This summer, NEIWPCC hired 30 interns and seasonal staff across four states, in positions ranging from invasive species management and environmental monitoring to public outreach and communications. The paid positions provide these new hires with relevant training and career experience.
Maya Ray is serving as a communications intern at the Long Island Sound Study in Stamford, Connecticut. Writing for the organization’s website and publications, Ray is focusing on how science and management can help sustain and protect an urban waterway from emerging threats such as sea level rise and climate change. She is currently pursuing her master’s in conservation biology at the University of Connecticut.
Amy Oblitas Rojas joined the Water Resources Protection Division supporting the Hudson River National Estuarine Research Reserve as a research and monitoring intern in Staatsburg, New York. Rojas assists with the study of estuary habitats, including freshwater tidal emergent marshes and beds of submerged aquatic vegetation. This includes maintaining data loggers, collecting water samples and field data, and supporting chemical analysis. Rojas holds a bachelor’s in marine vertebrate biology and psychology from Stony Brook University.
NEIWPCC’s Water Quality Division recruited Avril Lynch as a seasonal invasive species intern supporting the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management Office of Water Resources in Providence, Rhode Island. Lynch implements water chestnut removal and management in the Blackstone and Ten Mile watersheds. She is coordinating water chestnut removal events, recruiting volunteers, leading trainings, and working with state and municipal partners. Lynch is currently pursuing a bachelor’s in applied environmental studies at Tufts University.
Riley Moulton was hired as a contracts/legal intern with NEIWPCC’s Water Resources Protection Division in the Lowell, Massachusetts office. He assists the contracts team with processing and compliance of new and existing contracts. Moulton is a rising senior at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst majoring in legal studies and English.
Graham Stedfast joined NEIWPCC’s headquarters office as a water quality and business operations intern. Stedfast is supporting a variety of projects, including the Long Island Garden Rewards Program, which aims to reduce stormwater runoff to local waters. He is currently pursuing his bachelor’s in environmental science at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Rebecca Navarrette and Daphne Short joined NEIWPCC’s Wastewater and Onsite Programs Division as Youth and the Environment Program (YEP) coordinators based in Lowell, Massachusetts. They oversee all aspects of the YEP program including supervising and mentoring youth, developing environmental education curriculum, coordinating field trips, and organizing work activities at two local wastewater treatment facilities. This is Short’s second summer as a YEP coordinator, and she will join NEIWPCC in the fall in a full-time capacity. She earned a bachelor’s in environmental studies with a concentration in geology from the University of Texas at El Paso, and Navarrette holds a master’s in geologic science from the University of Texas at El Paso.
At the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP), two education and outreach coordinators engage the public on a variety of watershed topics and stewardship actions. They staff outreach events and the resource room within ECHO, Leahy Center for Lake Champlain. Emma Dannenberg recently graduated from Champlain College with a degree in fine arts and a minor in environmental studies and policy. Also a recent graduate, Vivienne Shields earned a degree in environmental studies from the University of Vermont and worked as a watershed educator with the Watershed Alliance, a Lake Champlain Sea Grant-funded program.
The bulk of NEIWPCC seasonal staff – 21 of them, nine returning – serve as aquatic invasive species boat launch stewards with the LCBP. Working at various public boat launches around Lake Champlain in Vermont and New York, they educate lake visitors about aquatic invasive species, collect data, and inspect and decontaminate watercraft for aquatic organisms. Of this group, 14 are current or recently graduated college students while others bring professional experience in education, public health, and as a fly-fishing guide.
The LCBP Instagram account is featuring profiles of each seasonal staff member throughout the summer.