Environmental Policy and Management job fair connects over 100 students to environmental organizations
The Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management is dedicated to providing students the opportunity to network and engage with a wide-range of professionals from environmental organizations in Sacramento and Bay Area. Each year the program hosts an event in the winter for students to do just that.
This year, EPM hosted a job fair that included open networking and a student poster session. This event saw an increase in attendance, from 80 in 2023 to over 150 people in 2024.
"The networking event was fantastic! EPM students were able to talk directly with numerous firms, agencies and non-profit environmental organizations about opportunities in the field of policy and management. This will be a key recruiting event for the talented EPM graduates each year."
- David Bunn, EPM External Advisory Committee member and consultant
Showcasing student's real-world policy experience
Graduate students in the EPM program were invited to showcase their Practicum projects during a poster session. The Practicum is a key part of the EPM curriculum, where a student partners with a host organization to apply their coursework to a professional setting by working on an applied project and creating a high level deliverable. The poster session allowed students to present their projects and demonstrate their skills to a wider audience.
Second-year student Peter Rossi has been working with California Transportation Commission over the past year for his Practicum and participated in the poster session.
"It was an amazing opportunity to be able to present the results of my practicum on a poster board at the EPM job fair. Being able to showcase my talents and abilities to prospective employers allowed me to connect with professionals in the field and demonstrate my dedication to environmental transportation."
- Peter Rossi, second-year student
The projects featured for this session included:
- Peter Rossi is a second-year student who is working with California Transportation Commission to quantify active transportation project benefits to help justify future investments. You can view his poster here.
- JieQi Yan is a second-year student who worked with Rise South City to gather comprehensive localized air pollution data and identify sensitive receptor locations in South San Francisco. You can view her poster here. You can read more about her project here.
- May Myo Myint is a second-year student who works with the California Product Stewardship Council to increase waste reduction and sustainability in the textile industry through stakeholder engagement and innovative pilot projects. You can view her poster here.
- Ruchika Jaiswal is a second-year student who worked with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS) using ArcGIS Pro to better identify which landscape-level areas to prioritize for agricultural protection with the Sacramento Valley. You can view her poster here and read more about her project here.
- Natalie Kataoka is a second-year student who presented research titled "Perennial grasses aid both native and invasive species in California grassland restoration." You can view her poster here.
- Kriti Shah is a second-year student who worked with the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies to evaluate mineral supply chains as rapid deployment of electric vehicles and renewable energy has resulted in increased demand for critical minerals. You can view her poster here.
Developing partnerships
The EPM program was excited to welcome 20 organizations to the job fair from a range of sectors, including state, federal nonprofit and private. A key theme of the evening was building partnerships, highlighting the unique opportunity that exists between UC Davis and the environmental work happening in the region. As the EPM program works to train the next generation of environmental leaders, it is critical to student success for them to have the opportunity to connect with a range of organizations and professionals. This type of engagement allows students to explore potential careers, learn about pathways to break into an industry, acquire skills for success, and adopt innovative approaches to work.
"The EPM Networking & Job Fair event offered a face-to-face opportunity to so many agencies and organizations, providing a personal platform to deepen our understanding of them. Notably, the representative from EPA Region 9 shared insights into working in federal-level spaces. Connecting with fellow environmental students, faculty, and professionals outside the EPM circle was a highlight of the event."
-Alex Sanchez, first-year student
"The networking event was a wonderful opportunity for me to explore some great companies and agencies! I got to meet in person some people I had already been in contact with via email and I got to hear about the awesome Pathways Internship programs that many federal agencies have. I look forward to applying!"
- Kaitlyn Finlayson, first-year student
If you are an organization interested in participating in next year's Job Fair, please sign up for our newsletter!
On behalf of the EPM program, we'd like to give a special thank you to the UC Davis Institute of the Environment for sponsoring this event. We would also like to thank EPM External Advisory Committee member, Ron Unger for assisting with event invitations. This event was coordinated by Jessica Chalfin and Jessica Penrose.
You can view more photos from this event here.