The Center for Water Policy welcomes its second cohort of post-doctoral water policy specialists through the UW Sea Grant Water Science-Policy Fellows Program, Andrian Lee and Anya Janssen. We are also pleased to announce Joe Bevington as our inaugural water policy and science communications fellow and Halea Fields as our first undergraduate social media manager.
“We’re really excited to expand our research capacity with Andrian and Anya joining the team while also increasing our ability to share important news and research coming from the Center through Joe and Halea’s social media communications,” said Melissa Scanlan, Director for the Center and the Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair and Professor in Water Policy.
Over the next year, Andrian and Anya will produce original legal research and work with the Center’s external partners to analyze U.S. water issues to shape policy and inform decision makers. This fellowship is intended to provide recent law school graduates critical experience in the field of academic research and water policy development.
Andrian Lee is a water policy specialist at the Center for Water Policy. She received her bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Ohio State University where she worked on projects in multiple developing countries, including a health and sanitation project in El Salvador through Engineers Without Borders.
After working in the private sector for several years, Andrian returned to law school at Boston College where she graduated with her juris doctor. While at Boston College, she participated in several human rights cases. She was a trip leader for an International Human Rights pro-bono trip.
She participated in the International Human Rights Practicum where students filed an amicus brief for a disability rights case before the Inter-American Human Rights Court. The brief was recently cited in the decision handed down from the Court. Andrian is excited to bring her training as a civil engineer and experience advocating for underserved communities to promote equitable access to water infrastructure.
Anya Janssen is a water policy specialist at the Center for Water Policy. She holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology and social justice from Northland College, in Ashland, Wis. While there, she conducted an oral history on Native American environmental activism in northern Wisconsin with her late mentor, Joe Rose Sr., an Ojibwe tribal elder, activist, and leader in the community. She took that passion for environmentalism and sustainability to the University of San Diego where she completed a dual-degree program to receive her master’s degree and juris doctor. There, she was a comment editor for the Journal of Climate and Energy Law and participated in an Energy Law and Policy Clinic where she gained critical experience in advocacy practice.
At the center, she will be coordinating a statewide conference on the implementation of Wisconsin’s phosphorus regulations. She will also be conducting research on Wisconsin’s phosphorus regulations.
Joe Bevington is the water policy and science communications fellow at the Center for Water Policy. He received his bachelor’s degrees from the UW-Madison in conservation biology and geography. During his time at UW-Madison, he participated in multiple research projects in ecology labs including work on terrestrial and aquatic invasive species, paleoclimatology, and fish ecology.
Following graduation, he worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a fisheries biologist where he gained critical experiences in policy, natural resource management, and public communication.
He hopes to expand his knowledge of water policy and science communication through the newly created master’s thesis track in water policy, economics and management at the School of Freshwater Sciences, and utilize those skills to develop novel science communication strategies for the Center.
Halea Fields is an undergraduate at UW-Milwaukee pursuing her degree in Geography with a minor in Conservation & Environmental Sciences. Growing up hiking and camping inspired her passion for the environment and conservation. Her passion and concern about environmental justice issues and climate change grew over time, which led her to want to better understand how these systems work and the important ecosystem services they provide. Through her position as the Center’s Social Media manager, she is eager to share important news and research about environmental justice, sustainability, and water policy. She’s also excited to learn more about how water policy is developed and how those decisions impact people.