I’ve never seen such respect for an unwritten rule as that for standing on the right and walking on the left of an escalator in D.C. I quickly learned this norm taking the blue-line metro from the land of black suburbans to Crystal City on the first day of my internship with Conservation International (CI). On top of the vast array of free coffee, a meditation room, and free-for-all desk selection each day because so many people are traveling the world, CI is doing truly great work to ensure the resilience of our planet.

The Southern Cross

CI follows the guidance of a framework they call the “Southern Cross,” after a constellation strongly visible in the Southern Hemisphere. The four institutional priorities that guide their work include: Sustainable Landscapes and Seascapes (SLS), Nature for Climate, Ocean Conservation at Scale, and Innovation in Science and Finance.

Who am I working with?

Everyone, to say it simply. With just 7 days under my belt at CI, I have met people of all backgrounds, interests, and experience levels. I am incredibly fortunate to also work closely with two host supervisors that navigate different spaces within Conservation International.

Danielle King works with SLS and is experienced with the Open Standards (OS). She is also part of a team working to help field projects develop a plan to have more self-sustaining funding sources over time. The first week of my placement, I participated in a workshop with Danielle and her team that brought innovative minds from many sectors together to work through the kinks of the strategic funding program.

Nairika Murphy is the director of the Global Strategies team and serves as my supervisor as well. With her team, I will be supporting the update of OS communication materials and methods of dissemination, while strengthening and supporting project proposals that are submitted to headquarters this summer.

Why CI?

With a strong interest in cross-country collaboration, CI was a natural fit for my summer placement. Environmental issues like climate change are global problems and thus need global solutions, so I have always imagined working in an organization that has strong international partnerships. The diversity of minds, values, and ideas in this organization are incredible and I know I will gain valuable insight from all those I encounter.

In particular, on the project level, the incorporation of the OS framework in CI’s proposals is of interest to me. I hope to gain more experience with effective project design, monitoring, and evaluation to better ensure intervention results are positive and intended.

Goals

My main deliverables are:

1. Support and strengthen field team proposals by addressing missing links in results chains and risks that are unaccounted for
2. Develop a few useful OS communication materials to help field teams navigate and better utilize the OS framework
3. Develop a strategic plan for OS material dissemination for use across CI

My main goal is to effectively gather the needs of various field teams and CI headquarters to create OS materials that help all groups reach their goals more efficiently. More personally, I hope to better understand realistic conservation strategies in various locations.

The EC/DC grad community is growing

Through the intense networking community in D.C. (mostly Arlyne), three generations of EC grads found each other.