NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jan Fiderio at 603.283.2107 or Abigail Abrash Walton at 603.283.2344

May 26, 2009 for Immediate Release

Antioch University New England Student Receives Third U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus Fellowship

Christeallia Amorosi goes to Washington

Keene, NH - Antioch University New England's Environmental Advocacy and Organizing Program (EAOP) is pleased to announce that master's candidate Christeallia Amorosi will serve as the 2009 U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus fellow. In 2007, Antioch University New England's advocacy program launched this first-of-its-kind fellowship in cooperation with the seventy-two-member U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus. The fellowship allows one Antioch University New England EAOP student or graduate to work in Washington, D.C. for the caucus and its members every summer.

Caucus co-chair Raúl M. Grijalva (Democrat-Arizona) noted that he welcomes the continuation of the Antioch University New England partnership. "Antioch University New England's Environmental Advocacy and Organizing Program graduate students are helping address a wide variety of urgent public policy challenges from the local to the international levels," said Representative Grijalva.

While in Washington, Christeallia will work in Representative Grijalva's Capitol Hill office. Grijalva chairs the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. In addition to serving as the co-chair, he also heads the caucus's environment task force and has been recognized as a leader in environmental conservation by the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife.

“I have been working for this fellowship position since I first heard about it from Chrissy Heide, the first recipient,” said Christeallia. “I am excited to receive this opportunity to further my future in advocacy and public policy. I hope to create networks and develop key relationships that will be vital in my work for environmental and social justice change.” Christeallia's fellowship work will focus on new media outreach to progressive and environmental groups across the country, with some policy work included.

Antioch Environmental Advocacy and Organization Program faculty member Abigail Abrash Walton added, “This fellowship is a tremendous opportunity for AUNE students and graduates to enhance their skills and learning through public service. We are extremely pleased to continue this collaboration with the Congressional Progressive Caucus.&rdquo

About Christeallia Amorosi: With parents in the military, Christeallia attended three high schools and graduated from Calhoun County High School in West Virginia. While there, she took every math and most of the science classes offered. She graduated in May 2001 with high honors, a member of Mu Alpha Theta, and the National Honors Society. Christeallia left Grantsville, West Virginia, to attend Pennsylvania State University to pursue a career in chemistry. Her focus changed from research in chemistry labs to the environmental sciences, and she graduated with a major in science, with a concentration in environmental courses. Through Antioch University New England's master's in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing program, she has been able to draw on her chemistry background and apply it to her ambition of policy change. While at Antioch, Christeallia has strengthened her knowledge and experience with public policy through practicums with Advocates for Community Empowerment and in the Keene office of U. S. Representative Paul Hodes (D-NH).

About the U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus: Members of the U.S. House of Representatives established the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) in the early 1990s to give voice to the needs and aspirations of all Americans and to build a more just and humane society. U.S. Representatives Lynn Woolsey (Democrat -California) and Raúl M. Grijalva (Democrat-Arizona) serve as co-chairs of the seventy-six-member caucus, the largest bloc of democrats and independents in the House. Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (Democrat-Vermont) are both members of the caucus.

About Antioch's Environmental Advocacy and Organizing Program: The Department of Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England is one of the oldest and largest environmental studies programs in the country. It is also the only graduate program in the United States to offer a master's program in Environmental Advocacy and Organizing. Its goal is to train effective public interest advocates and grassroots organizers working on issues of sustainability, public health, and wilderness protection, as well as on related issues such as peace, social justice, and democratic control over corporations.

About Antioch University New England
This is Antioch University New England's forty-fifth year as an institution of higher education. Based in Keene, New Hampshire, AUNE offers rigorous, practice-oriented, values-based master's, doctoral, and certificate programs to more than one thousand students. Degrees in education, leadership and management, environmental studies, and psychology reflect a dedication to activism, social justice, community service, and sustainability.

About Antioch University
Antioch University is a five-campus university located in four states. Each campus has its own distinct academic programs, community life, and regional or national identity. Antioch University is founded on principles of rigorous liberal arts education, innovative experiential learning, and socially engaged citizenship. The multiple campuses of the University nurture in their students the knowledge, skills, and habits of reflection to excel as lifelong learners, democratic leaders, and global citizens who live lives of meaning and purpose.

Last Updated: 3/4/10