This month we say goodbye to Environmental Fellow, Annie O’Connell and hello to our new Environmental Fellow, Andres Ripley.

Our environmental fellowship is a 13 month program for recent college graduates that allows them to help coordinate the Citizen Water Monitoring Network (CWMN) Program, and assist with outreach and other environmental science initiatives. The fellow becomes an important part of the NepRWA staff as they learn and grow into their role.

A message from Annie O’Connell…

“This is my last week as NepRWA’s inaugural Environmental Science Fellow. I’ve had an incredible year here, which makes it hard to leave.

While leaving is definitely bittersweet, I’m excited to say that I have accepted a position as the Watershed Management Assistant for the City of Cambridge. I’m really excited to start there and apply what I’ve learned working through NepRWA

Working for NepRWA has opened my eyes to the impacts a small non-profit can have on its community through building relationships with people and organizations. I hope that at some point in my career I find myself back in the non-profit world. To all of the volunteers and members that I’ve had the privilege of working with, I want to say thanks for making my job feel meaningful. To my coworkers, thanks for making me feel welcome right from the start! I still plan to attend cleanups and help out with the organization in a volunteer capacity, so I won’t be a stranger.”

And a little about Andres Ripley…

Andres is a recent graduate from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, where he received his B.S. in Biology. Andres has conservation experience from his work at Borderland State Park and Everwood Day Camp, and has done research in Mexico and Costa Rica. He loves to conduct fieldwork and is particularly interested in conserving native species populations.