The Udall Foundation recognizes 80 college sophomores and juniors every year who intend to pursue careers related to the
environment and demonstrate a commitment to environmental fields. With over 1,000 Udall Scholars to date, many who share
a passion for environmental education, the natural world, and serving underprivileged youth, we have been able to create
a partnership between two of the Foundation's programs by hiring scholarship alumni to lead Parks in Focus trips.
In 2007, the Arizona trip was led entirely by Udall Scholar alumni, who also formed the Parks in Focus "team" during the
Foundation's Udall Legacy Bus Tour, which further ignited the expansion of the program. In 2008, alumni led the Arizona,
New Jersey, and Michigan trips, and added a trip to Acadia National Park in Maine.
Kelly Doyle
Kelly spent every summer of her childhood splashing in the waves and digging for sand crabs at the Jersey Shore. In high school she
participated in the Governor's School on the Environment, which reaffirmed her love of the outdoors and the geology of New Jersey's
barrier islands and sparked her interest in nature photography. Kelly pursued environmental engineering at Villanova University with
a minor in environmental studies, led the campus environmental group, and became a Udall Scholar in 2005. She also studied
sustainable development on two mission trips to Ecuador and Costa Rica during school break.
Post-graduation she joined a Parks-in-Focus group in New Jersey. With Marcos Orozco, she co-led a group of middle-school children around
New Jersey, sharing the taste of wild blueberries, the thrill of hiking, and the excitement of seining for aquatic animals, all the while
taking amazing nature pictures.
Kelly received an NSF grant to study at MIT to pursue a Masters in Environmental Engineering. There she studied rainwater harvesting
options for a rural village in northern Rwanda. After two trips to Rwanda related to rainwater harvesting and a trip to Ghana working
with household drinking water treatment, she graduated with a master's degree and moved to Madison, Wisconsin. As a water resource
engineer at a consulting firm, she will be designing Best Management Practices (BMPs) for stormwater management, such as stormwater
wetlands, while also working to get her Professional Engineering license.
Jessica Fagan
An alumna of Berea College and 2006 Udall Scholar, Jessica double majored in biology and chemistry. At Berea College, she
worked with the local Boys and Girls Club with their Ultimate Journey Environmental Program. Throughout college she also
worked as an Educational Assistant in the public school system, and spent two summers at an environmental day camp at Teatown
Lake Reservation: A Nature Preserve and Education Center. Jessica worked with PIF AZ and NJ in the summer of 2007 as well as
the mini-PIF trips during the 2007 Udall Legacy Bus Tour.
Jessica is currently working as a Compton Fellow developing youth Climate Change programming with the Girl Scouts. She is
passionate about working with youth to involve them in the environmental movement: "I believe the first step toward solving the
environmental crisis is to involve the youth. Young people should be given the opportunity to effect meaningful change in their
communities. Often, young people are more receptive to acknowledging their responsibility as caretakers and their role as
agents for change."
Bob Filbin
Bob grew up in the exurbs of Boston where he experienced nature through the sound of dried leaves and the occasional insect
crunching underfoot, the latter of which made Bob feel very bad. In high school, Bob's interest in nature became a passion
for environmental issues, while his budding zeal for art led him to take every photography course offered.
He continued and expanded his environmental interests in college, but Bob sometimes felt overwhelmed by the school's
environmental politics. He found refuge in teaching environmental science to elementary students, who had no interest in
phrases like "campus aesthetic" or "economic feasibility." Phew. After an epic four-year battle of brains (and brawn), Bob
graduated from Colgate University with a degree in Natural Science and a desire to take on the world, one teachable moment
at a time.
Bob continued his pursuit of science education as a community college teacher, a state park Interpreter, and a 6th grade science
camp instructor but all the while, he felt something was missing. Then a strange opportunity appeared, claiming to combine both
science and art. "Perhaps the art of science? Or the science of art?" he thought. But no, it was the science and art of nature.
Parks were the focus and Bob was on the job.
Gillian Locascio
Gillian fell in love with nature at summer camp in the Washington forests during her successful, albeit short-lived, career racing
banana slugs. Since that time her interest in ecology has never waned, even as she turns her gaze toward the human landscape and the
life outside our doorstep that so often goes unappreciated. Committed to reconnecting urbanites with the outdoors, Gillian can think of
few things more exciting than sparking the curiosity and wonder of those around her, whether through photographing the movement of the
stars or dissecting plants. She dreams of bringing Parks in Focus to her own beloved backyard in the temperate rainforest and rugged
coasts of the Olympic Peninsula.
Meg Matthews
Throughout childhood, Meg knew two things for certain: she loved to write and she loved the environment. Most summer afternoons,
you could find her up a tree reading until the sun set, riding her bike for hours, or watching fish jump in the Snohomish River.
It took a while to merge her interests, but by pursuing English and environmental studies at the University of Washington, she
received a Udall Scholarship in 2004 and realized she'd found her community. After graduation, Meg was fortunate enough to receive
a Gates Scholarship to Cambridge University, England, and entered a master's program in geography (Environment, Society &
Development). At Cambridge, she got down and dirty with river and wastewater management along the Mexico-U.S. border, studying
the role of local participation in cleaning up decades-old problems. As she tramped along the banks of the New River, she knew
she'd found her calling in life: using her communication skills to make environmental issues accessible to the public.
Now, Meg works as the communications assistant for UW Botanic Gardens; during the school year, she's also a Program Guide,
teaching botany and plant conservation to grade schoolers. She coordinates an organic vegetable garden at her church and is
trying to hone her birding skills. Originally, the Parks in Focus program seemed an ideal means to increase her environmental
education experience; it did that, but it was so much more. In a short week, PIF taught her more about connecting kids to the
natural world than she'd ever learned in school. Now back in Seattle, Meg is launching a "Park in the Dark" night hike program
at UW Botanic Gardens, based on the one she participated in during PIF. She can't wait to be involved with PIF next year, when
she hopes to start a program in Washington State and return to Arizona for another trip through the desert.
Bret Muter
Born and raised a full-blooded Michigander, Bret spent most of his childhood running rampant through the northern forests and
scenic shorelines of the Great Lakes State. Although he began his undergraduate studies preparing for a career in optometry, Bret
quickly discovered his passion for environmental education after he was hired as a docent in the Card Wildlife Education Center
at Ferris State University. He was recognized as the first Udall Scholar from Ferris in 2005 and received his bachelor's degree
in environmental biology in 2006.
After graduating, Bret moved to Tucson to work as an education programs intern for the Udall Foundation. What he thought would be
a three-month internship amounted to a year and a half stint that put him "behind the wheel" (as manager) of the Udall Legacy
Bus Tour and at the helm of two PIF programs in 2007, including the first of what has become an annual program in Michigan.
Bret is currently pursuing a master's degree in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at Michigan State University (go GREEN!)
and hopes to use his education to further explore his interests in youth education, wildlife outreach and parks. Bret credits his
experiences with PIF and the Udall Foundation for shaping his current career path and is excited to continue his role as
coordinator of PIF Michigan!
Marcos Orozco
Marcos graduated from Rutgers University with a bachelor's degree in Environmental Policy. He then went into the field of
education and began teaching science at both middle school and high school levels. His love for the outdoors, his rapport with
children and his interest in photography made him a natural fit for the Parks in Focus program. He believes that nature can be
found anywhere and that some of the best ecological lessons can be learned in one's back yard. With this in mind he established
PIF-NJ, which has participants travelling to breathtaking natural places in the heart of a densely populated state.