In this issue

and GRO Fellowship alumna; she

is a mentor for current ECO

Associates as part of the ECO

Alumni C.A.R.E. program. 

The C.A.R.E. program matches

ECO Associates with experienced

environmental professionals—

who have been through the ECO

internship experience themselves

—so that the student may sharpen

his or her career development skills. 

After completing her GRO

Fellowship, Marlisa graduated

from Grambling

State University in

May of 2000 with a

Bachelors of Science

degree in Biology.

After graduation, she

moved to Chicago to

work for the EPA as

an Environmental 

Scientist in the

Office of Air and

Radiation. She worked

for three years on

state air toxics 

program regulation development,

environmental justice and 

children's health issues. Currently,

she is a graduate student at Tulane

University in New Orleans working toward a Masters of Public

Health degree in community

health sciences with a concentration in maternal and child health.

Why would Marlisa join the

ECO Alumni program when her

post–ECO career is progressing so

smoothly? She was kind enough to

answer that question:

“It's always been a joy of mine

to help others go down the same

roads I've taken. So, ECO paired

me with Associate Jasmine Muriel.

We conversed about three times,

so I was able to be as thorough as

possible in answering her questions. I enjoy doing all I can to

help make those who come after

me, have a rewarding experience. 

I take sharing my knowledge and

personal experiences seriously

because it will only help make

their decisions easier. I believe

having a C.A.R.E. link can only

help those trying to reach their

professional goals. Having a

C.A.R.E. link can serve multiple

capacities: in developing networking connections in different 

agencies, providing a professional

mentor, or just in giving advice on

what doors opened (and how they

got them open) for them when

they were at that same point in

their lives. Linking Associates with

professionals already in the 

environmental field can only 

help to expand their career 

opportunities. It would be my

pleasure to serve as a link again.”

ECO invites all its Associates

to take advantage of the wealth of

knowledge and skills available

through the Alumni C.A.R.E.

program. Our alumni are eager to

pass on what they have learned to

the next generation of environmental leaders. Please contact

alumni program coordinator

Meryl Brott at 617/426-4783 x132

or alumni@eco.org to learn more.

Please look for our online

version of The Fellows

Forum, available at

http://es.epa.gov/ncer/fellow

December 2003

The Greater Research Opportunities Undergraduate Student

Fellowship Newsletter

A GRO Fellow who C.A.R.E.s: 

Marlisa Stewart and the ECO Alumni Program

Graduate student

Marlisa Stewart is

more than just a 

former ECO Intern

ECO/GRO alumna Marlisa Stewart

is always ready and willing to pitch

in—anytime, anywhere!

What happened at ECO’s

Career Day Conference?

The conclusion of our chat with

Na’Taki Osborne

A message from Kristie King

and ECO’s Diversity Initiative

2003-2004 GRO Fellowship

Class announced!

The ECO Alumni Program—

check it out!

Big changes for the EPA

Fellowship Programs!

Have you seen ECO’s GRO 

website lately?

Ralph Waldo Emerson 

“the Earth

laughs in flowers” ECO Alumni Program Director Meryl Brott gets into

an engaging discussion with Marlisa Stewart.
ECO and the US EPA: Partnering for Diversity Success

by Kristie King

Created in response to the

critical need to increase the presence of people of color in the

environmental field, ECO’s

Diversity Initiative has been

involved in increasing diversity

for over thirteen years. Since that

time, it has been a national leader

in diversifying the environmental

field, creating a long-term impact

and permanent change on the

nation’s environmental community. It is an innate component of

the organization demonstrated by

its inclusion throughout programs,

placements, our organizational

strategic plan, and our mission. 

The success of ECO’s

Diversity Initiative can, without

doubt, be attributed to our

long–term partnership with the

US EPA. ECO has been in collaboration with EPA for nearly 20

years, since 1985, introducing

and exposing thousands of 

students of color to environmental

career opportunities and increasing

their knowledge of environmental

issues, techniques, policies, and

processes. We are very proud of

the relationship we have with the

agency because it is a true

demonstration of two entities

possessing shared values and 

priorities and developing programs

and opportunities that foster

those values and priorities.

Increased diversity in the 

environmental field is a focus for

ECO and the US EPA.

Effective outreach and 

relationship building are

key to any successful 

diversity effort. This has

been one of our primary

goals in our work with 

the Greater Research

Opportunities (GRO)

Undergraduate Student

Fellowship Program. Our

involvement is indicative of

our commitment and years

of partnering and building

a strong program with

EPA. We are excited about the 

continued work ECO and the US

EPA do together to make this

program successful and stronger

each year. 

Na’Taki Osborne: The rest of the story 

In the last issue of the Fellows Forum, you were 

introduced to Na’Taki Osborne, a 1994-95 GRO Fellow and

current Sustainable Communities Organizer with the

National Wildlife Federation in Atlanta. Na’Taki is one of the

many ECO interns who discovered a passion for the 

environmental field through her EPA internship. Na’Taki has

been able to parlay that passion into a successful career in

which she won recognition from the leaders of the environmental movement and President Clinton himself. When we

left off with Na’Taki, she was explaining how her 

experience with the EPA in Region 4 had opened her eyes

to something deeper than mere “environmental protection.”

Fellows Forum: What was the most significant experience you took

away from the GRO fellowship?

Na’Taki: The most significant experience that I took away from the 

fellowship was my experience working with communities who were

impacted by neighboring Superfund sites. I will never forget the

stories of struggle and suffering that the community members shared

at my first public meeting, and I will never forget the manner in

which one of the community leaders challenged me to think about

my role in the movement and whether I was going to be a help or

a hindrance to seeking justice. I knew from that moment that no

matter what sector (government, non-profit, community, etc.) 

I chose to work in, I had to ask myself those same questions and

that for me, I could only work where I would not have to fight

through red tape, unwillingness, politics, racism, or other forces to

do the right thing. 

FF: What advice would you give to future GRO Fellowship classes?

Na’Taki: I would tell [future] fellows to use their experiences to

gain a greater depth of knowledge about and appreciation for 

environmental issues. Pay attention to contacts and resources that

will be of assistance after the completion of the fellowship program.

The field is wide open...use the fellowship experience as a stepping

stone that can lead you to even greater opportunities and life lessons.

Thank you Na’Taki for taking the time to speak with us. Best of luck!

Kristie King is ECO’s Diversity

Initiative Manager.
Natasha Plumb interned with the EPA Industrial Chemical Branch of the Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics in Washington, DC where she

worked on green chemistry issues. ECO invites the majority of our Associates to join us at our annual conference. This year we held a much smaller event,

due in part to the lack of funding. DC–area GRO Fellows were invited to attend the conference, which featured distinguished speakers, networking sessions and career development workshops.

EPA announces the 

2003–2004 GRO Fellowship Class!

The EPA has announced the fourteen undergraduate students who will make up the 2003-2004 GRO Fellowship class. ECO and the EPA 

are happy to welcome these talented students to the GRO Fellowship family!

Tesha Boado California State University—Fresno

Major: Molecular Biology

Melody Covington Norfolk State University

Major: Biology

Danielle Goode North Carolina A&T University

Major: Electronics Technology

Milan Griffin Spelman College

Major: Political Science

Sarah Jamison Spelman College

Major: Biology

Shara Johnson Alabama A&M University

Major: Natural/Life Sciences

Millie Gonzalez University of Puerto Rico—Humacao

Major: Microbiology

Ruth Le’au University of Hawai’i—Manoa

Major: Biology

Alexander Moore Howard University

Major: Chemistry

Jermaine Perry North Carolina A&T University

Major: Bio-Environmental Engineering

Daberat Perez-Rivera Universidad Metropolitana

Major: Environmental Science

Avonelle Rodney St. Thomas University

Major: Biology

Ericka Thomas Norfolk State University

Major: Chemistry

Meredith Titterton Texas A&M University

Major: Marine Science

GRO Fellows Well-represented at 2003 ECO Conference 

by Natasha Plumb

The Environmental Careers Organization Conference held

in Washington, D.C. on July 25, 2003 was an event worth 

experiencing. Comprised of about 200 exceptionally talented 

students, the ECO Conference served as a medium for our ideas to

meet and our voices to be heard about today's environmental

issues. The highlight of the conference was the team activity in

which all the interns were separated into different environmental

areas like toxics, energy, air, water, environmental justice, poverty,

to name a few. In those groups, we as interns worked together to

come up with all the reasons why our area was important to 

environmental stability. We also fought to make sure it was 

implemented in the legislative policies on the environment. It was

amazing: we all used our academic knowledge as well as the 

information we learned working at our respective EPA sites and 

collectively created an environmental policy that was not only

rational but maintained the stability of the environment. The ECO

conference

gave me an

opportunity

to network

and make

lasting 

contacts

that I'm sure

will be beneficial in

the future.

GRO Fellow Natasha Plumb (center) at ECO’s 2003 Career Conference

with other ECO Associates from Region 5.

GRO Fellow Natasha Plumb (left) brainstorms sustainable

environmental solutions with other ECO Associates during the

collaborative morning activity.
The Environmental Careers Organization

179 South Street

Boston, MA 02111

FIRST CLASS 

U.S. POSTAGE

PAID 

RANDOLPH, MA

PERMIT NO. 35

Printed on recycled paper

ECO has made some major changes to the GRO website at

http://www.eco.org/indexEPA.html. We are expanding our services everyday, and we hope

to make the ECO websites integral parts of our internship services with message boards and other realtime communication tools that our Associates can use. But for now, recent additions to the GRO 

website include:

The recent ten–year survey of GRO/MAI Fellows describing the impact their ECO experiences

had on their careers. 

An electronic version of the latest Fellows Forum newsletter. 

Comprehensive information and application procedures for the GRO program. 

Details on how you can host a GRO Fellow this summer.

The ECO websites change almost everyday. We hope to expand our page so that it will serve as a place to bring all our interns

together to share resources, information and support. Check it out today!

Check out ECO's new GRO Fellowship website

The EPA recently changed the name and parameters of its Minority Academic Institutions Fellowship Programs. The former EPA “Minority Academic Institutions”

(MAI) undergraduate and graduate fellowship programs are now called the "Greater Research Opportunities" (GRO) Undergraduate Student Fellowship program,

and the "Greater Research Opportunities" (GRO) Graduate Student Fellowship program. The closing date to apply for the GRO Fellowship has been extended to

January 6, 2004. Please see the updated solicitations on the EPA NCER website for details on changes to the eligibility criteria. The fellowship will remain very

much the same in form and content, with generous academic scholarships, excellent opportunities for career development, and an intensive twelve-week summer

internship at a host EPA facility coordinated by ECO. Visit http://es.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/current/2004_gro_undergrad_fellow.html for more information.

GRO Fellows Olivia Penrose

at work during her internship

in environmental chemistry at

Norfolk State University.