Get Involved: INTERNSHIPS
Meet Our Interns!
Friends of Cabin John Creek has been lucky enough to have fantastic interns working with us. We see supporting future environmentalists as part of our mission, and strive to offer our interns a meaningful experience that touches on a variety of watershed conservation activities. They are also gaining professional experience that will help them better navigate their future career paths. We are thrilled to have them on our team!
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Summer/Fall 2019
​Erin is working with FoCJC this summer before entering her junior year at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she's studying hydrology, chemistry, and physics. She’s had a passion for the outdoors ever since she was a little girl, always defying stereotypes by playing with bugs and getting dirty in the woods. She comes by this passion naturally, since both her parents are environmentalists and work for the EPA.
Erin has lived in the Cabin John Creek watershed her whole life and has participated in countless creek clean ups and similar activities with friends and fellow Girl Scouts. After graduating from Walt Whitman High School in 2016, she launched her conservation career with an FoCJC internship. We are pleased she has returned to us this summer, and she will be updating our Creek Access Guide and reporting on our early Water Quality Monitoring program. She'll also assist with the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Creek Critters program, FoCJC stormdrain stenciling and dog park events, as well as working on an dog waste management social media campaign.
Summer 2018
Jonah is joining us before his senior year at the Maret School. He has always had a passion for community engagement, particularly around the environment. Jonah spent last summer in Israel, where he embarked on a service oriented trip with a specific focus on environmental conservation. During the trip Jonah engaged in trailblazing, archeological digs, community gardening, and so much more, all while interacting and bringing together different groups within Israeli communities. The experience taught him how nature and its importance can overcome any man-made boundaries. Jonah also has a particular passion for advocacy, and has lobbied multiple times in county, state, and federal government. Jonah is looking forward to being an FOCJC intern so he can learn more about stormwater solutions, environmental lobbying, and conservation. Jonah will be planning the Sustainable Landscaping Fair and the Creek Critters Water Quality Monitoring Program, along with continuing the Luxmanor and Inverness Community RainScapes Program.
​Erin is working with FoCJC this summer before entering her junior year at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she's studying hydrology, chemistry, and physics. She’s had a passion for the outdoors ever since she was a little girl, always defying stereotypes by playing with bugs and getting dirty in the woods. She comes by this passion naturally, since both her parents are environmentalists and work for the EPA.
Erin has lived in the Cabin John Creek watershed her whole life and has participated in countless creek clean ups and similar activities with friends and fellow Girl Scouts. After graduating from Walt Whitman High School in 2016, she launched her conservation career with an FoCJC internship. We are pleased she has returned to us this summer, and she will be updating our Creek Access Guide and reporting on our early Water Quality Monitoring program. She'll also assist with the Audubon Naturalist Society’s Creek Critters program, FoCJC stormdrain stenciling and dog park events, as well as working on an dog waste management social media campaign.
Summer/Fall 2017
Max is an aspiring filmmaker, studying Digital Media Production at Florida State University. He moved to the Cabin John area two years ago and loves hiking at the creek with his little sister in their free time. He earned the Certificate of Meritorious Service in his years at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School for gaining over 400 hours of community service, and has spent the past year volunteering on film sets at Florida State. Max worked on the short film about giving back to your community, “To Change”, which was selected and screened at the White House Student Film Festival in 2015. One of his documentaries, “Pianino for Peace”, was also selected for the 2015 International Peace and Film Festival in Orlando, Florida, where he won that year’s “Rising Star” award. This summer, Max will be working with FoCJC to create a short video that will shed light on the natural beauty of Cabin John Creek, as well as encourage locals to keep the watershed clean.
Peter is entering his senior year at West Virginia University, where he is studying Environmental Geoscience. He has been a resident of the Cabin John Creek Watershed his entire life and has spent lots of time walking and biking through the trails in Cabin John Park. Peter's parents introduced him as a child to the watershed and this has given him a passion for the outdoors, both here in Maryland and at school in West Virginia. He knows just how important it is to inform community members about the local environmental problems and is passionate about reaching out to and educating others. Peter's father worked as an environmental consultant, which inspired Peter to pursue a career in the environmental sciences. As an intern this summer, Peter will be developing a project to test the water quality of post-storm puddles and its impact on local pets.
Erik is returning as an FoCJC Fall Intern after graduating from the University of California Berkeley, majoring in Conservation and Resource Studies and minoring in Forestry and Natural Resources. He has been a long-time resident of the Cabin John Creek Watershed and a long-time advocate for the environment. As an intern this fall, Erik will be helping to plan a community event about stormwater issues and solutions and will be engaging with local businesses in this project.
Summer 2016
Danielle is an avid kayaker of the Potomac River and a former Girl Scout, and has always been fascinated by all that the Cabin John Watershed has to offer. She just graduated from National Cathedral School (NCS), where she was on the school’s governing board, working as an environmental advocate. This experience taught her about building community engagement, as well as how to implement ecofriendly systems such as composting or rain barrels. Last summer, Danielle received an NCS fellowship to conduct a seven-week research project she designed on bumble bee foraging behavior and food source loyalty at Oregon State University.
Danielle is looking forward to working as a FoCJC intern so she can extend her scientific, advocacy, and conservation knowledge and skills. She’ll be continuing her budding scientific career while attending Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, where she’ll be a Bowdoin Faculty Scholar with a $3,000 stipend for research. She plans to pursue a biology major with a concentration on environmental science, in the hopes of turning her passion into a career. This summer she’ll be helping to organize a fall Rainscapes Garden Tour, working on an online Cabin John Creek Trail guide, cataloging the CJC invasive fauna, and developing a Social Media Communication Strategy.
Erin has joined us before heading off to her freshman year at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she’ll be studying chemical engineering. She’s had a passion for the outdoors ever since she was a little girl, defying stereotypes by playing with bugs and getting dirty in the woods. She comes by this passion naturally, since both her parents are environmentalists and work for the EPA.
Erin has lived in the Cabin John Creek watershed her whole life and has participated in countless creek clean ups and similar activities with friends and fellow Girl Scouts. After graduating from Walt Whitman High School, she’s decided to spend her summer extending her conservation experience by working with the Friends of Cabin John Creek. As a FoCJC intern, she will be creating an online trail guide and app, reporting on the retired FoCJC water quality management program, curating our creek photolibrary, and developing FoCJC events such as a local Stormwater Fair.
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Mark has been actively participating in service projects as a member of Troop 463 for the past seven years, and recently earned the rank of Eagle Scout. His Eagle Scout project involved planning and implementing the redesign of gardens at a local homeless shelter, with the help of volunteers he recruited and coordinated. Mark will be starting his senior year of high school this fall, and beginning the college application process with an eye to studying psychology. He has spent the past couple of years working behind the scenes as a sound technician for his school's Stage program, and is also a member of the Advanced Chorus. He has also been taking piano lessons and voice lessons for several years.
Mark will be working on the FoCJC Stormwater Solutions program, installing rain barrels, helping develop our Creek Keepers stewardship program, and reporting on our stormwater awareness survey. He will also be helping us organize community events.
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Summer 2015
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Rebecca is majoring in environmental studies and anthropology at Brandeis University. She is very interested in the relationship between people and the environment. As an FoCJC Intern, Rebecca helped to create the Stormwater Awareness Survey and a volunteer directory. She also compiled a streamlined application form for Montgomery County’s RainScapes Rewards Rebate program to help watershed residents implementing stormwater control projects. Rebecca has built on her FoCJC experience at the EPA Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, where she researched RCRA Corrective Action facilities and Public Participation and organized PCB disposal facilities data. At Brandeis, Rebecca works as a Teaching Assistant in the Biology and Environmental Studies Departments. When not working on solving environmental problems, Rebecca spends her time running and playing traditional music on the fiddle.
FoCJC is an Equal Opportunity Employer, and does not discriminate on the basis of age, class, color, disability, ethnicity, faith, gender, national origin, race, or sexual orientation.