The Class of 2020 graduated in unusual circumstances, yet many of our Foresters are at work and out in the field. The places, sectors, and types of projects are diverse across our graduates - with some returning to their home states, others starting new adventures, and a cohort staying close to The Forest School at YSE as continued students, researchers, or Forest Fellows.
From our doctoral cohort, Clara Pregitzer ’20 Ph.D. has forged a path in urban forestry and conservation in New York City. As a member of the Bradford Lab, Pregitzer, alum Chloe Hanna ‘19 M.E.M., and Professor Mark Bradford partnered with NYC Natural Areas to calculate carbon store and sequestration in NYC’s natural area forests. Through this partnership, they have illuminated that the dense forests of cities play a role in climate change and were the first to create a carbon estimate in an urban forested natural area. From her work, Pregitzer has accepted the position of Deputy Director of Conservation Science at the Natural Areas Conservancy. More press on the Bradford Lab-NYC Natural Areas partnership can be found here.
Our new Forest Manager for the Yale Forests is Jess Lloyd ‘20 M.F. Before starting her master’s at The Forest School, Lloyd worked in urban restoration in NYC and Río de Janeiro. As a master’s student, she grounded her work with a sense of place in the Quiet Corner as an apprentice with the summer Forest Crew, and then as an Assistant Forest Manager over the school year. Now as Forest Manager, she continues to hone and develop her skills. Lloyd guided the 2020 Crew through a COVID “pod” and is currently mentoring Assistant Forest Managers.
Michael Storace ’20 M.F. recently started working with Forterra NW where he is on the conservation team helping landowners of forested properties to minimize the effects of subdivision, development, and high intensity logging in the Cascade foothills. He is currently working on a grant application to help build support for community forestry.
Devon Ericksen ’20 M.F. is the new Project Associate Of Forestry and Technical Services at TerraCarbon, an advisory firm for carbon offsets. In this role, Devon says she is contributing to TerraCarbon’s work on green and blue carbon projects, from seagrass restoration, REDD clean cookstove and reforestation, and family forest carbon. In her masters, Devon studied and researched tropical and temperate forestry, blue and green carbon, forestry and coral restoration. In this role, she gets to explore them all, as a traditional and “underwater forester.”
In addition, M.F. and M.F.S. graduates are holding new positions as a wildland firefighter in Washington, environmental planner at the Bay Area’s Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, instructor at Southern Connecticut State University, watershed restoration specialist at San Juan Bay Estuary Program in Puerto Rico, and forest researchers and Forest Fellows at The Forest School.
