Tucson Man Singled Out for Environmental Leadership
Honoree Receives Audubon/Toyota TogetherGreen Fellowship
A Tucson, Arizona man is the recipient of a national fellowship designed to advance the work of individuals with outstanding leadership potential to help shape a brighter environmental future.
Jose Marcos-Iga is one of 40 individuals nationwide selected as a 2009 TogetherGreen Fellow. The TogetherGreen Fellowship offers specialized training in conservation planning and execution, the chance to work and share best practices with gifted conservation professionals, and assistance with project outreach and evaluation. Each Fellow receives $10,000 towards a community-focused project to engage local residents in conserving land, water and energy, and contributing to greater environmental health.
For his fellowship, Marcos-Iga will organize a series of workshops in the US-Mexico border region to train conservation practitioners and environmental educators in the use of humor, laughter, and play techniques to address “hot button” environmental issues that are not easily understood. The project provides an interdisciplinary approach to teaching environmental education that spans the fields of psychology, communication, creative writing, standup comedy, group facilitation, and cultural sensitivity. Educators taking part in the workshops will find the training helpful in their work with people of all ages.
Marcos-Iga is currently the Border Programs Coordinator for the Environmental Education Exchange working on bilingual programs capacity building and networking along the US-Mexico border.
“Jose is the kind of person who can make a real difference in the health of our environment and the quality of our future,” said Audubon President John Flicker. “Each of our TogetherGreen Fellows demonstrates exceptional environmental understanding and commitment, combined with tremendous potential to inspire and lead others. Together, they represent the talented and diverse leadership the environmental community will need to tackle the huge challenges and opportunities confronting us now and in the years to come.”
“Laughter and humor can help us connect and care, which is greatly important in today’s world, where gloom and doom can easily dominate the environmental discourse and disengage people. Thanks to TogetherGreen, I can take our ‘Laughter in EE’ project to the next level and make a real, positive impact on the environmental educators from the Southwest,” said Marcos-Iga.
Marcos-Iga has been affiliated with the Environmental Education Exchange since 2002. Half of the TogetherGreen Fellows come from within Audubon’s far-reaching national network; half channel their environmental efforts through other organizations.
Marco-Iga received a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Information Sciences from the University of Monterrey (UDEM), a Master’s degree in Communication from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM), a Master’s degree in Natural Resources from the University of Arizona and is a PhD candidate in Natural resources with a minor in Environmental Education from the University of Arizona.
A distinguished advisory committee- composed of conservation professionals and experts in environmental education, communications, outreach, and conservation planning-selected the fellowship beneficiaries from a competitive pool of scores of highly qualified individuals. Qualified applicants must have at least six years of experience in conservation, environmental education, policy, or environmental issues, as demonstrated through current and past work experience, academic studies related to conservation, and/or volunteer work. Candidates must have a passion for conservation, the desire to learn and grow, and demonstrate a proven ability in reaching previously unengaged audiences.
“We must engage the best and brightest leaders representing the broadest and most diverse communities in this country to solve our ever more complex conservation challenges,” said Diane Wood, President, National Environmental Education Foundation. “TogetherGreen is a creative program that uncovers such leaders, nurtures their talents, supports their dedication to conservation and holds them up to inspire others to follow.”
A complete list of the 2009 TogetherGreen Fellows can be found at www.TogetherGreen.org/fellows.
