NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jan Fiderio at 603.283.2107

April 20, 2010 For Immediate Release

U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus Fellow Named at Antioch University New England

One of a kind annual fellowship goes to environmental studies student Wendy Stott

(Keene, NH - Antioch University New England (AUNE) and the U.S. Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) this week announced the selection of master's candidate Wendy Stott as the 2010 AUNE CPC fellow. Stott is completing her second year of graduate studies in AUNE's Environmental Studies master's degree program, with a concentration in Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability. This fellowship is the only one of its kind in the country.

"We are pleased to see this partnership enter its fourth year," CPC co-chair and Representative Raúl M. Grijalva (Democrat-Arizona) noted. "Antioch University New England's Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability program fellow will help Caucus members address a wide variety of urgent public policy challenges from the local to the international levels."

Stott will spend the summer in Washington working with Representative Grijalva, who chairs the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands. Congressman Grijalva also heads the CPC's environment task force and has been recognized as a leader in environmental conservation by the Sierra Club and Defenders of Wildlife.

"I am very excited about this opportunity to use the knowledge and skills I have learned at Antioch University New England and advocate for the important issues that are facing our nation today," said Stott. "I look forward to working in Representative Grijalva's office where I intend to make a meaningful contribution while pursuing my interest in public policy."

"We look forward to extending this ground-breaking, educational partnership between members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and Antioch University New England," stated CPC co-chair and Representative Lynn Woolsey (Democrat-California).

Antioch University New England Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability program faculty member Abigail Abrash Walton adds, "The fellowship is a tremendous opportunity for AUNE students and graduates to enhance their skills and learning through public service. We are thrilled to continue this collaboration with the CPC."

About Wendy Stott
Wendy hails from Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, where she studied anthropology and philosophy. After graduating in 2005 she worked as a case manager for Child Protective Services in Phoenix where she managed an independent case load of children in out-of-home care. She left Phoenix to come to AUNE to study environmental advocacy and organizing. During her graduate studies at AUNE, Wendy has led projects to appeal human rights violations resulting from hardrock mining in Nevada to the United Nations and to document the impact on biodiversity of major hardrock mining operations worldwide. She has also served as the project point person for the Antioch New England Institute Cool Monadnock, Neighbors Helping Neighbors project, in partnership with Clean Air-Cool Planet. Wendy will graduate in May 2010 and plans to work in the field of environmental justice with indigenous communities.

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 80-plus-member caucus, the largest bloc of Democrats in the House. Senator Bernie Sanders (Independent-Vermont) and Representative Peter Welch (Democrat-Vermont) are both members of the Caucus.

About Antioch's Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability concentration
The Department of Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England is one of the first and largest environmental studies programs in the country. It is also the only graduate program in the United States to offer a master's concentration in Advocacy for Social Justice and Sustainability. 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: Antioch University New England offers rigorous, practice-oriented, values-based graduate and certificate programs to more than one thousand students. Programs in education, environmental studies, management, and psychology reflect a dedication to activism, social justice, community service, and sustainability.

For more information, please contact Jan Fiderio at 603-283-2107, jfiderio@antioch.edu, or visit AUNE on the web site at: www.antiochne.edu/es/eao.

Last Updated: 4/30/10