Natalie Clark
Name: Natalie Clark
Position: Environmental Coordinator with AES
Natalie now works for AES as their Huntington Beach Environmental Coordinator for the construction of the new power plants. She oversees the construction site and ensures they adhere to the environmental conditions.
Sam Hoang
Name: Sam Hoang
Position: Employee with the Southern Nevada Water Authority
Sam just finished a tour with the NCC/AmeriCorps (and in coordination with the BLM and USGS) in a restoration project for burned areas in Nevada in order to restore desert tortoise habitat and to test out an experimental planting technique (Jelly Rolling). The restored areas are: Goodsprings, Gold Butte (yes, THAT Gold Butte), Red Rock, and Coyote Springs. He has also decommissioned some unofficial ATV trails too in Goodsprings, Gold Butte, and Coyote Springs. In January, he started working with the Southern Nevada Water Authority working in Warm Springs, NV. He is clearing out invasive plant species for the Moapa dace, a federally endangered fish that is endemic to the area.
Kelci Boynton
Name: Kelci Boynton
Position: Employee at Inside the Outdoors
Kelci is at Inside the Outdoors. She takes various elementary school students on field trips around nature centers, parks, and wetlands around Orange County. “We get to bring their classroom outside and help students learn about all of the beautiful nature around them. All of our programs are run through the Orange County Department of Education. We learn about ecosystems, plants, animal evidence, and even local California Indians. It’s a lot of fun!”
Heather Turrentine
Name: Heather Turrentine
Position: Research Assistant
MS, 2016, School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Heather has been working as a research assistant at the Sustainability Consortium since Fall 2014. Her personal research is focused around biodiversity conservation and attempting to understand how humans interact with their environment and what implications that has for the conservation and protection of valuable natural resources.
Melissa Romero
Name: Melissa Romero
Position: Policy Analyst with Californians Against Waste (CAW)
Melissa graduated from CSULB in 2015 with a B.A. in Environmental Science & Policy and has been with Californians Against Waste (CAW) since January, 2016. As a Policy Associate her areas of focus are food waste reduction policy, assisting in the development of local expanded-polystyrene ordinances, enforcement of previously passed legislation, general support for CAW sponsored legislation, and advocacy for legislation supported by CAW. She is the lead staff on the Environmental Advertising Compliance Campaign and the Certified Reusable Bag Enforcement Campaign.
Here is a video of Melissa testifying in front of the California State Legislature
Eileen del Rosario
Name: Eileen del Rosario
Position: Environmental Scientist with the Department of Public Health
Eileen was a biological science intern for NOAA, under the National Marine Fisheries Service’s highly migratory species branch. The majority of her work involved the management of fish species that migrate throughout the Pacific Ocean, since we’re required to manage the species throughout their range. Because there are jurisdictional overlaps in the Pacific, we use scientific data from regional science centers and international assessments and translate them into management actions that comply with federal regulations and international agreements. We manage the fisheries to ensure sustainability of the species while also evaluating the potential impacts of fisheries on all species and evaluating the potential impacts to our economy.
“I have been exposed to and have been able to contribute to a range of projects, including stock status determinations, environmental assessments, endangered species petitions, the regulatory amendment process, and the political process that comes with it all. Although it seems like a short list, I definitely never run out of things to do and I’m always learning something new.”
Eileen is now working as an environmental scientist with the Department of Public Health.
Cameron Jones
Name: Cameron Jones
Position: Staff Engineer (Wastewater)
Cameron’s job title is Staff Engineer – Wastewater. His job consists of designing and optimizing wastewater treatment plants, with a focus on improving energy efficiency and increased nutrient removal. In the bigger picture, wastewater treatment is important because it reduces the amount of wastewater discharged into rivers and oceans, and improves the health of environment.
Dominique Vitti
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Name: Dominique Vitti
Position: Volunteer with San Gabriel Leadership Academy
Dominique partnered with the Panorama City Recreation Center and held three workshops where she taught kids about the importance of the San Gabriel Mountains and nature itself. Panorama City is a park-poor city and she wanted kids to experience nature for themselves. Her project culminated with a hike in Big Tujunga Canyon and the kids made a poster for their local Representative to promote more green/open space in Panorama City.
Justin Hall
Justin currently works at Environmental Science Associates where he writes and edits CEQA documents (mostly EIRs) and enjoys his job.
Ashley Alonzo (Class of 2014) – Chontachaka Ecological Reserve in Peru
Ashley Alonzo
Organization: Chontachaka Ecological Reserve in Peru
Website: http://www.ecologiaperumanu.com/
Degree: Environmental Science and Policy, B.A. (Class of 2014)
Ashley Alonzo worked for a reforestation project in the Manu National Park located in the Peruvian Amazon. Here, she participated in linear transecting, helping clear the area of invasive species— mostly bamboo— to plant tree saplings.
Having long wanted to go abroad, Ashley received both the benefits of travel but also a unique opportunity to apply her knowledge from ESP courses in the field. “It was nice to apply my knowledge to what I was doing. I gave mini lectures to the tourists that came to the reserve and spoke about the importance of the reforestation project.”
“I fell in love with the culture itself and the people and how they see life. Especially people who live in the jungle. It wasn’t about money or anything. It was just about the plants.”