Sarah Elizabeth Vaughn

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of the effects of climate change on racial citizenship in coastal Guyana. It focuses on how racial citizenship is informed by the eviction of people from their land for the construction of canals and the state-sponsored engineers who manage the canals' construction. Eager to prove their commitments to international climate change policy, the state’s tenuous commitments to the canals have involved confronting both the practice of climate science and the recognition of people’s claims to racial-generational land titles. Exploring this unique site, the dissertation focuses on the daily enactments of racial politics, climate science, legal processes, and global ethics situated at a complex historical, environmental, and political conjuncture.

Founded in 1905, the National Audubon Society’s mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats, for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity. A powerful combination of science, education, and policy expertise combine in efforts ranging from protection and restoration of local habitats to the implementation of policies that safeguard birds, other wildlife, and the resources that sustain us all—in the US and across the Americas. Audubon's Public Policy Office is a dynamic, well-respected leader in environmental advocacy and works on challenging conservation issues including climate change, endangered species, agricultural policy, ecosystem restoration, public lands management, river conservation, and many more.

The Conservation Program Analyst will help Audubon more effectively and efficiently deliver conservation results on the ground from its programmatic work across the country. The ACLS Public Fellow will be responsible for surveying various Audubon staff, chapter leaders, and volunteers to evaluate the performance of Audubon conservation programs and network communications. The analyst will then analyze conservation program project plans, strategies, tactics, and results and develop recommendations for increased efficiency in conservation delivery. Working closely with the Vice President of Government Affairs and Director of Conservation Programs, the analyst will develop strategies for conservation that are bird species-focused and assist with incorporating these strategies into organizational planning across Audubon’s priority programs.