We are delighted to announce that Maya Fuller has been selected for the Adirondack Land Trust 2023 Internship for the Future of the Adirondacks. Maya will assist Adirondack Land Trust staff and Next Generation Council members in creating and improving programs to incorporate diversity, equity, inclusion, and access concepts in our decision-making processes, event planning, and volunteer recruitment.
“I’m excited to not only have access to interdisciplinary hands-on opportunities, but to collaborate with and learn from the wonderful people at the Adirondack Land Trust,” says Maya. “I’m also excited to explore the Adirondacks and form relationships with organizations working in and around the region to cultivate a lasting connection to this special place.”
Maya hails from Buffalo and attends Syracuse University, where they major in sociology and geography with a minor in environment and society. Their experience includes research for Syracuse University’s geography program for a story map about environmental injustice in Syracuse. They are also the incoming managing editor for Perception magazine, a student-run literary and art magazine.
The Internship for the Future of the Adirondacks was established in 2020 by conservationists Barbara Glaser, Ed.D., and the late Clarence Petty (1905–2009) thanks to the generosity and assistance of Clarence’s son Ed. We are grateful to all the generous donors who support this fund and the opportunity it creates for young people interested in conservation careers to develop their skills and gain professional experience.
Maya follows previous interns who have contributed to our work and strengthened our organization: in 2020, inaugural intern Jess Grant documented places we’ve protected that provide recreational benefits to Adirondack communities; Zoë Turner-Debs applied geographic information skills (GIS) in the field and in the office in 2021; last year, Emily Burns applied GIS, statistical analysis, and data visualization skills to measure, compare, and communicate the impacts of our work on communities and ecological integrity in the Adirondacks.