RCC 2023 Stanback Fellows
RCC Stanback Presidential Fellow – Molly Weiner
Molly Weiner is a rising junior at Yale University majoring in American Studies with a focus on politics and the environment and is pursuing a certificate in Advanced Spanish. She is an organizer with the Yale Endowment Justice Coalition, a movement of students, faculty, alumni, and community members who oppose the financialization of higher education and believe that Yale’s endowment is an inherently political force to be used for moral ends. In February 2021, Molly helped found the Fossil Free 5 coalition of divestment organizers at Yale, Princeton, MIT, Stanford, and Vanderbilt; organizers filed legal complaints with the attorneys general in their respective states, arguing that endowment investments in the fossil fuel industry are illegal under state law. Their activism was featured in CNN, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Grist, among others. Molly also assists with research at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, works for the Yale Sustainable Food Program, and edits for the Yale Politic.
RCC Stanback Presidential Fellow – Emma Brentjens
Emma Brentjens is a Master of Environmental Management student at Duke University studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation and Community-based Environmental Management. She is driven by her belief that science is for everyone and aspires to write about environmental topics in an accessible and engaging way. Growing up in northeastern North Carolina, Emma is deeply passionate about coastal environmental issues, particularly erosion, sea level rise, flooding, and harmful algal blooms. During the summer of 2020, she conducted research on the relationship between land use, water quality, and algal community composition in the Albemarle Sound. Before coming to Duke, she studied fluorescence response of cyanobacteria to algacidal chemicals and microplastic uptake by mammalian cells as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education research fellow at the Environmental Protection Agency in Durham, North Carolina. Her interests include painting, photography, and spending time outdoors.
RCC Stanback Presidential Fellow – Sasha Provost
Sasha Provost is a rising junior at Duke University pursuing a double major in Marine Science and Conservation and Public Policy. Additionally, she is a NOAA Hollings Scholar and a Duke Rachel Carson Scholar. She is passionate about the development of conservationist policy and the impact of effective resource management on marine ecosystems. At Duke, she is on the executive board of the Sustainable Oceans Alliance and writes for the Duke Chronicle. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and reading. She is looking forward to her time at the Rachel Carson Council and through her research and work, hopes to develop a deeper understanding of contemporary climate-oriented legislation.
RCC Stanback Environmental Health Fellow – Francesca Cetta
Francesca Cetta is a rising junior at Duke University majoring in Economics and Public Policy. Born and raised just outside of Washington, DC, Francesca is acutely aware of the potential that effective policy has to save our Earth. She is passionate about working to end climate injustice through collaboration, research, and evidence-based policies. She is excited to bring together sustainability, economics, and policy with her work at the Rachel Carson Council this summer. While at Duke, Francesca also enjoys coaching a local youth running team, researching at the Center for Child and Family Policy, and exploring the Duke Forest.
RCC Stanback Coastal Resilience Fellow – Ana Young
Ana Young is a rising junior at Duke University majoring in Public Policy Studies, minoring in Cinematic Arts, and pursuing a Policy Journalism & Media Studies certificate. A Chicago native, Ana has been engaged in the climate crisis conversation since she first understood its extent during the 2011 Groundhog Day blizzard. Ana later started her high school’s first sustainability club, through which she created an 18-lesson sustainable education program for elementary school students and an environmental blog called Climate Haven for her senior honors project. As a Stanback Coastal Resilience Fellow, Ana looks forward to researching the impact of climate change on coastal communities and ecosystems. In the future, she plans to pursue a career in the film industry and is particularly interested in narrative empathy, including those of individuals impacted by climate devastation.
RCC Stanback Renewable Energy Fellow – Isaac Bowlin
Isaac Bowlin is a Master of Environmental Management student from Princeton, NJ, studying energy and the environment at Duke University. He is passionate about ending fossil fuel dependence and ensuring equal access to clean air, water, and land. Before beginning his Masters, Isaac served with AmeriCorps, performing projects of ecological benefit in the State of Washington, and developing a deep appreciation for the natural world. At Duke, Isaac works for the Duke Carbon Offset Initiative, informing Duke’s offsetting strategy to achieve carbon neutrality by 2024. In his free time, he enjoys climbing, cooking, and spending time outdoors. With RCC, Isaac is eager to explore the challenges and opportunities involved in transitioning to a cleaner and more equitable energy future.
RCC Stanback Communications Fellow – Nicole Masarova
Nicole Masarova is a dual-enrollment sophomore at Duke University and Duke Kunshan University, Duke’s sister school in China, pursuing a major in Environmental Science with a concentration in Public Policy. She was born in California, with parents who immigrated to the US from Slovakia. Her development of a nonprofit, grassroots tutoring program in the wake of the pandemic inspired a passion in the intersection of law, equitable policy, and sustainability. Since freshman year, Nicole has been a writer for Duke’s undergraduate law magazine, Juris, has helped kick-start Duke Kunshan’s Pre-Law Society as Secretary, and has interned with the Business Innovation Center in Slovakia, working on research in the wind-energy division. In her free time, she can be found hiking or painting. She is incredibly honored and excited to bring her experience to the RCC’s mission of environmental advocacy and justice.
RCC Stanback Climate Justice Fellow – Lucy Goldman
Lucy Goldman is a rising junior at Duke University studying Public Policy and Computer Science. She is originally from the Bay Area, California where she developed her love for everything outdoors. She is passionate about climate justice, ocean health, and environmental legislation. Outside of the classroom, Lucy works with Duke’s Sexual Harassment and Assault Prevention Education group (SHAPE) and leads the club water polo team. She hopes to pursue a career in the environmental advocacy or climate tech space and is very excited about the opportunity to work as a climate justice fellow for the RCC this summer.
RCC Stanback Renewable Energy Fellow – Nagarajan Subramanian
Nagarajan Subramanian is from Bangalore, India, pursuing the Master of Environmental Management degree at Duke University. He is deeply passionate about the environment and nature, and his ambition is to find ways to reduce the environmental impacts of the energy sector and meet our energy needs sustainably. With a major in Mechanical Engineering specializing in Energy, he joined Duke to learn about the influence of other factors – economics, policy, business, management – on the energy sector. He is excited to work with the Rachel Carson Council to understand the influence of national-level policies. He is actively involved on campus as the treasurer of the Nicholas School Energy Club. which coordinates with the Duke University Energy Initiative and partner energy clubs at other schools. In his free time, he pursues an eclectic mix of hobbies, like listening to classical Indian and Western music, and learning about geology, paleontology, and linguistics. He also loves cooking and baking and finds them very therapeutic.
