Robert & Patricia Switzer Foundation


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E-Newsline November, 2013
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This Month's Five Minute Task
Working in a new region of the country?  Have additional environmental interests besides your primary area of expertise?  Fellows can join relevant Switzer discussion groups at any time!  See the full list of available groups.  

Question of the Month
Interested in helping us interview 2014 Fellowship candidates?  If so, please contact Erin!  (Note:  Fellows should be finished with their degrees before acting as interviewers.)  
New England interviews:
Boston, 5/3
California interviews:
San Francisco, 5/17
 
Upcoming Events and Webinars

November 12th:  Fellows Regional Gathering, Los Angeles, CA
 
November 21st:  Fellows Regional Gathering, Boston, MA


Professional Conferences
Let Erin know if you will be attending any of these!

 
Nov. 20-22: 
Greenbuild 2013, Philadelphia, PA
 
Dec. 9-13: American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, CA
 
Jan. 28-30:  National Council for Science and the Environment, Building Climate Solutions, Washington, D.C.

Fellows, we are thrilled to report that the fall retreats were a huge success!  Of particular note were the policy communications trainings by COMPASS, and the participation of an amazing group of Fellowship alumni who came to meet the new Fellows and re-connect with friends and colleagues.  Read more about the retreats in Lissa's blog post (link below)!  Up next at the Foundation office:  2014 Fellowship applications and our website upgrade, among many other things!
 

November Highlights:  Switzer Network News and Discussions
 
FEATURED FELLOWS:  
Noah Charney can't go anywhere without noticing things, including a world of creatures living in or around a simple park bench!  See this short video published in The Boston Globe!

Read Eric's interview with Ben Goldfarb of the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, discussing his latest book, the process of getting a Ph.D., the writing life, and his time at Yale.
 
MISSED OUR RECENT WEBINAR?  MATERIALS NOW AVAILABLE!
Reporting From the Fracking Front, Switzer Webinar Series with Dustin Mulvaney, Professor at San Jose State University, and Evan Hansen, President of Downstream Strategies in West Virginia.  Over 100 attendees heard Dustin and Evan discuss their findings from a collaboration researching water resource reporting from fracking operations, with Earthworks, Downstream Strategies, and San Jose State University that was supported by a Switzer Network Innovation Grant.
 
ON THE BLOG:
Lissa Widoff reflects on this year's fall retreats (with links to photos!) (At left, California Fellows at the campfire.)

Lissa reports on her experience at the recent Bioneers conference, and on the North American Community Environmental Leadership Exchange that preceded the conference, organized by Switzer Fellows Melissa Nelson and Susannah McCandless.  (Switzer was a funder of the Exchange!)

Why is it that some scientists seem to have an easy time getting the ear of policymakers?  Our retreat training partner COMPASS has been working at the nexus of science and policy for over a decade, and has identified some key elements in navigating a network.
 
 
Lissa Widoff nominated Jonathan for one of the competitive spots in the Center for Whole Community's Whole Thinking Retreat in Detroit recently.  We are pleased to present this piece, where he contemplates the experience and how it has changed his work as an environmental consultant in Hawai'i.
 
 
H. Bruce Rinker, Ph.D., offers his thoughts on the connection "between me and what I do" in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Manuel.
 
Switzer Program and Network News
APPLICATION PERIOD IS OPEN FOR 2014 SWITZER FELLOWSHIPS!
Fellows, you are the best ambassadors of our programs, so we ask that you please help us spread the word to potential candidates who display outstanding leadership qualities or potential, and who are working on cutting edge environmental issues!  Fellowship program information and guidelines are available on our website, with links to related materials and the online application.  Feel free to share the Call for Applications.  Contact Erin with any questions.
Application deadline:  January 10, 2014.

SWITZER FELLOWS' REGIONAL GATHERINGS
Two regional gatherings are in the works in Boston and Los Angeles (see Upcoming Events in sidebar), and others are in the works in Washington, DC, and the Bay Area.  If you'd like to organize an informal happy hour or other gathering for Fellows in your area, please contact Erin!  The only thing you need to do is pick a date and location, and email Fellows in your area.  These are great chances to get to know your fellow Fellows in a casual environment - network, network, network!

NEW PACIFIC NORTHWEST LEADERSHIP PROGRAM LAUNCHED
Our colleagues at the Environmental Leadership Program have announced the launch of their fourth and newest regional program, the Pacific Northwest Regional Network!  ELP is expecting to select up to 100 new Fellows for 2014, including 20 from this new network that includes emerging leaders in Alaska, Oregon and Washington.  ELP's application period for regional and nationwide fellowships is now open.  This is a great network of environmental leaders - contact ELP's Executive Director, Errol Mazursky, with questions.
 
Fellows in the News Highlights
(Remember, these are just a few highlights!  Catch up on all Fellows in the News on our website!)  
 
Laura Bozzi (2011) is now with Appalachian Mountain Advocates in West Virginia, developing a sustainable agriculture program. 
 
Esther Conrad (2012) worked with John Andrew (1995) to author a report analyzing how California's water agencies incorporate climate change into drought planning.
 
Ayana Johnson (2009) was interviewed live on Antigua's Observer Radio morning show on sustainable fishing and climate change.
 
Mike Antos (2013) has been promoted to Programs Director at the Council for Watershed Health in Los Angeles.
 
California farmers feel more threatened by climate policy than they do by climate change, Meredith Niles (2013) found.
 
Carolina Balazs (2009) co-authored a new study that found water rates in parts of the Central Valley are unaffordable.  Her report was profiled in the Central Valley Business Times.
 
Jessie Levine (2003), working under a Switzer Leadership Grant with the Adirondack Nature Conservancy, authored a report on investing in improved road/stream crossings to benefit human communities and aquatic ecosystems.
 

Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation 
P. O. Box 293
Belfast, ME 04915

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