OUR
ALUMNI

Marlee Akerson (She/Hers)

Marlee completed a certificate in Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical studies in 2022, and attends medical school. Throughout her tenure as a CU student, she was involved in two research projects looking at the social and environmental determinants of health abroad and locally. Additionally, she worked with Medical Students for a Sustainable Future and the Climate Resources for Health Initiative, two international organizations working to incorporate environmental health and environmental justice into medical school curriculums. She is passionate about understanding the dynamic and complicated ways climate change, public health, and medicine interact with each other and hopes to continue working in this realm throughout medical school and after. She is extremely grateful to Dr. Bailey and the entire WELS lab for cultivating a wonderful space of inclusivity, curiosity, and growth. She also finally learned what a p-value actually is. The next step is learning if it is pronounced chai-squared or ki-squared.

Elizabeth Bannister (She/Her)

Lizzie graduated in 2023 with a BS in Geography with a minor in French and a certificate in Public Health. She is passionate about community and global resilience to natural hazards and is particularly interested in the implications of hazardous events on various populations. In the future, she plans on teaching English as a second language in France and returning to the U.S. to continue her education and pursue a doctorate in climate sciences. In her free time, Elizabeth enjoys going on adventures, trying not to kill her beloved plants, and tries to pet as many dogs as possible.

Jennalie Burroughs (She/Her)

Jennalie graduated in 2025 dual majoring in Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences and Strategic Communication. She is passionate about environmental & climate justice and scientific communication and hopes to advocate for marginalized communities affected by climate change. Jennalie loves painting, cooking, karaoke, and hiking, and is excited to pursue higher education after graduation.

Riley Jenkins (She/Her)

Riley graduated magna sum laude in 2023 with a degree in Environmental Studies. She is focused on environmental planning, regulatory processes, freshwater resources, and the intersection between mental health and the outdoors.

She is currently working as a consultant, investigating a broad range of local environmental issues. Connect with her on LinkedIn to learn more about her academic and professional pursuits. While not studying or working, Riley is either reading a book, binge-watching a new true-crime series, or spending time with her family and friends.

Jacob Kelly (He/Him)

Jacob graduated in 2025 with a degree in environmental studies and a minor in atmospheric and oceanic sciences (ATOC). He developed a deep interest in marine environments and aspire to become a conservation biologist, studying various fish species. His passion for this field began in high school (Cherokee Trails High School) when he received a science award for a project on coral bleaching. In my free time, Jacob enjoys fishing, hiking around Estes Park, visiting his sister in Steamboat, and playing chess.

Jordan Lee (She/Her)

Jordan graduated suma cum laude in 2023 with a BS in Linguistics and Geography programs. In addition to diversity and inclusion in the green sciences, she is passionate about language's role in identity construction and how we can better communicate about science at all scales. Learn more about Jordan's work by checking out Unmask the Racism - a social media campaign that is working to raise awareness about anti-Asian American racism during COVID-19 and how Asian-owned businesses and restaurants are being impacted. In her free time, you can find her trying a new recipe, listening to the latest Broadway musical, or making a linocut print. Jordan currently works for Boulder County Open Space and Mountain Parks as their Plant Ecology Volunteer Coordinator.

Jensen Miller (They/Them)

Jensen Miller graduated from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in 2021 with two degrees in Ecology and Sociology. Their honors thesis investigated Indigenous perceptions of the natural world, (and how these relationships are affected by context), and their academic interests at CU centered on how environmental change affects marginalized groups and cultural constructions of nature. Outside of academia they have worked with various grassroots environmental groups to fight for clean air and water in Colorado and would like to work in conservation on an international scale.

Linsey Mach (She/Her)

Linsey graduated in 2023 with a BS in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology and a minor in Sociology. Linsey is passionate about conservation science, equality within science, community outreach, and marine biology. In the future, Linsey hopes to become a researcher or scientist who continuously keeps in touch with the public about scientific issues. Her personality and passion for outreach keep her curiosity ignited in the science community. She hopes to work further toward a Master's or a Ph.D. in the future. In her free time, you can find her playing with her cat, watering her plants, or frantically cleaning her house before her friends come over.

Liane Minkler (She/Her)

Liane graduated magna cum laude from CU Boulder in 2022 with her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies and a minor in English. Liane's Honors Thesis explored the relationship between outdoor spaces and mental health, focusing on the effect of the pandemic across urban and rural communities. Following graduation, she continues to work as a veterinary technician assistant in Louisville CO while beginning to look into pursuing jobs in the field of environmental law or public policy.

Alison Naeve (She/Her)

Alison graduated in Spring 2024 with a degree in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology with minors in Biomedical Engineering, Biochemistry, and Philosophy she hopes to purse a career in orthopedic medicine with an emphasis in bio-technology. She is passionate about equity and equality within medicine from education to obtaining health care and everything in between. She is also interested enviormental impacts from past and current technological advacements on our planet. Outside of academia, she enjoys being outside, finding new delicious vegetarian recipes to cook, and doing yoga.

Shadia Nagati (She/Her)

After several years of following an unusual path, Shadia graduated suma cum laude in 2023 with a BS in Environmental Studies She aims to work in wild space conservation with a focus on environmental justice.

Shadia was the Managing Editor for CU's Program for Writing and Rhetoric's creative nonfiction journals. You can find her writing in this fall's edition of Changing Skies, PWR's climate change print collaboration with nonprofit climate solution startup Mission Zero.

Anila Narayana (She/Her)

Anila graduate magna cum laude in 2023 with a BS in Geography, with Certificates in Public Health and Neuroscience. Anila is passionate about helping mitigate health inequities and environmental injustices, and she hopes to work with those that are affected by these issues at both local and global scales. She is also interested in researching the physical and mental health co-benefits of community-driven climate action, like the development of community and urban gardens. In the future, Anila aspires to become a physician with a keen understanding of how patients’ physical and social environments influence their well-being. In her free time, Anila enjoys adding to her growing number of houseplants and completing the New York Times crossword (or at least trying to).

Julianna Rohn (She/Her)

Julianna is a 2021 CU grad with BAs in Geography and Sociology. Her academic interests lie in the intersections of societies, environments (built and natural), health, and justice, but almost anything relating to human and environmental wellbeing fascinates her. During undergrad, Julianna worked as a research assistant with Dr. Colleen Reid investigating mental health trends and green space in Denver neighborhoods. Julianna currently works for Boulder County Housing and Human Services full-time, conducting eligibility assessments for programs such as medical and food assistance. In her spare time, she loves taking day trips around the Front Range, spending time outdoors, eating yummy foods, and reading!

Nicole Schroeter (She/Her)

Nicole graduated summa cum laude from CU Boulder in 2022 with dual degrees in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and Anthropology, a minor in Leadership Studies, and a certificate in Animals & Society. Outside of classes, Nicole conducted research through both the WELS and Lambert labs, held science communication internships with conservation organizations including the Endangered Species Coalition and Glacier Rescue Project, and completed an honors thesis on behavior, ectoparasite loads, and personality in Bison. Since graduating, Nicole has worked for several other non-profits, including the World Wildlife Fund, and has now returned to academia to pursue a PhD in Zoology at the University of British Columbia. Working with UBC's Animal Behaviour & Cognition lab, her research focuses on raccoon behaviour across a gradient of anthropogenic disturbance to better understand how wildlife are adapting to urban spaces.

Abby Schmidt (She/Her)

Abby is an undergraduate student in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program at CU Boulder. She is broadly interested in wildlife conservation and ecology, but is also happy to spend the day looking for bugs and identifying lichen. Her background is in outdoor and environmental education, and she came to CU Boulder with the goal of moving towards a research-based career in ecology so she can remain engaged with the natural world while leveraging the more analytical side of her brain to contribute to the larger goals of conservation science. In her free time, you can find her rock climbing, reading, hiking, pinecone-collecting, and sitting in the sun.

Shawn Simmons (He/Him)

Shawn is an environmental studies major and philosophy minor at CU Boulder. He is passionate about bringing diverse perspectives and solutions into the field of environmental studies. His current research area focuses on the impacts of recreation in nature on the mental health of minority communities in the USA. Outside of academia, he can be found travelling around the country and the world with his partner, hiking in the mountains, and spending time with friends and family.

Levi Van Pelt (He/Him)

Levi graduated in 2022 with a BS in Geography. Levi focused on environmental justice and land ethics, and the human environment interface, particularly how people's lived experiences change their perception of the environment. Levi hopes to pursue a career in sustainability and equitable access to natural resources/land, especially as it pertains to securing indigenous rights and freedoms. Outside of academia, he enjoys spending his time hiking, rock climbing, and bird watching.

Karla Pineda Velez (She/Her)

Karla graduated in 2023 with a BS in Sociology and Environmental Studies. She is interested in learning about how people interact with the environment and how environmental issues impact diverse communities. She is passionate about the environmental justice movement and looks at climate change from a social justice perspective. In the future, Karla hopes to work directly with people and communities to address environmental issues and injustices.

Dr. Sarah Walker (She/Her)

Sarah’s research uses an environmental justice lens to investigate the role well-being can play in helping us better understand people’s relationships with their environments. Specifically, she studies human well-being in the context of climate resilience and adaptation in vulnerable communities around the world. Sarah received her Ph.D. from Colorado State University, and in following her work as a postdoctoral researcher at CU, she began a job as a faculty member at Colorado State University. Sarah’s dissertation used community-based participatory methodologies to investigate the well-being and adaptive capacity of pastoral women in Northern Kenya. She’s an avid hiker and cyclist and loves being in the classroom with students.

Dr. Natalie Bennett (She/Her)

Natalie's work probes the human dimensions of climate change risk management and adaptation. Her current research focuses on wildfire risk and addresses the need for at-risk individuals and communities to live safely with fire, a naturally occurring ecosystem process, while also adapting to changing fire regimes and heightened wildfire risks due to climate change. Learn more about Natalie's current research here. Before entering graduate school, Natalie gained experience working on climate adaptation and vulnerability planning, climate change communication, and stakeholder engagement in decision-making processes in both the public and private sectors.

Nejwa Munir (They/She)

Nejwa graduated in the Spring of 2026 with a double major in Public Health and MCD Biology as well as a minor in leadership. Nejwa is currently working as a Medical Assistant at Aurora Mental Health and Recovery. Nejwa also volunteers weekly at the Harm Reduction Action Center where she aids in the testing, treatment, and prevention of HIV and Hepatitis. After gaining more clinical experience she hopes to attend an MD/MPH program starting in 2028 in preparation for working in the Middle East and South Asia with the goal of advancing sexual and public health education to women, girls and LGBTQ+ individuals.

Dustin O’Brien (He/They)

Dustin is an Indigenous Sustainability Studies and Spanish major at Bemidji State University. He is originally from Minnesota and is working on the Sense of Place project for the next two Summers with Karen Bailey through the Climate Adaptation Scientists of Tomorrow program. They are broadly interested in environmental and transformative justice and creating co-production efforts that are grounded in equity. In Dustin’s free time, he likes to draw, create music, read, and spend time outside with his dog. Dustin is also working with the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center as a Communications and Outreach Coordinator, where they advocate and increase awareness around the Rocky Flats Greenway Project and the effects of nuclear contamination. He is passionate about creating local solutions to wide-scale issues and is excited to expand his work into both academic and non-academic spaces.

India Malkan (She/Her)

India is a biochemistry student with a minor in business on the pre-med track at CU Boulder. She is interested in the human body and its’ innerworkings along with the external factors like how habits and behaviors that affect one’s overall health. India has also had the privilege to travel around the world, broadening her own perspectives and experiences which has made her more passionate about diversity and the different cultures that bring others together. In the future, India hopes to go to medical school and pursue her dream career in medicine all while benefiting society and being a positive influence for others. Learn more about India's research here. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, fitness, skiing, and trying new recipes!

Chloe Els (She/Her)

Chloe is a neuroscience and public health student on the pre-law track at CU Boulder. She is passionate about the intersection of science and public policy, and is particularly interested in understanding public health issues that are specific to rural America. Chloe has spent almost half of her life living in rural Colorado, and she has found that this particular way of life is often overlooked when it comes to public health. In the future, she hopes to attend law school and use her background in science to gain a unique perspective on the legal system. Learn more about Chloe's research here. Outside of school, she volunteers as the advocacy lead for the CU Boulder chapter of Partners In Health Engage, a grassroots organization dedicated to health equity. She loves reading and writing stories in her spare time.

DJ Toy (They/Them)

DJ is an undergraduate student at CU Boulder currently double majoring in Environmental Studies and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. While still exploring the possibilities in both of these fields, they are most interested in the intersections between research and policy. They are focused on topics of justice, community, and adaptation as the world navigates an era of massive anthropogenic change. Born and raised on the Front Range, DJ is also passionate about expanding interest in local ecology and underrepresented ecosystems. Outside of academics, DJ can be found drawing, hiking, and going on adventures with friends and family.

OUR ALUMNI