Pamela Lesser
Where do you currently work/intern?
I am a consultant who wears a few different hats. I have a client (Craig Lawson & Co., LLC) in Los Angeles that I continue to do entitlement work for. In addition, I am the “national policy analyst” for ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability. Finally, I am a Fellow at the Ecologic Institute in Washington, DC, which is the US office of the Berlin-based Ecologic Institute for International and European Environmental Policy.
Are you/have you participated in or completed any compelling research related to the degree?
I am not sure I would describe my research as compelling, but it certainly does encompass everything from real estate development in downtown Los Angeles to my work for ICLEI, which consists of analyzing federal policy and legislation that comes out of Washington and evaluating its effects on local governments. My work with the Ecologic Institute has mainly been to help them officially launch the Washington office, which is due to take place on Earth Day 2009.
A paper of mine will, however, be published in the Spring Edition of Mediterranean Quarterly. The paper originates from the final paper written for a summer class (Environmental Policy and the EU taught by Eileen McGurty, Associate Chair of the Environmental Science and Policy Program) that was based in Berlin and Brussels.
What year do you intend to graduate?
The ironic thing is that the program has been almost too helpful in allowing me to change my career path. At the rate I’m going, it probably will be two more years before I graduate. I’ve been so busy with work it’s been hard to find the time to squeeze classes in.
What is your favorite part of the Environmental Sciences and Policy Program?
I am a very new student to the program, so it is hard to say what my favorite part is. The only thing I can say now is that I really appreciate the flexibility the program offers, including the array of courses and the ability to take the majority of them online.
Why did you choose to get my Masters Degree from Johns Hopkins?
I have a Masters Degree in Urban Planning from UCLA and have worked in the field for 17 years now. A lot of my work was in environmental planning and I have always wanted to continue working in ways that were at least linked to the environment. Over time, my interest in policy grew and combining the environment and policy seemed a natural segue from the land use work I was doing. Moving into the climate change arena really has come about as a result of this program, and in particular, the summer class in Europe.
What is my most memorable experience from the program so far?
Given my rather limited experience of the program, there aren't a whole lot of memories to choose from. That said, the most memorable experience – hands down – comes from the class based in Europe. It’s somewhat hard to explain, but all of us in the class were on a fieldtrip to a conservation area about 1 ½ hours outside Berlin. We stopped for lunch at a place that was half restaurant half working barn. Apparently that day also was the annual crowning of the harvest princess (I think I may be getting the details slightly wrong so forgive me). But what was really special, or so all the locals touted, was the swim in the milk bath the princess was supposed to take. Dressed in a full length gold embroidered gown, which we all assumed the princess would change out of in favor of a bathing suit, she proceeded to sit down and dip her toes into the milk bath. That was it. It was pretty hard to resist laughing given our expectations. But it really was a wonderful moment and a wonderful day.
What do you plan to do once you have finished the program?
I plan to continue along the same trajectory I am on now. However, I have to admit I have always dreamed of getting a doctorate. If the opportunity arises I think it would be hard to turn down.
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