Sara Gonzalez-Rothi and R. Scott Nuzum

UM Law graduates Sara Gonzalez-Rothi, JD ’09, and R. Scott Nuzum, JD ’08, are headed to Washington D.C. as recipients of the Everglades Foundation Congressional Fellowships, awarded by the UM Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy.

The fellowships include a one-year placement with a congressional committee or federal agency that handles issues affecting the Everglades and a $45,000 stipend for the year.

“It’s a great opportunity for those selected because they are getting the opportunity to see how government works and how policy is made,” said UM Law Professor and Dean Emerita Mary Doyle, founding director of the Abess Center. “[They] get to participate in policy making that has a broad impact on not just the Everglades, but on all wetlands.”

This is the first year that the fellowships are being offered through the Abess Center’s partnership with the Everglades Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing an understanding of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem and its irreplaceable environmental and economic value. Applications were open to University of Miami graduate students approaching their graduation date. Gonzalez-Rothi and Nuzum beat out eight students who applied for the two fellowships offered this year. The 12-month placements begin in August.

Gonzalez-Rothi will work in Senator Bill Nelson’s office with his Deputy Legislative Director and key Everglades Staffer Susie Perez-Quinn. Nuzum will work with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).

posted 04-June-2009