If you have to assign a theme to 2019 in the Environmental Management Career Development Program it would be TRANSITION! By the end of the year, almost half of our Staffer family will have moved on to new career adventures in exciting positions or to continue building their educational foundations in graduate school. While we will miss them terribly, we are thrilled to watch them take these next steps and look forward to following along with them to see where their paths will lead.
In the month of July alone, we had four new Staffers enter the program and before the summer winds down, we will add one more. Earlier this week, we released the position announcement for our Fostering Chesapeake Stewardship Environmental Management Staffer – check out the advertisement here and share it with your colleagues and friends!
Let’s get to know our four newest Staffers.
Chantal Madray
Chantal Madray is the Environmental Management Staffer working with the Enhance Partnering, Leadership, and Management Goal Implementation Team (GIT). In this role, she works to improve the leadership and management of the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) and to assist partners and stakeholders in building capacity for environmental leadership. To accomplish this, Chantal helps the partnership implement the Strategy Review System and practice adaptive management. Chantal graduated with distinction from the University of Virginia (UVA) in 2016 and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Thought and Practice and a minor in Global Sustainability. In 2018, Chantal graduated from UVA once again, but, this time, with a Master of Urban and Environmental Planning degree and a concentration in Environmental Management. She is a proud “Double Hoo” with a deeply rooted passion for climate resilience, adaptation and leadership. During her time at UVA, Chantal volunteered as a Sustainability Advocate Leader for the Office of Sustainability and interned at Piedmont Environmental Council. Having grown up visiting and learning about the Chesapeake Bay, she is excited to be working to protect and restore it.
Julianna Greenberg
Julianna Greenberg is one of two new Environmental Management Staffers working with the Protect and Restore Vital Habitats Goal Implementation Team. Her work will focus on stream health, fish passage and increasing brook trout populations. Julianna is a recent graduate from the University of Maryland where she received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolution and a minor in Sustainability Studies. While at the University of Maryland, Julianna focused her research on stream and wetland restoration, taking a special interest in the impacts of stream restoration in urban areas. Prior to working at the Chesapeake Research Consortium, Julianna had internships at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. As a Maryland native, Julianna is excited to work for the Chesapeake Research Consortium to study and protect the watershed she calls home. When she is not at work, Julianna tries to find time to cook for her friends and family, paint, hike, and watch a lot of stand-up comedy on Netflix.
Megan Ossmann
Megan Ossmann is the second of two new Environmental Management Staffers working with the Protect and Restore Vital Habitats Goal Implementation Team. She focuses on supporting and coordinating the American black duck, wetlands, and submerged aquatic vegetation working groups, as well as working with the communications team and providing support to expert panels. Megan graduated from Adelphi University in 2016 with a Bachelor’s in Environmental Studies and a minor in Biology. After graduating, she worked as an Environmental GIS Analyst for the Town of Babylon in New York, mapping everything from storm water infrastructure to environmental restoration areas to piping plover nesting sites. She spent the next two years getting her Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, where she concentrated on ecosystem science and conservation and geospatial analysis. At Duke, Megan’s research interests ranged widely, from her assistantship studying the movement patterns of forest elephants in Gabon, to her master’s project analyzing the nesting characteristics of olive ridley sea turtles on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica. Megan is passionate about wildlife and habitat conservation and is thrilled to join the Habitat GIT at CRC. She is a Long Island, NY native but is excited to relocate to the Mid-Atlantic and spend more time in the beautiful Chesapeake Bay region. In her spare time, you can find Megan hiking, kayaking, spending time at the beach, doing yoga, or baking.
Hilary Swartwood
Hilary Swartwood is one of two Environmental Management Staffers working with the Protect and Restore Water Quality Goal Implementation Team. Currently, Hilary supports the Watershed Technical, Wastewater Treatment, and Toxic Contaminant Workgroups. She graduated from the University of Buffalo in 2014 with her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies with a minor in Geography. Hilary then pursued her graduate degrees at SUNY-ESF and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs where she graduated in 2016 with a duel master’s degree in Environmental Studies and Public Administration. During her undergraduate career, Hilary ran Division I Cross Country and Track and Field while also participating in internships with New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation and the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens. Her environmental studies graduate work includes participating in the Great South Woods, Adirondack State Park Recreation Planning Project and aiding in the research and publishing of a book chapter titled: Wildlife Conservation as a Public Benefit: The Public Trust Doctrine and the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation. As part of her public administration capstone, Hilary and four others worked with NASA on developing outreach strategies for the next phase of the Mission to Mars. Prior to her work with the CRC, Hilary was the Tasting Room Manager and occasional Assistant Winemaker of Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars and the co-leader of the certified Hector Presbyterian Church Earth Care Team. Hilary recently moved to Annapolis from the Finger Lakes, where she grew up. When not working at CRC, Hilary enjoys going wine tasting, running on trails, reading as many books as possible, watching baseball, and baking pies.
Welcome Chantal, Julianna, Megan, and Hilary! We look forward to seeing what great things you will contribute to the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership during your three years with us.
For additional information regarding CRC’s Environmental Management Career Development Program, please contact Melissa Fagan, Environmental Management Career Development Program Coordinator at faganm@chesapeake.org. Funding for CRC’s Environmental Management Career Development Program is provided through a cooperative agreement with the US EPA.