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Alumni Highlight

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    Hope is NOT a Sustainability Strategy , article

    Jeffrey Merritt, XMNR alum, discusses the global challenges people are facing in the Anthropocene (climate change, food insecurity, poverty, and more) and explores strategies to address these challenges that he has learned through his graduate school studies. Jeffrey is the Market Vice President in Roanoke, Virginia, where in addition to overseeing the day-to-day operations in the Roanoke Market, he also serves as executive sponsor for Virginia’s Cox Conserves program and is Virginia’s Incident Commander for Business Continuity.

    Date: Jun 16, 2020
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    XMNR19 military/veteran students
    Experience necessary: U.S. Marine Corps vet, XMNR alum lands environmental dream job , article

    USMC veteran and XMNR alum Spencer Stater shares his story about how a pursuit of a meaningful career in the environment field and frustration with lack of necessary experience led him to Virginia Tech's Executive Master of Natural Resources in Global Sustainability, a year-long interdisciplinary program designed for working professionals that gave him the credentials and confidence he needed to land a dream job in his post-military career.

    Date: Apr 10, 2020
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    Ryan Donner and his family
    Virginia Tech Executive Master’s program launches veteran into second career , article

    Facing the prospect of upcoming retirement from the U.S. Navy, Ryan Donner saw an opportunity to turn his love of the outdoors into a rewarding second career. When he looked into attractive job postings in the field, however, he realized he needed a degree in natural resources. Financial support from the G.I. Bill, which provides educational assistance to service members, veterans, and their dependents, made it possible for Ryan to earn his Master of Natural Resources degree at Virginia Tech and to start pursuing a career as a Natural Resources Police Officer.

    Date: Mar 18, 2020
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    Pyramids of Giza
    Global Study, Part 3: How Egypt Changed My Sustainability Perspective , article

    In November 2019, Executive Master of Natural Resources Jerry Headley traveled to Egypt with his XMNR cohort to take an in-depth look at environmental sustainability issues in the Cairo and greater Nile River Valley regions. Egypt is an especially relevant country to study as it faces many sustainability challenges, including: overpopulation of urban areas, water scarcity, pollution, and an underdeveloped infrastructure, just to name a few. Students have been studying sustainability issues for months in their classrooms in Arlington, VA. Like the rest of his classmates, Jerry was excited to be in the country and attempt to couple a sense of experience with his newfound knowledge. Little did he know just how important this would prove to be.

    Date: Feb 19, 2020
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    Global Study, Egypt, Part 2: Traveling More Sustainably, a Beginner’s Guide , article

    XMNR alum Jessi Savioli reflects on sustainability of travel and offers tips and ideas for the conscientious traveler. "There is nothing I enjoy more in this world than travel," she says. "Whether it is exploring the far-reaching wild spaces in my own country or getting lost in a foreign culture on another continent, I feel positively alive. But how do we, as sustainability professionals, do this in a way that doesn’t effectively 'cancel out' all of our efforts and hard work? How can we travel in a way that is as ethical and responsible? And how can we consider ourselves to be 'global citizens' when travel can cause so much damage?"

    Date: Feb 12, 2020
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    A farmer and his sons at the Island of Besaw in Egypt prepare the land for agricultural production.
    Global Study, Egypt, Part 1: Climate Change, Water, and Agriculture , article

    Nguyen Le works for the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a nonprofit grant-making organization focusing on the protection and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. In the fall of 2019, she visited Egypt as part of her XMNR cohort's Global Study, a standard module in all our graduate programs where students have an opportunity to apply academic knowledge to real-world global sustainability challenges. In this post, Nguyen reflects on her experiences in Egypt and the leadership capabilities and confidence she gained in the XMNR program.

    Date: Feb 04, 2020
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    How to Hold Corporations Accountable for Global Sustainability? , article

    Corporations are active participants in producing global waste and carbon dioxide emissions, which means that they are accountable for their distribution of pollution and their part in protecting the health of our planet. XMNR alum Danielle Staggers explores strategies that communities can pursue to engage corporations in environmental sustainability.

    Date: Jan 15, 2020
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    Blazing Trails to Local and Global Sustainability Change , article

    When it comes to leadership, Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) alum T. Adil Chowdhury stands as a trailblazer in the sphere of global sustainability. His deep understanding of stakeholder engagement and cross-disciplinary teamwork has helped him achieve a number of successes in both sustainable development and policy making. In his current role as a Climate Advisor for the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Adil strives to make the city of San Antonio, Texas, run fully on renewable energy.

    Date: Jan 03, 2020
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    Our Students Share Grad School Tips with Environmental Leadership Community , article

    Current and former students in the Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) program—Valerie Winrow, Sara El Choufi, and Danielle Simms—shared reflections and tips for choosing a graduate school with an online community of women interested in careers in global sustainability, in a webinar facilitated by the Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program Alumni Network, a program of the Environmental Leadership Program.

    Date: Oct 15, 2019
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    XMNR Alumni Connect at the National Geographic Society
    XMNR Alumni Connect at the National Geographic Society , article

    Two Virginia Tech Executive Master of Natural Resources (XMNR) alumni, Arslan Ahmad and Mike Beckner, met for the first time in the elevator of their shared workplace, the National Geographic Society (NGS). Both men were wearing jackets with the Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability (CLiGS) logo, which was enough to spark a conversation. “We talked about the program,” Mike recalls, “and I remember thinking it was nice to see someone else from my area of study at Virginia Tech.”

    Date: Sep 25, 2019
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