By Wendy-Lin Bartels

If you want to go fast, go alone

if you want to go far, go together

-African proverb

This season of holidays and rest gives us all time to reflect on everything that we are thankful for – and the NRLI Project Team wants to recognize the hard work and commitment of alumni. Engaging with our alumni is critical to organizing and delivering sessions - because... context, context, context! As you can see from the Class 22 sessions listed below, so far nine alumni from six different cohorts helped behind-the-scenes or up-front in action. They oriented the project team in session framing, identified key stakeholders, suggested fieldtrips, and acted as guest speakers or tour guides. This year, during session, four alumni coached Fellows on refining practica ideas. Engaging with one another, we are reminded that together, we will go far. Thank you all for gifting your most precious resource - time. Happy holidays!

• Session 1, Apalachicola: Craig Diamond (Class 10), Anita Grove (DEP network)
• Session 2, Bradenton: Ben Melnick (18)
• Session 3, Miami: Ana Zangroniz (19)
• Session 4, Orlando: Ben Christ (19), Mysha Clarke (20), Kristen Kosik (21), Savannah Winstanley (21), Clay Archey (21)

If you have been waiting for just this moment to update your online NRLI profile, here’s a link to reset your password if you need to. Or go to nrlialumni.org. We are eager for updates on job promotions (due to NRLI, of course!). To see who is paying attention, we purposely allocated a few of you to the incorrect cohort. Don’t get stuck with the wrong crowd! 😊 Make sure we are representing you accurately. 

Pictured left to right: Ben Christ (19), Clay Archey (21), Wendy-Lin Bartles (4), Savannah Winstanley (21), and Kristen Kosik (21) during the alumni practicum panel at session 4 in Orlando.

By Mark Rachal and India Riedel, NRLI Class 22 Fellows

Class 22 was in Orlando for Session 4 and jumped right into providing information and specifics regarding the principles of participation, dialogue, and facilitation. What was most important for “good” participation - quality, quantity and/or diversity? We found that each had its place and their importance could be dependent on the situation. We also examined the concept of facilitation and came away with the notion that a facilitators job is to “support everyone to do their best thinking”.

Our guest speaker Dr. Mysha Clarke (NRLI Class 20) from UF/IFAS gave our class a thorough overview and introduction to the topic of urban conservation and environmental justice and what each means. The fellows followed up and explored the idea of gentrification and how there were unintended consequences to the addition of greenspaces in a community. Dr. Clarke explained how urban conservation involved the active management of the natural resources within the urban core to preserve, maintain and restore their natural functions that will deliver a wide array of benefits to protect biodiversity. The goal is to enhance the well-being of city residents, while ideally prioritizing the needs of under resourced and frontline communities. Urban conservation at the higher level includes wanting green space for a community, parks and tree canopies.

NRLI alumni participated in a roundtable and shared their practicum experiences. The alumni provided invaluable insight into the practicum process and hope that there is light at the end of the tunnel! The NRLI team leaders used the rotating method during the alumni roundtable which provided insight on how to promote active participation by the groups and promote dialogue. The alumni stressed how important it is to have a good thought-out agenda with specific timeframes for each activity, and the setup and materials needed for each, along with objectives in advance so that all can come prepared and meet our objectives.

Thursday afternoon we toured urban Orlando neighborhoods to see the disparity in funding and resources allocated to the areas surrounding the Paramore residential neighborhood and the stadium development. It was striking to see where the City had renovated the streets, sidewalks, landscaping, etc. versus the Paramore community.

We enjoyed a wonderful evening hosted at Infinite Zion Farms. The evening included a tour of Infinite Zion Farms facilities and a wonderful farm-to-table outdoor dinner. As our guides shared how and why they became involved in the farm it was apparent it is all about the Paramore community and the citizens who live and breathe there. Understanding the limited access to fresh food within close proximity of the area brought about the desire to provide fresh vegetables at an affordable nominal price. Our hosts’ vision of urban conservation meant having healthy food within reach of the people in the community. Part of our tour was literally getting our hands dirty….pulling weeds by hand in the rows of collard greens somehow brought us down to earth.

For our stakeholder panel discussion two of our fellows facilitated a discussion with Cherette Warthen (cofounder of Zion Farms), Maeven Rogers (Sustainability & Innovation Orange County), Shan Rose (CEO founder Change for the Community) and Jennifer Porter-Smith (Executive Director Legends Academy Charter School). The group talked about the challenges that the community faced on access to funding and resources. Each panelists spoke to their efforts to make a difference in the community.

Finally, the Fellows had a chance to talk among each other to see what opportunities there were for collaboration on the practicum as we moved into the holiday break.

Daniel Nelson

Fisheries Biologist, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission - Freshwater Fisheries Research

Daniel grew up in central Wisconsin, enjoying the outdoors, generally with his grandfather by his side. He started volunteering with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in high school, then pursued a B.S. in Fisheries Science at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a M.S in Wildlife and Fisheries Science at South Dakota State University.

Since graduation, Daniel has worked with Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC), within the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. He currently is the Project Leader of the Long-Term Monitoring project, which allows him to work in all corners of Florida. He and his team collaborates with multiple divisions within FWC and with external agencies and organizations to monitor freshwater fish populations statewide.

Daniel is also active in the American Fisheries Society and is the current Past President of the Florida Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.

Daniel enjoys hunting, fishing, traveling, and finding a good craft beer. 

Joni Petry

Environmental Administrator, Northeast District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Joni Petry is a native Floridian, who was born, raised, and stayed in Jacksonville. Her interest in biology and the environmental started at an early age from fishing the St. Johns River and snorkeling the springs in Ocala. She started working part-time for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Northeast District Office while attending Jacksonville University for her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Psychology. She spent her career working in the Drinking Water Program and lead the program as the Environmental Consultant for Northeast District for 9 years. In August 2021, she transitioned to her new role as the Environmental Administrator for the Compliance Assurance Program. She manages the group of environmental consultants for the various program areas in Compliance Assurance. Her duties include overseeing case management, serving as liaison with Division and district offices, assisting with media inquiries, coordinating program improvements, and working to streamline internal processes to improve efficiencies.

Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, gardening, exercising, and working on DIY home projects. 

Matthew Posner

Executive Director, Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program

Matt Posner is a native of Pensacola and serves as the Executive Director of the Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program, a regional non-regulatory agency established to coordinate restoration, research, and outreach at the watershed-scale. In this role, Matt is responsible for overseeing all aspects of program administration, including strategic planning, fundraising, government affairs, and project development.

Prior to joining the Estuary Program, Matt served as Escambia County’s RESTORE Program Manager, overseeing all aspects of the County’s Deepwater Horizon restoration efforts, including water quality, habitat restoration, resilient infrastructure and communities, and economic development projects.

Matt earned his bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of West Florida and just completed his master’s degree in Global Sustainability from the University of South Florida in fall 2022.

Matt currently serves as the Chair of the Water Resources Committee of the Florida Local Environmental Resource Agencies (FLERA), as Co-Chair of the Panhandle Estuarine Restoration Team (PERT), and is a member of the Florida Association of Environmental Professionals (FAEP) and Pensacola Young Professionals.

Eliana Bardi Senior Planner, Alachua County Environmental Protection Department

Liza Bradford Director of Finance, Florida Farm Bureau Federation 

Michael Chase Program Administrator, Florida Department of Environmental Protection 

Emily Ducker Water Supply Program Manager, Suwannee River Water Management District

Vincent Encomio Florida Sea Grant Agent, UF/IFAS Extension 

Stephen Fulford Environmental Manager, Florida Dept. of Agriculture & Consumer Services

Erika Henderson President, Tangelo Farms

Shelly Johnson State Specialized Agent, UF/IFAS Extension 

Amanda Kahn Lead Environmental Project Manager, South FL Water Management District 

Tiffany Lane Wildlife Biologist & Coastal Program Coordinator, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 

Brooke Langston Supervisor, Sarasota County Parks & Natural Resources 

Jennifer Mitchell Environmental Scientist IV, St. Johns River Water Management District

Daniel Nelson Biologist IV, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

Joni Petry Environmental Administrator, Florida Department of Environmental Protection 

Matthew Posner Executive Director, Pensacola & Perdido Bays Estuary Program

Mark Rachal Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries Manager, Audubon Florida

India Riedel Finance Director, City of Okeechobee 

Daniel Roberts Environmental Specialist III, Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority 

Ashford Rosenberg Policy Director, Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance

Linda Sapp Extension Agent, College of Ag & Food Sciences, Florida A&M University

Brian Seymour Archaeologist, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Jared Smith Smith & Johns, Inc. 

Tommy Van Trees Captain Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission

Jay Vogel Operations & Environmental Services Manager, Natural Resource Planning Services, Inc.