Amherst, Mass. – Naomi Valentine, an assistant project manager in Amherst, was selected to participate in the State Department Professional Fellows Exchange Program.
This program is funded under the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for the purpose of scientific and professional collaboration and networking. After SWCA Amherst hosted fellows from Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, Naomi had the opportunity to apply for the U.S. professional portion of the exchange and was accepted to the Mexican exchange program, which took place in Chiapas and Tabasco from January 15 to 25, 2017.
Accompanying Naomi were Dr. Timothy Randhir (UMass), Dr. Reena Randhir (Springfield Technical Community College), Dr. Paul Wetzel (Smith College) and Mike Tully (Senior Parks Project Manager; Springfield Public Parks). This trip was an amazing opportunity to observe the strides that the Mexican fellows have made with their action plans, This trip provided Naomi with a clear understanding of the environmental issues the Mexican fellows are beginning to resolve and how we can support each other in the future to further achievements toward a common goal: climate change research and sustainable resource management.
