Congratulations to the recipients of this year's merit scholarships!

The Environmental Consortium partnered again this past year with two entities to offer competitive merit scholarships to students enrolled at member institutions of the Consortium.

Jessica Rogers is the 2007 recipient of the $2,000 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. Ms. Rogers is pursuing her Ph.D. in Columbia University's E3B program (Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology). Although her work has spanned the globe, this scholarship will assist her in pursuing research on invasive species in the Hudson Valley region. In addition to using GIS technology, field visits, and plant species composition analyses, Ms. Rogers will work to engage local landowners and local governments to cooperate as a united front. A common denominator in her research and experience has been conservation. According to Ms. Rogers, "conservation should be experienced as well as understood, and combining both in any project has been my goal."

Kate Donovan is the 2007 recipient of a $3,000 Pace Law School Environmental Consortium Merit Scholarship, renewable each year. Ms. Donovan received her B.A. from Skidmore College, cum laud, in May 2001, majoring in Government, with a double minor in Environmental Studies and Dance. She received her M.P.A. from Columbia University, School of International & Public Affairs, Program in Environmental Science and Policy in May 2004. She has 6 years of professional experience as an environmental policy analyst and consultant. She has spent approximately 5 years as a consultant for a number of federal agencies providing policy, regulatory, technical, and program management support. These agencies include the U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. General Services Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For her senior capstone project at Skidmore College, Ms. Donovan interned with Environmental Advocates, a non-profit advocacy organization located in Albany, working on two significant projects related to the Hudson River and air pollution.