My name is Madison Pelland, and I am currently a student in the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management at UC Davis and plan to graduate June 2025. After completing my undergraduate degree in Environmental Science, Technology, and Policy at CSU Monterey Bay, I felt like I gained a general overview of environmental issues and wanted to dive into a more specialized academic setting. I began to uncover my love for planning and conservation through internships and volunteer opportunities.
Over the summer, Morgan worked as a Graduate Student Researcher with Green Schoolyards America focused on identifying barriers and opportunities for establishing schoolyard forests in Nevada.
For Annika's Practicum, she worked with WSP USA's Climate, Resilience and Sustainability team and the Federal Highway Administration to research vulnerability of Tribal Nation transportation networks to climate change impacts.
Peter Rossi, a second-year EPM student at UC Davis, shares his experience working with the California Transportation Commission's Active Transportation Program (ATP). He utilized a new Benefit-Cost Tool to quantify the benefits of ATP-funded projects, presenting key findings at the May 2024 Commission meeting to stakeholders including policymakers, local/regional agencies and advocates for increased program funding and promote sustainable, multimodal transportation solutions for Californians.
Alex is a second year EPM student with an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, where they focused on remote sensing and stormwater. This past summer, they worked at Contra Costa County Public Works as a student intern in the Watershed Program.
Second-year EPM student Kriti Shah presented her research done in collaboration with Dr. Aditya Ramji at the International Round Table on materials Criticality in Turin, Italy earlier this year.
My name is Saurabh Harohalli, and I am part of the EPM Class of 2024. Before coming to EPM, I studied chemical engineering and worked in the manufacturing sector. Through EPM, I am currently shifting my career to focus on the intersection of decarbonization and urban planning.
With increasing pressure to meet renewable energy targets in California, ongoing concerns for
the future of California’s water supply, and a thriving technology sector within the state, interest
in mixing commercial agriculture with renewable energy installations has never been higher.
However, until recently, there has been little understanding of how individual counties in
California have defined solar installations on commercial, agricultural land under Williamson Act
contracts.
Three masters students in the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management recently completed their environmental justice focused Practicum projects in collaboration with three nonprofit organizations.
In the forest of the Telegrafenberg in Potsdam, Germany I completed my practicum this summer with the German Arctic Office, which is a part of the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research.
