Environmental Justice Careers
Description:
This discussion served as an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students alike to hear about post-grad opportunities pursuing careers in environmental justice work and to get advice and feedback on the academic and professional pathways that are most advantageous for environmental justice positions.
Panelist Bios:
Dr. Fushcia-Ann Hoover
Dr. Fushcia-Ann Hoover is a social-ecological systems scientist exploring the intersections of urban hydrology, green infrastructure and ecosystem services in the context of environmental justice and urban planning. In her work, she uses spatial analysis, qualitative surveying methods, and scientific methods from urban hydrology and statistical hydrology to address complex urban issues and equity. She currently teaches and works as an Assistant professor at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences. She is a faculty affiliate with the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long term Ecological Research (CAP-LTER) network, and looking for master’s students interested in exploring urban planning, environmental justice, and green infrastructure management.
Anhthu Hoang
Anhthu Hoang is an attorney in EPA Region 2’s air program. While she currently focuses on air regulation, in the past, Anhthu has worked with programs within the region and across the agency to integrate environmental justice (EJ) into EPA’s core functions. In order to promote equal protection under the nation’s laws for communities with EJ concerns, Anhthu has also worked with state and municipal governments as well as diverse stakeholders to promote and share methods and tools to improve environmental and health protection for vulnerable populations. Prior to joining EPA, Anhthu worked with a number of EJ organizations in NYC and the San Francisco Bay Area advocating for communities of low-income and color. Before launching her legal career, Anhthu was an ecologist studying the impacts of agricultural pesticide contamination in wild amphibian populations. In addition to her law degree, Anhthu holds a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology.
Rebecca Iwerks
As the Learning and Policy Advisor for the Global Environmental Justice Corps, Rebecca supports land and environmental justice warriors find new ways to scale and sustain the impact of their work. Before joining Namati, Rebecca fostered movements for change and capacity development on access to justice issues ranging from natural resource revenue management to land tenure. Rebecca also has roots advocating for gender justice, drawing from experience directly representing survivors of trafficking and gender-based violence in New York. Her career began working alongside the Burmese democracy movement in Thailand and India. Rebecca earned a Juris Doctorate from Fordham University and a B.S. in astronomy from the University of Massachusetts. She has three children who she tries to convince to enjoy recipes that she collects from her travels.
Dr. Cynthia Hall
Dr. Hall has conducted research on marine nitrogen cycling, specifically examining the rates and pathways of denitrification, a reaction that removes biologically available nitrogen, on the continental shelf and salt marshes of Georgia. Currently, Dr. Hall is a professor at West Chester University, and is studying heavy metal contamination in Philadelphia soils. In particular, the element lead has been found to be abundant in Philadelphia soils and because lead is a neurotoxin to humans, the research team is now investigating the source and fate of the lead to determine the rick for public health. The heavy metals will be measured using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence Analyzer, which can detect trace metals in the ppm range in under 60 seconds. The handheld version allows samples to be analyzed in the field.