Thursday, June 17, 2010

New Fellow Begins at the Great Lakes Commission

After a rigorous selection process, the next round of fellowhips recipients have been chosen - including two candidates from Michigan for two different fellowships.

Congrulations to Julie Mida, the next Great Lakes Commission Fellow. Julie just finished an MS in Aquatic Sciences from the University of Michigan, where she researched the role of the opossum shrimp (Mysis relicta) in the altered food webs of Lakes Michigan and Huron.

Julie is a Michigan native who loves swimming, boating, creative writing and just being outdoors. She says her interest in aquatic ecology was a natural extension of her childhood experiences, “…catching fish from her dock, exploring ice formations on the frozen shores in winter and discovering the secrets of wind-swept dunes and pebble-strewn beaches in summer.”

Julie found many outlets for her passion in school and beyond. As part of her MS research project, she spent 10 days living and sampling abroad the EPA’s research ship, the Lake Guardian, and many long hours processing and identifying plankton samples in University and USGS labs. Julie isn’t just good at doing science, she’s also great at sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm. She received glowing reviews from the students in her lab sections and she found time to lead volunteer stream monitoring trips. Julie has a great combination of interpersonal and technical skills and we are thrilled to see where the fellowship takes her.

After just two weeks on the job at the Commission, Julie expects her work to focus on issues of invasive species, habitat restoration and coastal wind development.  We look forward to blog updates from Julie!

Finalist Chosen for Marine Policy Fellowship

Colin Hume was recently chosen to be part of the 2011 class of Knauss Fellows - Congratulations! Colin and about 40 other fellows will be heading to D.C. in Janauary 2011, but he won’t find out which agency within the exectirve branch will be his host until November.

Colin just completed a MS at the University of Michigan, with a focus on Conservation Biology and Environmental Policy. Colin grew up near Seattle where both the coast and mountains made a deep impression and influenced his professional as well as recreational choices. After graduating from Western Washington University with a degree in biology he worked on number of field research projects –snagging bear hair for DNA anlaysis, tracking the movement of carnivores, and searching for amphibians in wetlands.

Ecology is only one of Colin’s passions. After college, he also spent time in Afganistan and Ethiopia, as a photographer, videographer and fundraising coordinator for two NGOs. These experiences contributed to Colin’s creativity, leadership and organizational skills – traits that will likely make him an effective environmental practicioner.

During his years in the field, Colin developed a desire to play a larger role in the decision-making and management of our forest and natural resources. He hopes his MS degree and the Knauss fellowship will deepen his understanding of environmental approaches within the public sector and will help launch his career. We look forward to learning a little bit about the journey!