Two CNR students win prestigious WWF fellowship

Two CNR students are among 16 undergrads from around the nation that have been selected to participate in the 2007 Nissan-World Wildlife Fund Environmental Leadership Program.

Desirae Early and Ky Ngo were chosen for this prestigious fellowship for their strong leadership skills and a commitment to environmental progress.

Environmental economics and policy major Desirae Early is a founding member of the Green Room Committee which created the Green Room, Green Apartment, and Green Suite projects that demonstrate environmentally-friendly living for college students at Cal. As program coordinator of the Green Campus Program, Desirae initiated several energy conservation projects that led to the program receiving a University of California Best Practices Award. She was a member of the student government Department of Sustainability during Fall of 2004 and Spring of 2005.

Upon graduating, Desirae plans to pursue a master's degree in environmental science and management and ultimately hopes to provide environmental consulting services to integrate green practices in corporations.

Ky Ngo is a pursuing a dual major in environmental science and Southeast Asian studies. Ky is the coordinator for the Berkeley Organization for Animal Advocacy. Through this group, Ky has successfully organized various events to educate the public about animal cruelty and the unsustainable meat industry. She served as an intern for the ASUC Sustainability Team at Cal and with TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, a wildlife trade monitoring program, in Hanoi. Ky has been involved in many off-campus environmental activities, ranging from improving paper recycling to helping protect the wildlife around San Diego, California. Ky was born in Saigon, Vietnam and grew up in San Diego.

After working several years in a government agency or a non-profit organization in the U.S., she plans to return to Vietnam to work on wildlife trafficking issues.