August 2016

E-Newsline

Fall Retreats are coming up!

As most of you know, registration is now open for the fall retreats!  Our fall retreats are our first official in-person welcome to the 2016 Fellows, and offer a terrific array of networking, learning, and fun in beautiful settings.  This year, we'll once again partner with Rockwood Leadership Institute for a one-day Transformative Leadership training.  This training has received great reviews from Fellows who have done it, and we're pleased to say this year we are offering new materials that will include a section on power and equity in leadership, and on peer coaching as a leadership skill.  Alumni, if you've taken the one-day training with us before and want a refresher, please consider joining us!



New England Retreat:  September 16-18, 2016

Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA

Click here to register



California Retreat:  September 30 - October 1, 2016

NatureBridge at the Marin Headlands, Sausalito, CA

Click here to register



Please contact Erin with any questions.  See you soon!

Photo: Michael Mol/Flickr

Leadership Grant Program Update



Fellows, we regret to say we will be suspending our fall Leadership Grant cycle due to a tight budget coming up for the 2017 fiscal year.  We will have our spring cycle as planned.  (Concept letters due February 1st, invited proposals due March 1st.)  Anyone considering a possible Leadership Grant concept for the spring should make sure you check in with Erin as early as possible to discuss.



We do have two current postings on the Leadership Exchange from organizations (Appalachian Mountain Club and South Yuba River Citizens League) hoping to partner with a Fellow to develop a Leadership Grant concept.  Both of those organizations are aware of the suspension of our fall cycle.  This may be of particular interest to Fellows graduating in the spring.



Please contact Erin with questions about any of our grant programs. 

Fellows at Society for Conservation Biology annual meeting

Upcoming Conferences



If anyone plans to attend any of these upcoming conferences, please let Erin know!  We can help facilitate a Fellows get-together.
  • Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting: Aug 7-12, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
  • Society of Environmental Journalists Annual Conference: Sept. 21-25, Sacramento, CA
  • Greenbuild: October 5-7, Los Angeles, CA
  • SXSW Eco:  October 10-12, Austin, TX
  • Bioneers:  October 21-23, San Rafael, CA
  • Land Trust Alliance Rally:  October 28-30, Minneapolis, MN
  • American Public Health Association Conference:  October 29 - November 2, Denver, CO
FELLOWS, PLEASE NOTE:  Let us know if you will be presenting or speaking at any public or online venues so we can spread the word to Fellows in your area or share any appropriate web links.



Maria Fernandez-Gimenez: Research Leads to Mongolia's Highest Honor



Colorado State University Professor Maria Fernandez-Giminez has received the Order of the Polar Star from the Government of Mongolia for her long-standing commitment to researching Mongolia's extensive rangelands and how natural and human communities are adapting to ecological and economic change.



Read more



Subsidies in the Wrong Places Skew Renewable Energy's Power



Given the existing low-cost competition in a no-growth market, renewable developers face tough investment challenges absent new policies.  Fellow and Trustee Joe Aldy writes that a carbon tax could substantially increase market demand for renewable power and encourage the retirement of pollution-intensive coal-fired power plants.



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Photo: Hippie Triathlete/Flickr

Coastal Infrastructure:  Is It Time to Update our Investment Portfolio?



Fellow Erin McCreless encourages us to occasionally assess our portfolio and think about our allocations of funding to coastal green infrastructure.



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Communicating About your Science at Conferences



Conferences are great places to work on your communication, share your expertise, and connect with new people.  They can be exhilarating and exhausting, stimulating and stupefying, optimistic and overwhelming - but don't forget to incorporate ways to improve your communication skills and work toward your communication goals.



Read more



Upcoming Events
New Fellows Orientation Webinar

Monday, August 29, 2016 - 12:30 pm ET

This webinar will introduce the 2016 Fellows (and any alumni who want a refresher!) to the Switzer Foundation's website and social media channels and how to keep profiles up to date and connect with other Fellows using these tools.

Contact  Lauren for more information.



New England Fall Fellows Retreat

Friday, September 16th - Sunday, September 18th

Harvard Forest, Petersham, MA

 For more information



California Fall Fellows Retreat

Friday, September 30th - Sunday, October 2nd

NatureBridge at the Marin Headlands, Sausalito, CA

For more information



Just a reminder that we will resume our regular Fellows' networking calls in the fall, after staff summer vacations and Lauren Hertel's planned maternity leave.  Please let Lauren know if you have any ideas for a networking call!

Fellows in the News
Amanda Beal was profiled in the Portland Press Herald as the new President of Maine Farmland Trust.



Farmland could help combat climate change, according to Margaret Torn, quoted in Scientific American.



Yesenia Gallardo's Poda Foods, Inc., an edible cricket supplier, was the winner of Pitch Oregon.



Heather Coleman, Climate Change Manager at Oxfam America, was quoted in Tech Times that food scarcity caused by global warming may lead to 500,000 deaths by 2050.

Fellow Job News
Amanda Beal is now President of Maine Farmland Trust, based in Belfast, Maine.



Michael P. Wilson is the new Director of the Occupational and Environmental Health Program at the Blue Green Alliance.

A vibrant community of environmental leaders


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