For over 20 years, the Summer Environmental Fellowship (SEF) has empowered students to
explore pressing environmental challenges through summer internships and research
opportunities. From local fieldwork to global policy analysis, SEF has funded hundreds of
students engaging in work that spans disciplines, geographies, and sectors.
This summer, 18 students representing seven majors are undertaking projects across nine
countries. From the rainforests of Ecuador to the skyscrapers of Hong Kong, SEF Fellows are deepening their environmental knowledge and gaining hands-on experience in sustainability, science, advocacy, and innovation.
Meet the 2025 SEF Fellows and explore the incredible range of their work:
2025 SEF Fellowship Recipients
Bella Amell, Environmental Studies ’27
• Intern, Cottonwood Environmental Law Center – Bozeman, Montana
Taylor Burke, Chemical Engineering ’27
• Tiny Titans: Tuning CsPbI3 Nanoplatelets and Quantum Dots for Sustainable Quantum Technologies (Research) – Oxford, UK
Emma Cantu, Political Science ’27
• Environmental Policy Intern, Environment Texas – Austin, Texas
Owen Curtin, Anthropology ’26
• Mediating Environmental Futures: How Legal Organizations Shape Conservation Discourse and Practice (Research) – Washington, DC
Jacob Koch, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology ’26
• Land Restoration in El Salvador: Monitoring Spider Monkey Populations (Research) – San Miguel, El Salvador
Dexter Resta, Mechanical Engineering ’28
• Biomass Burning and Organic Aerosols: Quantitative Analysis (Research) – New Haven, CT
Maia Roothaan, Environmental Studies ’26
• Internship and Ethnographic Research, Conservation International – Suriname
Helen Shanefield, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology ’26
• Dual-Mycorrhizal Plants: Carbon Allocation in Soil Fungi (Research) – New Haven, CT
Lelah Shapiro, Environmental Studies ’27
• Marine Conservation Intern, Sociedad Ambiente Marino – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Avril Walters, Environmental Studies ’27
• Water Quality Intern, East Shore District Health Department – New Haven, CT
Jules Morris, Environmental Studies ’27
• Ingalls Field Ecology Summer Internship – Yale-Myers Forest, CT
Camila Young, Environmental Studies ’26
• The Climate Renaissance: Multimedia Senior Thesis – Palas de Rei, Spain
Jenny Liu, Environmental Studies ’26
• Data Science and Electrification Modeling Intern, Rewiring America
Remi Mellinghoff, Environmental Engineering ’27
• Research Intern, Stockholm University Department of Environmental Science – Stockholm, Sweden
Maya Sestan, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology ’26
• Diversity and Habitat Specialization in Chironomidae (Research) – Connecticut Lakes, CT
Alicia Shen, Environmental Studies ’26
• Negotiating Energy Futures: Senior Essay Research on Hong Kong’s Energy Systems – Hong Kong
Nora Wyrtzen, Environmental Studies ’26
• Bridging the Forest Knowledge Gap: Forest Plant Diversity Sampling – Yasuní National Park, Ecuador
Victoria Siebor, Environmental Studies ’26
• Forest Management and Policy Research – Warsaw & Kraków, Poland
SEF Alumni: Environmental Leaders Across the Globe
SEF has shaped the paths of many alumni now leading in environmental science, advocacy, and sustainable business. A few notable examples:
Xizhou Zhou, EVST ’05
• SEF Project: Case Study of Shell/PetroChina Pipeline with UNDP
• Now: Executive VP, Global Head – Power & Renewables, Wood Mackenzie, Washington, DC
Christa Anderson, EVST ’07
• SEF Project: Livestock Predation Program, Tanzania
• Now: Director, Climate Science, WWF – Washington, DC / Tanzania
Maclovia Quintana, EVST ’11
• SEF Project: Permaculture and Sustainable Farming, New Mexico
• Now: Director of People & Culture, Kitchen Table Advisors – San Francisco, CA
Alice Buckley, EVST ’15
• SEF Project: Building a Regenerative Beef Industry, Montana
• Now: Member of the Montana House of Representatives
Gracie White, EVST ’16
• SEF Project: Marine Biology Internship, New Haven, CT
• Now: Director, Global Ocean Investments, Conservation International Ventures LLC
Follow along this summer as we spotlight our fellows on Instagram: #EVSTSEFspotlight