New interns join TWS Government Affairs & Partnerships program

This month, two new interns joined The Wildlife Society Government Affairs & Partnerships program.

Jamila explored Bryce Canyon National Park on a road trip out west with classmates from her major.

Jamila Blake grew up in Tampa, Florida and graduated from the University of Delaware with a Bachelor of Science degree in Wildlife Conservation and a minor in Sociology in May 2016. After completing a course in Wildlife Policy and Administration, she decided to pursue opportunities to gain more experience in the wildlife policy realm. She thinks that it is truly important for policy decisions to be guided by science. As an undergraduate, Jamila was very involved in her student chapter of The Wildlife Society and is excited for the opportunity to work with the parent organization. Prior to joining TWS, Jamila held a variety of internship positions for organizations, like The Florida Aquarium, Naturalists for the Rehabilitation of Snakes and Birds NGO in India, and the University of Delaware AGcelerate Enrichment Program. Most recently, Jamila was the Conservation Advocacy intern at American Bird Conservancy, working primarily with their Cats Indoors program. In her spare time, she enjoys anything that allows her to be outside, reading, or going to concerts.

Rachel spent several months deploying passive acoustic detectors to record bat calls for a regional bat ecology research project at the University of Maryland.

Rachel Schadegg grew up in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Policy and a minor in Geographic Information Science from the University of Maryland. As an undergraduate, she concentrated her studies in Wildlife Ecology and Management and conducted urban bat and white-tailed deer research. Before joining The Wildlife Society’s Government Affairs & Partnerships team, she surveyed for threatened animal and plant species and processed data as an intern with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Rachel values the development of science-informed natural resources policies, and is particularly interested in how land use policies and their applications affect the distributions and conservation of sensitive populations. She is honored to support the work of wildlife professionals during her time at The Wildlife Society. Rachel enjoys exploring and photographing the outdoors, discovering new music, and spending time with her boyfriend and three cats.

Jamila and Rachel are eager to learn as much as possible over the next few months and look forward working with everyone at TWS.

Wildlife Policy Interns help advance TWS policy priorities and provide benefits to members while gaining professional experience and expanding their network. Find out more about the Government Affairs & Partnerships program and the Wildlife Policy Internship. The next internship opportunity will be July – Dec. 2017.