI as a research toxicologist. Contact Kylee.

Erinn Howard graduated in 2003 with a major in Biology and a minor in Environmental Studies and is now pursuing a PhD in Microbiology at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on bacterial degradation of oceanic sulfur compounds and its implications for global climate change. Erinn has published articles in several prestigious journals, including Environmental Microbiology, Science, and Applied and Environmental Microbiology. She also acts as the assistant editor for the Association for Women in Science Magazine and serves as a judge for the environmental division at the Georgia Science and Engineering Fair, a state science fair for high school students. Contact Erinn.

Stacy Kolegas graduated in 2003 with a double major in Art and Environmental Studies. Upon graduation, she worked as an environmental education instructor in New York and later as the Executive Director of a nonprofit environmental education organization, Yampatika, in Colorado. Stacy currently serves as an Environmental Programs Assistant for the City of Phoenix's Office of Environmental Programs, which provides technical and regulatory assistance to city departments and pursues initiatives in pollution prevention, air quality, brownfields, the Clean Water Act and sustainability. Contact Stacy.

Amy (Cline) Graham graduated in 2002 with a major in Economics and a minor in Environmental Studies. She attended law school at Florida State University, graduating with Certificates in both Environmental and Natural Resource Law and Land Use Law. While at FSU, she clerked at the Legal Environmental Assistance Foundation and WildLaw, two environmental nonprofit law firms, and also interned at the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. After graduation, Amy worked as a legislative assistant at the Florida Senate and is currently employed as a policy analyst in the School Choice Office at the Florida Department of Education. Contact Amy.

Amy N. Turner graduated in 2000 with a degree in Political Science and a minor in Environmental Studies. Amy received her Master's of Public Administration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University. Following an internship with the Illinois EPA�s Governor�s Environmental Corps, she joined SRA International, Inc., an international consulting firm in Arlington, VA, as an Environmental Policy Analyst. There she has worked on projects related to the Superfund program, the EPA's Abandoned Mine Lands Program and the Department of Energy's response to catastrophic events.

Amy Farrell graduated in 1998 with a degree in Biology and was the first student to graduate with a contract minor in Environmental Studies at IWU. She earned her Master's degree in Policy Analysis from Indiana University. Upon receipt of her M.P.A., she served as Policy Analyst in the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs overseeing and evaluating EPA regulatory work. In 2003, Amy became a Policy Advisor to the Administrator of the EPA. She was later promoted to Deputy Assistant Administrator of the EPA's Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances. In her various roles in the federal government, Amy has worked on the Clear Skies legislation, the Persistent Organic Pollutants Treaty and Hurricane Katrina and Rita responses.