Alissa is thrilled to work as Upper Neuse RIVERKEEPER® for the Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation (NRF), based in the Raleigh NRF office. The territory she covers extends from the headwaters/Falls Lake area to the City of Goldsboro, encompassing the drinking water supplies for over half a million people in the triangle area.
After graduating from DePaul University with a BA in History, Alissa joined the Conservancy of Southwest Florida as a Water Resources Conservation Associate, eventually being promoted to a full-time position, based in Fort Myers, Florida, with advocacy responsibilities covering four counties and topics from wildlife and land conservation to growth management and water quality.
While working for the Conservancy, Alissa realized that she wanted nothing more than to devote her life's work to protecting and improving the environment and quality of life for her fellow citizens. With mixed emotions, she left Florida to pursue a graduate education that would support the scientific and legal knowledge she felt was necessary to improve her abilities as an environmental advocate. She earned a Masters of Energy and Environmental Policy (MEEP) from the University of Delaware, with a focus on water resources and land use/environmental planning. During her tenure at the University, she held a Graduate Research Assistantship for UD's Institute for Public Administration, addressing growth management issues in Southern Delaware.
Concurrent with her graduate education, she also served a term with AmeriCorps and worked as a Naturalist at Delaware's White Clay Creek State Park, educating the public about the Creek and the natural resources that it supports and relies upon. She loves helping others to become excited about new things and new ideas, and the difference you can make in the life of a child (or adult) by helping them to feel connected to their resource and understand that they too are a special and important piece of the puzzle. She was sad to leave such a beautiful and magical place, but is excited to learn about all the things that make the Neuse River watershed special and to have it become as dear to her heart as is the White Clay Creek.
Alissa also has an active volunteer life. She is a foster mom and volunteer for A Buddy for Life, an organization which works to save and place neglected dogs from high kill shelters, and was on the board of a number of environmental organizations during her time in Florida. She also served on the Local Planning Agency and Land Development Code Advisory Committee for Lee County and has organized a number of events to educate and entertain the community in a safe and healthy way.
Personally, Alissa has always felt a connection to rivers and other waterways; they fascinate and soothe her, demonstrating the connection between all of the different components of our ecosystem--human, plant, and animal--and the vital understanding that the health of one relies upon the health of the rest. In her time off, Alissa can be found at the dog park with her two girls, hiking, swimming, snorkeling, or cooking for friends.
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