2024

Yesica Chavez earned her Bachelor of Science degrees in Psychology and Ethnic Studies from the University of Colorado - Denver and a Master’s in Global Health Research from Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. In 2021, she became a policy fellow at the Keystone Policy Center, co-leading the Next 100 mentorship program to support marginalized and underrepresented groups in outdoor recreation, conservation, and climate-related fields. Yesica also served on the Outdoor Equity Grant Program (OEGP) board, where she was elected chair and helped allocate $1.75 million in grants to increase outdoor access for BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and youth with disabilities. Her research portfolio includes investigating the impacts of climate change on women’s mental health in Assam, India, and the mental well-being of youth in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Yesica’s contributions earned her a place in the Environmental Fellows Program at Yale School of the Environment, where she will be working with the ClimateWorks Foundation’s Global Intelligence Office.

Wendy Luna Garcia (she/her) is an Energy Justice Research Fellow with Initiative for Energy Justice through the Yale School of the Environment’s Environmental Fellows Program (EFP). In this fellowship position, she has collaborated with community-based energy organizations to develop a white paper on interconnection policy challenges for community-led solar projects in New Mexico. Wendy also provided research assistance on energy finance for North Dakota Native Vote’s Rural Climate and Energy Democracy Campaign to expand tribal knowledge on state energy fund allocations and strategizing how to advocate and allocate more funds towards Rural Electric Cooperatives (RECs) on North Dakotan reservations to contribute to pathways for clean energy adoption. Prior to EFP, Wendy received a master’s degree in Geography from the University of Arizona’s School of Geography, Development, and Environment in 2024 and a bachelor’s degree in International Studies from the University of Wyoming in 2022. Her master’s research examined labor justice and the labor regime of the unconventional oil and gas (UOG) industry in the U.S. Mountain West, where the significant presence of Latine immigrant and non-immigrant workers, women’s labor, and rural communities’ fossil fuel dependence informs future energy policy amidst the energy transition. Outside of research, she has been a community leader with the Wyoming Latina Youth Conference and Center, supporting Latina youth’s entry into higher education through mentorship and STEM exposure, and a field coordinator with the University of Arizona’s School Garden Workshop by promoting outdoor education and supporting with culturally-rooted gardening practices in community gardens and local schools serving low-income communities.

Waku Ken-Opurum (she/her) is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Architecture-Engineering-Construction Management program at Carnegie Mellon University. She received her B.S. in Management and International Studies with an Economics minor from the Kelley School of Business (Highest Distinction) and her M.S. in Technology Management from Columbia University. Her doctoral research focuses on improving air quality monitoring and data accessibility in the Niger Delta to mitigate the environmental and health impacts of anthropogenic activities, including fossil fuel mining and gas flaring, drawing from her experiences growing up in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. Ken-Opurum is dedicated to sustainable and equitable urban development, using technology, community engagement, public policy, and art in her work. She is a National GEM Consortium Fellow and has contributed to climate resilience and urban sustainability projects at the Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and the City of Pittsburgh. Additionally, Ken-Opurum is known for her talent as an artist, with her artworks showcased in numerous group exhibitions and magazines. She has also received the Frank-Ratchye Further Fund from Carnegie Mellon’s STUDIO for Creative Inquiry and was a finalist in the 2024 Three Minute Thesis competition at Carnegie Mellon University. This summer, Ken-Opurum is working as a Yale Environmental Fellow with the Union of Concerned Scientists to conduct comprehensive research and stakeholder interviews for drafting a position statement on the reauthorization of California’s Cap and Trade program, with a focus on environmental and environmental justice concerns.

Jayanna “Jay” Killingsworth, MA (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in the Sustainability Education program with Prescott College. Although she was born and raised in central Texas, her love of travel and exploration has allowed her to live in multiple US and European locations. She is focusing her dissertation on exploring capacity building for cultural workers in various creative sectors. As a participant with the Environmental Fellowship Program, she has been placed with the Appalachian Trail Conservancy to assist with messaging and information around accessibility on the Trail via the website and communications channels, explore new accessibility partners, and deepen engagement with hikers with disabilities. Her academic accomplishments are interdisciplinary and have included presenting at conferences around the world and co-authoring multiple articles and a book chapter. In addition to her scholarly work with Prescott College, Jayanna has been the online student trustee for the past two years. She has actively networked and advocated for her constituency during her term, which numbers in the many hundreds. Professionally, for the last 20 years, she has been involved in various roles in the visual arts sector throughout North America. These include consultation, teaching, custom picture framing, gallery owner, manager, and manufacturing representative. Her enduring passion for cultivating creativity and protecting the Earth propels all that she does personally, academically, and professionally.

Samira Umar (she/her/ella) is a first-generation, fourth-year Ph.D. student at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) Biological Sciences Department, specializing in Ecology and Evolution. Her dedication to research is evident through her work at the Gonzalez-Meler Stable Isotope Lab under the guidance of Dr. Miquel Gonzalez Meler. Her Ph.D. dissertation delves into the Arctic’s response to global climate change, employing mass spectroscopy and elemental analysis to uncover critical insights about the future of our warming planet. Additionally, she is investigating the influx of microplastics into the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and their impact on this once-pristine ecosystem. Graduating with honors and magna cum laude in 2021 with a B.S. in Earth and Environmental Sciences, Samira continued her research on Arctic soils during a summer internship at Argonne National Lab under Dr. Roser Matamala, setting the stage for her Ph.D. dissertation. Samira’s aspirations are as ambitious as her achievements. As an active member of the UIC Bios DEIJ subcommittee, she unearthed a profound passion for environmental justice, especially for underserved communities. Her commitment goes beyond committee work; she actively recruits and mentors first-generation undergraduate and high-school research assistants, fostering the next generation of scientists. This passion propelled her into the prestigious Yale School of Environment 2024 Environmental Fellows Program, where she is interning with the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to explore renewable energies and nonprofit governance. Samira envisions herself as a future chief scientist for an influential environmental nonprofit like the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) and as a faculty professor at a leading research university. In these roles, she aims to continue shaping young minds and serving as a formidable advocate for environmental and educational equity on a board of trustees.

Troy Wynne is a Ph.D. student in the Joint Doctoral Ecology program at San Diego State University and the University of California, Davis. She conducts interdisciplinary research in applied conservation ecology in coastal wetlands and estuarine systems and environmental justice. Her research focuses on the ecological impacts of raw sewage pollution in the Tijuana River Estuary and the broader effects on environmental justice communities within San Diego.Troy grew up in Washington, DC, and received a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy with a concentration in Wildlife Ecology and Management from the University of Maryland, College Park, in 2023. There, she served on the Environmental Science and Policy Departmental Student Advisory Board. Troy also participated in numerous National Science Foundation Undergraduate Research Experiences (REU) and science communication internships with The Nature Conservancy, NASA Harvest, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health (CEEJH), UCLA and OceanX.Troy also seeks to decolonize scientific research and advance environmental justice. In addition to her active research, Troy is the Community Manager for Black in Marine Science (BIMS) and an active member in Black Women in Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Science (BWEEMS), advancing inclusion and diversity in a historically non-diverse field. Troy has written and published several articles and blogs advocating for increasing diversity in STEM, including pieces in the Scuba Diving Magazine, STEM News Chronicle, and EndoBlack. Notably, Troy was recently awarded the Community, Equity, Learning, and Persistence Award from the Aquarium of the Pacific. As a 2024 Yale Environmental Fellow, Troy is working at Clean Water Action on the National Campaigns Team, working on various projects, including policy and data analysis to support the Clean Water Act Equity Project and the equitable use of new federal water infrastructure funding.

Tamara Jeffries is a recent graduate of Columbia University (2024) where she received her Masters of Public Administration (MPA) in Environmental Science and Policy. During her time at Columbia, she focused on researching nature based solutions for cities, food systems and agriculture policy, environmental justice, and visual arts. Before Columbia, she attended Case Western Reserve University where she double majored in Environmental Geology & Anthropology, with a minor in Photography. Her focus on environmental justice is personal and professional, aiming to address food security, education, and land rights, particularly within BIPOC communities, through research, advocacy, and storytelling. This summer Tamara is working at WE ACT For Environmental Justice under the organization’s co-founder and executive director Peggy Shepard, and supporting executive staff. She loves being in nature, hiking, running, yoga, baking, oat chai lattes, and learning all things related to the arts and culture.

Sami Maldonado is an Environment & Sustainability graduate student and Transformative Food Systems Fellow at the University of Michigan. Her team’s capstone project aims to advance place-based K-12 food systems education in Michigan with attention to climate change and social justice. Sami is also the Course Coordinator for the University of Michigan’s community-academic partnership course titled “Food Literacy for All.” As a Yale School of Environment Environmental Fellow, Sami engages in trust-based philanthropy alongside the JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) team at ClimateWorks Foundation. Sami earned her B.S. in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems at the University of Minnesota and calls Minneapolis home.

PwintPhyu Nandar is an Environmental Fellow at the Erol Foundation. She carries out research for the foundation’s climate action and regenerative food systems program areas. These issues are near and dear to her heart, as she grew up in Richmond, CA, and studies access to culturally desirable foods. PwintPhyu recently received her Master’s of Environmental Science from Yale School of the Environment this Spring, 2024. Her thesis investigated how Greater New Haven residents access foods that reflect their heritage. She received her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Systems and Society from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2019. Her undergraduate honors thesis on how immigrant households conserve water in Los Angeles earned her highest departmental honors and the Dean’s Prize in Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. For the next four years at UCLA, she sought to gain experience within the air quality field. While pursuing these experiences, PwintPhyu participated in an undergraduate research program and was matched with the Gender Water Project. This research project investigated gendered differences in household water use in Los Angeles, a far cry from air quality research. This experience, however, helped PwintPhyu realize her passion for people- and community-centered research. While she still cared about ensuring healthy air quality for overburdened communities, she began to realize her research interests may be different. At Yale School of the Environment, she developed and executed her thesis investigating how Greater New Haven residents access their culturally desirable foods. Over the course of five months, PwintPhyu distributed her survey and conducted ethnographies, where she accompanied residents as they sourced ingredients and showed her how to cook their cultural meal. In addition to her research, PwintPhyu served as the Academic Affairs Representative on the Student Affairs Committee. This summer, she is excited to apply all that she has learned from her studies and experiences to researching Rights of Nature for Erol. In the fall, PwintPhyu will start her PhD in Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She is thrilled to return to the Bay Area, where her love for the environment began.

Naajia Shakir is a graduate student at the University of Michigan in the School for Environment and Sustainability, specializing in Environmental Justice, and at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning in the Urban and Regional Planning Program. She is currently an Environmental Fellow at the Environmental Fellows Program (EFP) at the Yale School of Environment, where she works with the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition and Clear the Air Michigan. She is helping them host town halls about cumulative impacts and how it affects air quality and health within the Southeast Michigan community.

Muram Bacare (she/her/hers) is an Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Masters candidate at Tufts University.  Prior to attending Tufts University, Muram has received her Bachelor of Architecture and Fine Art from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her professional background is in architecture and urban design and her academic interests include urban planning, transportation, as well as environmental and public policy. Muram is currently interning at GRID Alternatives through the Yale Environmental Fellowship. At GRID, Muram is researching the landscape of clean mobility and transportation justice initiatives across the country. She is also supporting the development of a strategic plan for future engagement in shared and micro-mobility programming. In addition, Muram is collaborating with GRID’s Policy and Programs team to execute specific clean mobility-related policy projects. In addition to being a Yale Environmental Fellow, Muram is also a Harvard Kennedy School Rappaport Public Policy Fellow where she is involved in Urban Planning and Design initiatives at the Boston Planning and Development Agency. After graduation Muram hopes to work in city government leading transportation, zoning, policy, and design initiatives that serve communities that stand to benefit.

Josh Heupel (he/him) is a Master in Public Affairs candidate specializing in domestic environmental policy at Princeton University’s School of Public and International Affairs. He holds a B.S. in Agricultural Business/Economics and a B.A. in Political Science from California State University-Fresno, where he graduated in 2023. Raised on a small family farm in California’s Central Valley, Josh developed a deep understanding of the environmental and economic challenges faced by his rural community. This upbringing instilled in him a profound commitment to domestic climate policy, particularly focusing on issues affecting migrant farmworker communities, food security, single-industry towns, and the agricultural response to climate change and water conservation law. Currently, Heupel is a Yale Environmental Fellow working with Freshwater Future, a non-profit that works to safeguard the waters of the Great Lakes region. As a fellow, he researches water privatization and affordability for underserved communities within the eight Great Lake states. Looking ahead, Josh is eager to further his academic pursuits in environmental policy and remains committed to shaping resilient food, water, and agricultural policies that secure a sustainable future for rural communities nationwide, continuing the legacy of his family’s farm.

Isaac Carroo is pursuing a joint Master of Environmental Management from Yale School of the Environment and a Master of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School. He is focused on removing barriers for historically disenfranchised groups to steward lands and waters through social enterprise models, and he specifically focuses on food systems and circular economies. He has past work experience across the United States and Aotearoa, New Zealand, working in social enterprise and management consulting. He holds Bachelor’s degrees in Religion and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from Rice University. Isaac is placed with the Rhode Island Division of Marine Fisheries through the Environmental Fellows Program. Isaac is a Jamaican-American from Washington, D.C.

Hauwa Abbas, originally from Michigan, is a dedicated advocate for social impact and community development, currently pursuing her Master’s in Public Administration and Public Policy at American University and is a 2024 Fellow at the Yale School of Environment, with a placement at the Environment Justice Coalition in Detroit. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising Management and Media with a minor in Public Relations from Michigan State University, where she contributed to developing an app for Flint residents to access healthier food choices amid the water crisis. Hauwa has served as Deputy Campaign Manager for State Representative Abraham Aiyash and worked on Michigan’s Clean Slate Program, assisting formerly incarcerated individuals with expungements. As the founder and director of The Halimah Project, she has spent seven years mentoring Muslim refugee youth in mid-Michigan. Her passion for social impact extends beyond her nonprofit work into her academic pursuits, reflecting her commitment to creating  a more equitable and inclusive society. In her free time, she enjoys long walks, cooking, DIY crafts, attending Islamic lectures, gym sessions, listening to podcasts, and reading mystery novels. Hauwa’s exceptional leadership and dedication to public service continue to inspire others and uplift marginalized communities.

Esaac Mazengia is an incoming PhD student in the Environmental Studies department at University of California- Santa Cruz. Esaac recently completed his Master of Environmental Science at the Yale School of the Environment under the mentorship of Dr. Dorceta Taylor. Before his master’s degree, Esaac completed his Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Terrestrial Resource Management from the University of Washington and worked for a year in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park as a vegetation technician. A current fellow with the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program and the University of California Cota-Robles fellowship, Esaac researches the intersection of environmental justice, outdoor recreation, and African immigrant community health and wellbeing. His work explores the creative ways in which to address existing equity gaps and examines how greenspace equity, more broadly, can act as a mechanism through which to improve socio-ecological community climate resilience on the way to a just transition. This summer, as a member of the Yale Environmental Fellowship Program, Esaac will be working with the philanthropy Justice Outside to help support grantees within their Liberated Paths grantmaking program.  When not researching outdoor recreation, Esaac loves to participate in a variety of outdoor recreation activities himself, including hiking, kayaking, nature photography, and camping with friends and family.

Dionna Brown (she/her) is a dedicated environmental advocate and scholar, currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health at Michigan State University, with plans to apply to law school in 2025. Dionna’s passion for environmental justice is deeply rooted in her experiences and academic journey. Growing up in Flint, Michigan, during the Flint Water Crisis, she witnessed firsthand the devastating impacts of environmental neglect on marginalized communities. This pivotal experience ignited her commitment to advocating for clean water and sustainable, equitable environments for all. Dionna graduated from Wayne State University in May 2024 with a Master’s degree in Sociology, following her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology with a minor in Afro-American Studies from Howard University in 2021. Her academic focus on environmental justice, climate justice, and public health has equipped her with a comprehensive understanding of the intricate social, political, and economic factors underlying environmental issues.As a Yale Environmental Fellows Program 2024 cohort member, Dionna’s placement is at We the People of Detroit. She is also a Young Climate Leader of Color 2023 alum and an inaugural MI Healthy Climate Corps member. Dionna has honed her advocacy, community organizing, and policy analysis skills through these programs. Her leadership roles, particularly as the National Director of Youth Environmental Justice Programs at Young, Gifted & Green, have allowed her to engage and educate youth about environmental inequalities affecting Black and Brown communities. In this role, she spearheaded the Youth Environmental Justice Council and collaborated on numerous initiatives to address environmental injustices.

Kyle Dahilig, a PhD student in Ecology at the University of California, Davis, is an interdisciplinary-driven researcher interested in environmental governance structures and partnerships as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) seek to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As a Yale Environmental Fellow, he interned with the Center for Biological Diversity to review and analyze potential pathways for New Mexico’s just transition towards renewable energy. In this role, he conducted a literature review for policy memos related to resource access, economic impact and environmental justice. As a first-generation college graduate, Dahilig received his Bachelor of Science in integrative biology and minor in crop and environmental protection science from the University of Guam. Within his community, he served as the committee chairman on environment, utilities and transportation in the Guam Youth Congress, focusing on island waste management, sustainability and renewable energy investments through policy writing and public hearing advocacy. As the Guam Green Growth Youth Ambassador, he worked with government agencies, nonprofit organizations and academic institutions to develop a living policy framework for Guam that aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In this role, he negotiated opportunities for youth development programs and identified services and gaps within the community’s programs that impact natural resources. With Dahilig’s commitment to ecological research, environmental stewardship and community engagement, he has earned local and national recognition such as the National Science Foundation: Graduate Research Fellowship, Udall Foundation Scholarship, Doris Duke Conservation Scholarship, the Walt Disney–Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institution Scholarship and more. His overarching goal is to support biodiversity while promoting sustainable development and collaborative decision-making. He is motivated to serve as a researcher for government programs dedicated to supporting under-resourced communities, communicating with decision-makers on elevating the relationship between biodiversity, development and environmental justice and opening doors for those after him.