Environmental Professionals Radio (EPR)

Nic Frederick and Laura Thorne

EPR is Connecting Environmental Professionals through Conversation! Our show is brought to you by the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) and follows environmental professionals at all levels of their career in a variety of industries to bring you a nuanced and informed discussion on what it’s like to work in the environmental arena. Hear us talk through failures, struggles, and successes of the typical environmental professional. We will also highlight news, updates, and fun facts from the scientific community. With over 80 episodes and counting, we are excited to provide this podcast as a way to reach environmental professionals, students, and educators who have one thing in common: we spend our time working to protect the environment.

  1. 3d ago

    Restoring National Parks, Working with Bison, and the Value of Reinventing Yourself with Jeremy French

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic interview Jeremy French, Chief of Ecological Restoration for the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, about restoring some of America’s rarest grassland ecosystems, rebuilding habitat in national parks, and the surprising role bison play in shaping landscapes. From conservation leadership and mentorship to curiosity, reinvention, and dreaming big, Jeremy shares why it's never too late to forge a new path and make a lasting impact. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form  Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.  This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Connect with Jeremy French at jeremy.french@segrasslands.org.  Guest Bio: Jeremy French serves as the Chief of Ecological Restoration for the Southeastern Grasslands Institute. He is based out of Clarksville, TN and serves as the SGI lead for the NPS IRA and BIL projects. Jeremy and his team spearhead grassland conservation across SGI's 24-state focal region, encompassing grassland research, restoration, and reconstruction. Previously, he led a multi-state and multimillion dollar project geared toward restoring grasslands on private lands, which impacted thousands of acres. Jeremy's love for grasslands stems from his time researching the effects of Bison grazing on herpetofauna communities in prairie remnants and community response to oak savanna restoration. Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    Restoring National Parks, Working with Bison, and the Value of Reinventing Yourself with Jeremy French

  2. Aug 7

    Founding a Nonprofit, Aquaculture, and Turning Research Into a Career with Wasseem Emam

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic interview Wasseem Emam, founder and head of research at Ethical Seafood Research, to explore fish welfare, ethical aquaculture, and what it takes to build a career around an emerging and often misunderstood cause. From shrimp sentience to sustainable seafood systems, this episode dives into how research, policy, and cultural perspectives can reshape the way we think about aquatic animals and the food on our plates. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form  Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.  This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Connect with Wasseem Emam at wasseem@ethicalseafoodresearch.org and https://www.linkedin.com/in/wasseem-emam/.  Guest Bio: Wasseem Emam is the founder and Executive Director of Ethical Seafood Research, a Scottish-, Spanish-, Kenyan- and Egyptian-registered nonprofit working to improve the welfare of aquatic animals across food systems of the Global South, with active programs in Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Spain. Originally from Egypt, but having spent most of his career in the UK, Canada and now Spain, he has built his career around a question the food and environmental sectors have long overlooked: whether the billions of aquatic animals caught up in the food system each year have lives worth living. Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    Founding a Nonprofit, Aquaculture, and Turning Research Into a Career with Wasseem Emam

  3. Aug 1

    EPR Live from the ESRI User Conference with Sunny Fleming, Kelly Easterday, and Healy Hamilton

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic interview Sunny Fleming, Kelly Easterday, and Healy Hamilton live from the Esri User Conference to explore how GIS, digital twins, biodiversity data, and conservation technology are reshaping the future of environmental work. From building community to using maps as powerful tools for storytelling and action, this episode dives into the people, ideas, and innovations helping conservationists see through the noise and move faster toward impact. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form  Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.  This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Connect with Sunny Fleming at https://www.linkedin.com/in/littlemissesri/ Guest Bio: Sunny Fleming serves as the Director of Conservation Solutions at Esri. Her career has been shaped by a consistent theme of applying GIS to solve real‑world challenges across conservation, environmental regulation, and parks and recreation management. From monitoring species and natural resources in the field to supporting agencies in policy development, asset management, and strategy, GIS has been central to her work at every stage. She has a passion for uniting these interconnected disciplines and advancing their role in conservation efforts around the world, and she is committed to building a global community of GIS practitioners who collaborate, innovate, and support conservation through shared expertise and geospatial insight. Connect with Kelly Easterday at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-easterday-68a06837/ Guest Bio: Kelly Easterday is the Director of Conservation Technology at The Nature Conservancy's Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. She has been with The Nature Conservancy for seven years. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley.  Connect with Healy Hamilton at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/healy-hamilton-a1a20942/ Guest Bio: Healy Hamilton serves as Chief Scientist at the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and vice president of the Society for Conservation GIS. She has 25 years of experience as a biodiversity data scientist. Prior to joining SFI, she worked as Chief Scientist at NatureServe for ten years.  Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    EPR Live from the ESRI User Conference with Sunny Fleming, Kelly Easterday, and Healy Hamilton

  4. Jul 24

    Underground Storage Tanks, Working in Government, and Fostering Rescue Dogs with Natalie Hendricks

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic interview Natalie Hendricks, a leaking underground storage tank case manager with Washington D.C.’s Department of Energy and Environment, to explore how a geology background can lead to a career in environmental remediation and public service. From underground storage tank cleanups and vapor intrusion to career pivots, government work, and fostering rescue dogs, this episode offers an inside look at the diverse paths and people that make up the environmental profession. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form  Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.  This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Connect with Natalie Hendricks at natalie.hendricks@dc.gov.  Guest Bio: Natalie Hendricks is an Environmental Protection Specialist for Washington D.C.'s Department of Energy and Environment, where she manages Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) cases and Voluntary Cleanups of LUSTs throughout the District. She has been at this position for 12 years since joining DOEE in 2014. Prior to joining DOEE, Natalie was in private sector consulting with her start in LUST and project management at a small but successful startup in Florida and moved to Maryland in 2007 where she joined a larger international consultancy. She took a 2.5 year break to have her now 14 year old twins before moving to the public sector at DOEE where a number of her former colleagues were already happily transitioned! Natalie has a B.S. in Geology from the University of Florida and maintains her PG license also from the state of Florida (no PG licensing in Maryland or DC!). She was born in the Panama Canal Zone to military family life (11 schools before graduating HS in Orlando, FL). She is the mom of fraternal twins and one rescue chihuahua named Miss Pearl! Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    Underground Storage Tanks, Working in Government, and Fostering Rescue Dogs with Natalie Hendricks

  5. Jul 17

    Grasslands, Indigenous History, and Finding Your Passion with Dr. Gabrielle Patterson

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic interview Dr. Gabrielle Patterson, historian at the Southeastern Grasslands Institute, to explore the forgotten history of America’s grasslands, the role of Indigenous fire stewardship, and how historical research can support modern conservation efforts. From uncovering centuries-old journals and maps to finding a career fueled by passion, this episode reveals how the landscapes of the past continue to shape the future of restoration and environmental stewardship. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form  Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.  This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Connect with Gabrielle Patterson at gabrielle.patterson@segrasslands.org Guest Bio: Dr. Gabrielle Patterson serves as SGI’s Historian, specializing in environmental, natural, and Indigenous history. Her research focuses on the historical distribution of grasslands across the Southeastern United States and how landscapes have shaped human activities over time. She conducts historical and archival research, compiles historical maps, and develops GIS-based analyses to support SGI’s mission of saving the forgotten grasslands of the Southeast. Gabrielle holds an M.A. in History with a concentration in Native American History, an M.Ed. in Community College Leadership, and an Ed.D. in Adult and Lifelong Learning from the University of Arkansas. She enjoys golfing, hiking, hunting, traveling, and spending time with her two dogs. Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    Grasslands, Indigenous History, and Finding Your Passion with Dr. Gabrielle Patterson

  6. Jul 10

    Disability and Climate Justice, Accessible Climate Strategies, and Managing Burnout with Alex Ghenis

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic interview Alex Ghenis, CEO and Principal Consultant at Accessible Climate Strategies, to explore the intersection of disability and climate justice, accessible climate planning, and the importance of ensuring everyone has a seat at the table. From disaster preparedness and climate resilience to advocacy, burnout, and building more inclusive communities, Alex shares how thoughtful engagement can create meaningful change for people with disabilities in a changing climate. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form  Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.  This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Connect with Alex Ghenis at https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-g-5b242421/ Guest Bio: Alex Ghenis is the founder and Principal Consultant at Accessible Climate Strategies, the nation’s only consulting firm focused entirely on the intersection of disability and climate change. He began addressing disability climate justice in 2014 at the World Institute on Disability and has held other positions at Sustain Our Abilities and Climate Hive. Alex founded Accessible Climate Strategies in 2020 to better analyze disproportionate impacts and support disability-forward climate action. More info is available at www.accessibleclimate.com. Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    Disability and Climate Justice, Accessible Climate Strategies, and Managing Burnout with Alex Ghenis

  7. Jul 3

    EPR Minisode 21: Happy 4th of July!

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic celebrate the Fourth of July with a lighthearted EPR Summer Camp minisode. Along the way, they connect summer camp nostalgia with environmental fieldwork, teamwork, patience, and the unpredictable fun of being outdoors. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review. This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    EPR Minisode 21: Happy 4th of July!

  8. Jun 26

    Growing a Business, AI and Hiring, and Challenges Facing Western Alaska with Shannon Oelkers

    Share your Field Stories! Laura and Nic interview Shannon Oelkers, owner and principal consultant at Integrity Environmental, about growing a business, using AI thoughtfully in environmental work, and how hiring is changing in an AI-driven world. They also dive into the complex energy and infrastructure challenges facing western Alaska, along with the memorable field experiences that come with working in some of the country’s most remote landscapes. Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  Help us continue to create great content! If you’d like to sponsor a future episode hit the support podcast button or visit www.environmentalprofessionalsradio.com/sponsor-form  Please be sure to ✔️subscribe, ⭐rate and ✍review.  This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org. Connect with Shannon Oelkers at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannon-oelkers/ Guest Bio: Shannon Oelkers is the owner and principal consultant for Integrity Environmental. Shannon previously worked at the State of Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in the Contaminated Sites and Terminal / Tank Farms division, focusing on industrial environmental compliance. Shannon holds a bachelor's degree in Biological Science and a master's degree in Community Development from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and has more than a decade of experience inspecting and auditing bulk fuel tank farm operations. Shannon is also an MBA Instructor at Alaska Pacific University. Shannon is well-versed in the unique challenges of completing oil and gas related projects in Alaska. Music Credits Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller Support the show Thanks for listening! A new episode drops every Friday. Like, share, subscribe, and/or sponsor to help support the continuation of the show. You can find us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    Growing a Business, AI and Hiring, and Challenges Facing Western Alaska with Shannon Oelkers
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4.9
out of 5
34 Ratings

About

EPR is Connecting Environmental Professionals through Conversation! Our show is brought to you by the National Association of Environmental Professionals (NAEP) and follows environmental professionals at all levels of their career in a variety of industries to bring you a nuanced and informed discussion on what it’s like to work in the environmental arena. Hear us talk through failures, struggles, and successes of the typical environmental professional. We will also highlight news, updates, and fun facts from the scientific community. With over 80 episodes and counting, we are excited to provide this podcast as a way to reach environmental professionals, students, and educators who have one thing in common: we spend our time working to protect the environment.

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