Student Spotlight- Kaitlyn Finlayson

My name is Kaitlyn Finlayson and I am a second year in the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management, specializing in Conservation Management.  I received my undergraduate degree in 2018 from the University of Puget Sound, where I double majored in Biology and Environmental Policy & Decision Making. After graduation, I worked as a seasonal invasive species technician with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture. After some time in that role, I moved back to Washington, where I worked as a project supervisor for a hazardous waste management company.  As hazardous waste was not my passion in the environmental field, I wanted to go back to school and learn more about how policy can be used to protect biodiversity. When I graduate from the EPM program, I hope to work on saving threatened and endangered species with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or with an advocacy organization like The Nature Conservancy. 

I grew up constantly spending time outdoors as most of my family's vacations involved camping, so I always loved the environment.  However, when I started college as a declared biology major, I was originally planning on focusing on genetics.  It wasn't until I took "History and Culture of the Pacific Northwest" where I got to go on fieldtrips to Point Defiance Park that inspired me to focus my studies and future career on environmental studies. After having jobs that involved a lot of field work, I realized that I could have a more significant effect enacting change and helping endangered species if I focused more on policy instead of science. 

This past summer I was lucky enough to work on two projects as a Graduate Student Researcher.  The first project was for my Practicum, where I worked with the Noyo Center for Marine Science, researching the current regulatory framework and permitting process for the land-based aquaculture of red abalone for conservation and purple sea urchin ranching.  I identified barriers to permitting, made recommendations to improve the permitting process and identified the best path to advocate for these changes. The goal is to improve the conservation of red abalone, increase access to historical foods for the Kashia Tribe, and aid in the creation of a Blue Economy for the community of Fort Bragg, California.  

 

For the second project, I worked with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), Dr. Mark Schwartz, and Dr. Ryan Meyer, researching how Marine Protected Areas could impact human well-being and identifying possible indicators to measure human well-being. This preliminary research has informed the next stage of the project that I am working on as part of EPM's Policy Clinic. This work can contribute to ODFW's Marine Reserves human dimensions monitoring program in measuring what aspects of Marine Reserves matter most to nearby community members and to broader biodiversity conservation efforts Oregon-wide. 

So many of the EPM courses have had a beneficial impact on me it is hard to just choose one! I really loved the course Policy Development and Implementation with Dr. Julianne McCall.  I felt as this course gave me a more in depth understanding of the policy process and how I as an individual can make my voice heard to influence policy decisions.  I also really enjoyed the course Environmental Law with Tracy Winsor.  We got to conduct mock negotiations which was a lot of fun and taught me valuable negotiation skills.  While I do not plan to do formal negotiations in my future career, I think the skills I learned will be incredibly valuable in advocating for policy changes in the future.  Another course that impacted me was Environmental Governance with Dr. Mark Lubell. I want to work on improving the governance of endangered species issues in the future and this class gave me a lot of tools that I can use in my future careers. 

A memorable moment was during Environmental Law last year when we did our second negotiation.  Several members of my team and I decided to dress up in costumes that fit with the facts of the situation. This included costumes like a firefighter, a farmer, a cow, a tree, and a house.  It was fun working as a team to prepare for the negotiation, but even more fun to play the part and wear silly costumes.

An organization that I am apart of is the EPM Social Committee.  This year I am the Chair of the committee and last year I served as the Event Coordinator.  The Social Committee plans fun events as a way for EPM students to get to know and spend time with each other outside of classes.  Some activities we have done so far are trivia, craft and movie nights, get-to-know-you games, hikes, birdwatching, and book club. Additionally every year we host an end-of-year celebration called Legacy Night (formally known as EProM) for students, faculty, and alumni where we have food and a raffle.  I have enjoyed being in the Social Committee as I get to help foster a sense of community for EPM students, which was especially important to me as I was coming to Davis from out of state.