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Anna Clauer, a Master of Environmental Management student, spent her summer as an environmental justice and community health researcher at Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT). Clauer is concentrating in Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health as well as Community Engagement and Environmental Justice. 

Each year, Nicholas School of the Environment students complete internships with organizations around the world. These summer experiences provide valuable opportunities to gain career-related experience and build a professional network. 

Duke Environment recently caught up with Clauer to learn more about her experience. 

What aspects of the experience did you find most rewarding or memorable and why?

This summer, I worked with the Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT), which is a nonprofit that advocates for everyone's right to clean air, water, and toxic-free food. It was so impactful to work with an organization this summer that conducts environmental health and toxic chemical advocacy with a deep commitment to community collaboration. 

I worked on a number of projects for ACAT over the summer, including designing an air quality monitoring campaign, creating fact sheets on harmful chemicals and conducting field work. I was also able to participate in environmental justice and sustainability events around Anchorage, many of which were put on or supported by ACAT. This gave me an opportunity to learn about the unique ways that toxic chemicals and other pollutants impact local and indigenous Alaskans.

During this experience, I was able to travel to Sivuqaq, an island in the Northern Bering Sea to set up sampling devices to measure contamination at a formerly used military site. It was incredibly impactful not only to conduct this field work but also to talk with people from the Native villages on Sivuqaq who continue to be impacted by toxic chemical contamination.

How did the coursework and resources at the Nicholas School prepare you for success in this role as well as your internship search?

Classes that I took on toxicology, persistent compounds, and chemical transport gave me a foundation to understand the ways in which toxins in Alaska have accumulated and impacted human and ecological health. Since there is a disproportionate impact on Native Alaskans, especially from military and mining contamination.

Environmental justice classes also helped prepare me for conversations on equity and how to center Indigenous-led efforts for environmental remediation. 

I also am grateful for support from the Nicholas School Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC) for feedback on my cover letter as well as letters of recommendation and support from my Nicholas School professors.

How has this internship influenced your career aspirations? Did it confirm or change your professional goals in any way?

It has been really impactful to experience nonprofit work, especially with an organization that is so closely aligned with my interests. While I still am deciding what types of work would be best suited for me, this internship helped confirm that working directly with communities impacted by environmental stressors is extremely important to me.

This internship also affirmed how important interdisciplinary work is. The main focus of ACAT is to eliminate exposure to toxics, and this occurs through many programs, including breast cancer prevention interventions, research on military sites, organizing to protect houseless individuals in Anchorage, community garden programs, and legislative actions on plastics and persistent chemicals.

I hope that in my professional career, I can recognize the interconnectedness of all types of injustice and center community-based work to fight structures and systems of oppression.