Project Management

Amanda C. Cárdenas

Seattle, WA

***********************@*****.***

EDUCATION

University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, Washington

Juris Doctor, concentration in Environmental Law, June 2011

Cumulative GPA: 3.6

Activities: Student-run environmental law organization, Greenlaw

University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin

Master of Science in Environment and Resources, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, August 2008

M.S. Thesis: “California Energy Policy & Native American Tribes: Consultation, Collaboration, and Support for Renewable Energy Development and Energy Efficiency Programs”

Cumulative GPA: 3.9/4.0

Honors &

Activities: Advanced Opportunity Fellowship (two-year/merit based for minority graduate students)

Golden Key International Honour Society (fall 2007 – present)

St. Paul’s University of Wisconsin Catholic Center (two years, participated in Grad/YP events)

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York

Bachelor of Science in Natural Resources, concentration in Environmental Studies, May 2005

Honors &

Activities: Dean’s List, Cum Laude

Intramural Soccer Dorm Organizer (fall 2002 and fall 2003, coordinated practices and games)

Cornell Catholic Community (four years, served in Masses)

BAR ADMISSION

Washington State Bar, November 2011

EXPERIENCE

Los Padres ForestWatch (LPFW), Santa Barbara, California, http://www.lpfw.org/

Legal Extern for Executive Director Jeff Kuyper, June 2010 – September 2010

• Worked on legal and policy issues occurring within the Los Padres National Forest and bordering public lands;

• Conducted legal research and prepared memoranda, contacted witnesses and prepared declarations with evidence for an implied dedication case;

• Wrote several successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, a comment letter suggesting management alternatives as part of the National Environmental Policy Act’s public scoping process, and a 60-day Notice of Intent to Sue letter to the Forest Service regarding violations of the Endangered Species Act’s consultation regulations;

• Researched and analyzed federal laws, including the National Forest Management Act, Endangered Species Act, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA);

• Analyzed state and local laws, including California’s surface and groundwater regulations, local/county groundwater/well policies, ordinances, and regulations;

• Studied the issue of weak penalties for off-highway vehicle violations on federal lands, as well as strategies to increase those penalties.

National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Rocky Mountain Regional Center, Boulder, Colorado, http://online.nwf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=RockyMountainNRC_Home

Legal Intern for Senior Counsel Joe Feller and Associate Counsel Michael Saul, June 2009 – September 2009

• Worked on legal and policy issues surrounding the Atlantic Rim Natural Gas Field Development Project in Wyoming, including assessing and advocating for BLM’s compliance under NEPA;

• Advocated for greater transparency, public review, and public input prior to final decisions on Plans of Development;

• Wrote several successful FOIA requests for Environmental Assessments, Plans of Development, baseline and monitoring data, annual reports, and mitigation plans;

• Initiated a project looking into tribal participation in the NEPA process, in light of the National Historic Preservation Act’s Section 106 and consultation regulations and guidelines;

• Wrote an article for the Atlantic Rim Project: http://www.ourpubliclands.org/node/47.

California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), Riverside, California, http://www.ccst.us/

Energy Policy/Program Research Assistant for Executive Director Dr. Susan Hackwood, June 2007 – July 2007

• Began project entitled “Social Science and Climate Change Strategies” in response to California’s Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006;

• Researched policies, programs, and campaigns pertaining to residential/household energy use and transportation behavior;

• Wrote a 58-page white paper on successful energy conservation efforts in the U.S. and other countries, examining potential roadblocks, publicly acceptable solutions and conditions for support, and effective behavioral change techniques;

• Designed a wiki site for this project.

California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), Riverside, California

Hydrogen Research Assistant for Executive Director Dr. Susan Hackwood, June 2004 – August 2004

• Prepared report about “Environmental Impacts of the Hydrogen Economy,” in light of California’s Hydrogen Highway Initiative;

• Researched recent articles, documents, and conference findings; interpreted and consolidated findings into a 25-page report.

Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center, Grants Pass, Oregon, http://www.wildlifeimages.org/

Wildlife Refuge Volunteer, July 2000 – August 2000; June 2001 – July 2001

• Helped rehabilitate sick and injured native wildlife (e.g., songbirds, raptors, foxes, fawns); cared for permanent wildlife residents at the refuge; participated in educational outreach programs; released rehabilitated animals.

MASTER’S THESIS EXPERIENCE

My thesis work was on California energy policy and Native American tribes (consultation, collaboration, and support for renewable energy development and energy efficiency programs), a subject that no research had before addressed in California. Working for the California Council on Science and Technology for two summers on different projects enhanced my grasp of alternative energy and state energy programs, which actually spurred my curiosity about the incorporation (or lack thereof) of tribes in state energy policy and programs. My thesis research involved interviews with tribal natural resources department directors (gathering tribal perspectives), and I also spoke with California energy agencies to balance out these perspectives. My interview skills developed through this challenging process of contacting tribes, requesting participation, creating a website about my project for tribes to view prior to interviewing, and conducting interviews about sometimes sensitive topics such as political relations and sovereignty. Additionally, I researched other states’ executive agencies and legislative committees for energy issues and tribal-state relations and compared and applied these to the situation in California, with potential prescriptions for the state and tribes.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW & POLICY COURSES

University of Washington Law School

• Environmental Law – Pollution Control

• Energy/Climate Change Law

• Federal Indian Law

• Advanced Environmental Law and Practice Seminar (two quarters) – Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)

• Water Law

• Public Land Law

• Natural Resources Law and Policy

• U.S. Coastal and Ocean Law

• Land Use Planning Seminar

• International Law of the Sea

University of Wisconsin-Madison

• U.S. and Canada Comparative Environmental Policy

• Renewable Resources Policy

• Environmental and Alternative Dispute Resolution

Cornell University

• Resource Management and Environmental Law

• Environmental Politics

ENVIRONMENTAL/NATURAL RESOURCES COURSES (sample)

University of Wisconsin-Madison

• Resource-Oriented Recreation Management

• Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

• Application of GIS to Natural Resources

• Sustainability, the Environment, and Society (Business)

• Environmental Sociology

• Research Methods – Land Resources

• Principles of Silviculture

Cornell University

• Biology

• Field Biology

• Ecology and the Environment

• Evolution of the Earth System

• Ethnobiology

• Environmental and Resource Economics

• Religion, Ethics, and the Environment

• People, Values, and Natural Resources

• Human, Cultural, and Economic Rights

• Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management

• Ethics and the Environment (Philosophy)

• Environmental Issues and Indigenous People

• Environmental Strategies

LANGUAGES AND INTERESTS

Spanish (proficient in speaking, comprehension, reading, and writing);

Traveled extensively throughout the United States, Western Canada, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Poland;

Interested in natural resources conservation; environmental agency decision-making; green design; corporate social and environmental responsibility; Native American justice issues; environmental journalism; nature photography.

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