Dr. Dorceta Taylor, Program Director and Principal Investigator
Dr. Dorceta Taylor is a distinguished professor at the Yale School of the Environment (YSE). She oversees the programming and strategic development for the Environmental Fellows program at the University of Michigan. She authored the most comprehensive report on diversity in the mainstream environmental movement, “Diversity in the Environmental Institutions: Mainstream NGOS, Foundations & Government Agencies,” commissioned by Green 2.0, which called for programs like DDCSP to diversify the conservation workforce. She is also the author of three books focused on environmental history and environmental justice.
Program Staff
Ivy Ortiz, Program Manager
Ivy Ortiz graduated from the University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability, with a master’s degree in Environmental Justice. Aside from administrative and mentoring roles, their expertise lies in using quantitative research methods within R, Geographic Information Systems, and Remote Sensing applications. In their free time, they enjoy hiking, painting, fishing, and boxing.
Nisreen Abo-Sido, Program Manager
Nisreen is a Program Manager, helping to oversee the Environmental Fellows Program (EFP). Before joining JEDSI, she worked for the City of Boston’s Office of Food Justice (OFJ), as the Partnerships and Community Engagement Manager, leading efforts to help Boston residents access sufficient healthy and culturally-relevant foods. Nisreen completed her Master of Environmental Management (MEM) from the Yale School of the Environment (YSE) in 2023, and her bachelor’s from Wellesley College in 2018. Within the environmental field, she is particularly passionate about advancing more just and sustainable food systems. Recognizing how transformative her internship experiences have been in shaping her understanding of environmental and social issues, she is excited to help students thrive in their experiential learning opportunities and beyond.