Environmental Consortium

Past Scholarship Award Winners

2012
Elizabeth Murphy is the 2012 recipient of the $3,500 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. Ms. Murphy is a Masters candidate at Bard College in the Climate Science and Policy program. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Geology from Vassar College and was one of ten national awardees of the Compton Mentor Fellowship in 2008 which enabled her to further her studies on tidal power in the Northeast. With a commitment to her home region, the Hudson River Valley, Ms. Murphy’s passion and work has focused on energy. “Energy is not just electricity, transportation and heat, it is everything: food, shelter, health and happiness. Our current society has an enormous energy deficit and we are rapidly approaching bankruptcy. In order to restore an energy balance, we must examine not only the science, but also the economics and society, to determine the best technologies and practices.” Ms. Murphy has worked as project manager for local renewable energy companies, is a volunteer member on the Town of New Paltz’s Environmental Conservation Board, and is also an Energy and Efficiency Consultant for Bard College. In addition, she is founder and contributor for www.carbonocracy.com, a blog dedicated to reporting on the latest in clean technology and policy.

Patrick Francis Carroll is the 2012 recipient of a $4,000 Pace Law School Environmental Consortium Merit Scholarship. He recently completed his Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, Environmental Law, Policy and Planning Option, at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Having grown up in the Hudson River Valley, Mr. Carroll has observed the importance of maintaining the health of local ecology through the legal checks that protect it: “the one location [that] has formed a deeper foundation for my passion of environmentalism though policy and law.” He views Pace Law School as his door to participating more directly in local and national stewardship. Mr. Carroll’s exemplary experiences include applying the technical and economic analyses of Iceland to international energy consumption during a study abroad opportunity. He also served as a legal intern in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Office of General Counsel, Region 3. To this experience, Mr. Carroll credits a strengthened conviction to pursue a legal education and an even greater appreciation of local stewardship.

2011
Sean Fitzgerald is the 2011 recipient of the $3,500 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. He is currently working toward earning his Bachelor degree in Marine Vertebrate Biology and Environmental Science from SUNY Stony Brook University. Upon graduation from Stony Brook he plans to continue pursuing his studies in a PhD program. It is his long term goal to devote his professional life to the conservation and restoration of biodiversity through any and all appropriate means. "I feel that I personally owe it to our own generation, generations to come, and most importantly the species that cohabitate the globe with us, to devote my career to saving and restoring as much of the natural world as I can."

Lincoln Lande is the 2011 recipient of a $2,000 Pace Law School Environmental Consortium Merit Scholarship. Mr. Lande, who focused on environmental economics and alternative energy in undergraduate school, has collaborated with others to promote grassroot efforts to improve community sustainability and energy efficiency in business and community alike. His undergraduate thesis work on Cellulosic ethanol provided an opportunity to explore how economically viable this alternative energy source may be for America. Mr. Lande is a 2009 graduate of Skidmore College where he earned his BA in Economics and his BS in Management and Business.

Thomas Ruane is the 2011 recipient of a $2,000 Pace Law School Environmental Consortium Merit Scholarship. Mr. Ruane, who has worked as an energy analyst on projects with the New York Research and Development Authority, is captivated by new concepts and applications of energy efficiency. With extensive experience as an energy analyst, he has seen how crucial green energy policy and technology is to a cleaner more efficient future. Mr. Ruane is a 2009 graduate of SUNY University at Albany where he earned his BA in Economics with a minor in political science.

2010
Laura Bendernagel is the 2010 recipient of the $3,500 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. She is currently working towards earning her Bachelor degree in Earth and Environmental Engineering from Columbia University with plans to continue her education post-graduation. It is Ms. Bendernagel’s career goal to use her professional skills to work with fellow engineers and governing policymakers to develop and implement clean, sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels on a large scale. “I hope my efforts will encourage others to realize that their actions, however small they may seem, have environmental consequences and that living more sustainably does not mean a decrease in the joy of life today, only a brighter tomorrow.”

2009
Meredith Van Horn is the 2009 recipient of the $3,500 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. She received her BA in Political Science from Boston College in 2003, and went on to earn her MA in Global Environmental Policy from American University in 2007. Ms. Van Horn is currently working towards earning her JD and Certificate in Environmental Law from Pace University School of Law, where she currently works as a research assistant under Professor Nicholas Robinson, helping to draft chapters of a new textbook on climate change. She is also a legal intern at Zarin & Steinmetz, an environmental boutique firm. Ms. Van Horn’s goal is to “educate the public and encourage legislation to mitigate the impacts of climate change and create solutions to adapt to the changes it will bring.” Van Horn has had many years of experience in pursuing her career in environmental law, and works tirelessly to achieve her goal of working as a lawyer for the environment. “For me, protecting the environment is not just a career path; it is a way of life, a moral choice.”

Travis Brown is the 2009 recipient of a $4,000 Pace Law School Environmental Consortium Scholarship in addition to a substantial merit scholarship. Mr. Brown, as a founding member of the Anam Circle Think Tank in Albany, has collaborated with others to prepare the Kromma Kill Creekshed Community Based Initiative to aid local officials in the Town of Colonie. The Kromma Kill Creekshed is the diverse community of residents living in the “ecoregion” located mostly within the Town of Colonie and adjacent to the Hudson River in Albany County, New York. His full-time intern work at a local District Attorney’s office provided an opportunity to work closely with counsel and fortified his desire to become an attorney. Mr. Brown is a 2009 graduate of Siena College where he earned his BA in Political Science, with a minor in Sociology.

2008
Andrea Caruso is the 2008 recipient of the $2,000 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. Ms. Caruso earned her B.A. in Environmental Studies from Binghamton University, and continued her education at Purchase College. A native New Yorker, Ms. Caruso, plans to continue her studies on watershed land, particularly biotic and abiotic factors and their interaction and effect on invasive organisms, and the impacts on the health of the land and water. “Without sound land use practices, threats of decreased primary production, as well as erosion, runoff and nutrient loading are likely to increase.” Her goal is to develop strategies for the prevention and management of invasive organisms. Ms. Caruso will be pursuing her Master of Science degree in Biological Studies this fall at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Heather Deichler is the 2008 recipient of a $3,000 Pace Law School Environmental Consortium Merit Scholarship. Ms. Deichler received her B.A. in Economics from Vassar College in May 2002. She currently works as a legal assistant for a law firm in Dutchess County which specializes in municipal, environmental and real estate law. The experience has afforded her the opportunity to be exposed to various aspects of the law and to develop an understanding of many of the issues facing local municipalities and individuals. Ms. Deichler is very active within her community, and previously worked at Bard College and Vassar College in various positions. She will be attending Pace Law School’s evening program.

2007
Jessica Rogers is the 2007 recipient of the $2,000 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. Ms. Rogers is pursuing her Ph.D. in Columbia University's E3B program (Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology). Although her work has spanned the globe, this scholarship will assist her in pursuing research on invasive species in the Hudson Valley region. In addition to using GIS technology, field visits, and plant species composition analyses, Ms. Rogers will work to engage local landowners and local governments to cooperate as a united front. A common denominator in her research and experience has been conservation. According to Ms. Rogers, "conservation should be experienced as well as understood, and combining both in any project has been my goal."

Kate Donovan is the 2007 recipient of a $3,000 Pace Law School Environmental Consortium Merit Scholarship, renewable each year. Ms. Donovan received her B.A. from Skidmore College, cum laud, in May 2001, majoring in Government, with a double minor in Environmental Studies and Dance. She received her M.P.A. from Columbia University, School of International & Public Affairs, Program in Environmental Science and Policy in May 2004. She has 6 years of professional experience as an environmental policy analyst and consultant. She has spent approximately 5 years as a consultant for a number of federal agencies providing policy, regulatory, technical, and program management support. These agencies include the U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. General Services Administration, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For her senior capstone project at Skidmore College, Ms. Donovan interned with Environmental Advocates, a non-profit advocacy organization located in Albany, working on two significant projects related to the Hudson River and air pollution.

2006
Jessica Steinberg is the 2006 recipient of the $2,000 Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Founders Fund Scholarship. Enrolled in a joint degree program with Bard College and Pace Law School, Jessica will earn her Master in Science and Juris Doctor degrees. While at Pace Law School she has been the Vice Chair of the Grading Committee for the National Environmental Law Moot Court Competition. Ms. Steinberg says that with her joint degrees, she will "be equipped to encourage sound environmental policies and fight for stricter conservation regulations, which in turn will ultimately benefit the tri-state region."

Pace Law School awarded two merit scholarships: $27,000, renewable each year, to Ben L. Sosne of Columbia University, and $3,000, renewable each year, to Katherine G. McGee of Ramapo College of New Jersey.

Ben Sosne, currently a History major at Columbia University, worked as an undergraduate at the Harlem Youth Renaissance and volunteers at the New York Historical Society. Katherine G. McGee is the current President of the Environmental Alliance Club at Ramapo Ramapo College of New Jersey. Ms. McGee helped organize the 10th Annual Ramapo Watershed Conference as a member of the Ramapo River Committee. Both recipients will be working with the Center for Environmental Legal Studies on Hudson River issues during their time at Pace Law School.