Erika is a 2015 MEM graduate with a concentration in Ecosystem Science and Conservation. She grew up in southern Maine surrounded by a beautiful environment, inspiring her to pursue conservation in her graduate work. Studying Government and Anthropology as an undergraduate at Cornell and working in the development department of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace between her undergrad and graduate studies has prompted her to bring multiple disciplines to her study of the natural world. She is a National Geographic Young Explorer, and currently works as a Marine Economic and Tourist Development Resource Coordinator, using ecotourism to strengthen conservation and restoration along the coast of Florida.