Career Conversation

Federal Investments in Nature-Based Solutions

The panel will be from 4:30-6:00 p.m. A dinner with speakers will follow.

For those who cannot attend in person, we will be streaming this online. Register for the Zoom option here.

We are currently in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address climate change using federal resources, particularly due to new resources allocated through the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill. These new funding sources complement existing funding sources that have long been used to advance the conservation of natural lands, the stewardship of agricultural or working lands, and supporting nature-based solutions to climate change such as enhancing floodplain functions.

This panel will speak to a range of federal opportunities to support conservation, and how the IRA and BIL have enhanced the focus of some federal programs on issues of climate resilience and environmental justice. Panelists will speak about how to access federal funds targeted to addressing climate change and talk about what it is like to work for the federal government. Come away inspired and with new information about opportunities in the federal government for both funding programs you might apply for through your work, and what it is like to work on the federal level.

Panelists will answer questions like: How do you see the federal government leading on climate resilience efforts? What is happening or changing as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law? How is Justice40 influencing this work? What is it like to work in the federal government, and why should Yale students consider working for the federal government?

Speakers Include:

  • Amanda Bassow, Director- Northeastern Regional Office, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
  • Nathalie Woolworth YSE '18, Conservation Finance Program Manager, U. S. Forest Service
  • Dan Berkman YSE '12, Emergency Management Specialist, Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • Jen Cherry, Acting Deputy Chief, Land Resources Division, National Park Service
  • Damian Meeh, Grazing Specialist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

This is a collaboration between The Conservation Network and the Yale Center for Business and the Environment.

*We are committed to reducing waste at our event.  Therefore, we ask that when you register, you commit to doing your best to attend.