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. Using Psychology to Solve Environmental Problems, Working Directly with Communities, and Managing Conflict and Tough Conversation with Lauren Watkins

    4D AGO

    Using Psychology to Solve Environmental Problems, Working Directly with Communities, and Managing Conflict and Tough Conversation with Lauren Watkins

    Share your Field Stories! Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  On today’s episode, we talk with Lauren Watkins, environmental psychologist, working at the intersection of people and environmental challenges about Using Psychology to Solve Environmental Problems, Working Directly with Communities, and Managing Conflict and Tough Conversation.   Read her full bio below. 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  Showtimes:  1:55 - EPR is hiring! 5:15 - EPRs New Yearly Goals 9:14 - Interview with Lauren Watkins Starts 19:15 - Opportunities outside Academia 26:12 - Behavior Change Campaign 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 Lauren Watkins at https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurenwatkins/ Guest Bio:  Currently supporting organizations such as the Jane Goodall Institute, Keeping Forests, Ecochallenge.org, and the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance, Lauren Watkins brings over a decade of experience in environmental psychology and social science research to inspire sustainable behavior change.  As Principal Owner of her consultancy, Lauren specializes in co-creating solutions alongside communities, employing empathetic research methods, and crafting tailored communication and change strategies with communities and target audiences - not simply for them. Her work emphasizes ethical and sustainable approaches to addressing environmental challenges, ensuring that initiatives resonate deeply with stakeholders. Passionate about fostering impactful change, Lauren focuses on bridging the gap between people and natural ecosystems to find solutions that match the scale of today's problems. 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 Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    39 min
  2. Starting a Podcast at 16, Career Advice for Gen Z, and Junk Journaling with Heidi Pan

    JAN 9

    Starting a Podcast at 16, Career Advice for Gen Z, and Junk Journaling with Heidi Pan

    Share your Field Stories! Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  On today’s episode, we talk with Heidi Pan, Founder of the 1.5 Degrees Podcast about Starting a Podcast at 16, Career Advice for Gen Z, and Junk Journaling.   Read her full bio below. 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  Showtimes:  4:06 - Let Them Theory 11:45 - Interview with Heidi Pan begins 18:50 - Who are you speaking to? 27:30 - Mental Health & Youths 32:58 - #FieldNotes with Heidi Pan! 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 Heidi Pan https://www.linkedin.com/in/heidi-pan-037257219/ Guest Bio:  At 16, to bridge the gap between aspiring environmentalists and established professionals Heidi Pan founded the 1.5 Degrees Podcast showcasing climate careers and involving the science, solutions, and stories in the fight against climate change. Her accessible intergenerational and intersectional climate conversations have since been featured by BBC Future Earth and the Smithsonian. In her free time she's teaching herself acoustic guitar, taking photos of birds, and junk journaling.   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 Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    40 min
  3. Leadership Rooted in the Ground, Community-Led Conservation, and Connection Across Landscape and People with Teresa Martinez

    12/19/2025

    Leadership Rooted in the Ground, Community-Led Conservation, and Connection Across Landscape and People with Teresa Martinez

    Share your Field Stories! Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  On today’s episode, we talk with Teresa Martinez, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition about Leadership Rooted in the Ground, Community-Led Conservation, and Connection Across Landscape and People.   Read her full bio below. 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  Showtimes:  2:35 - Hiking the Appalachian Trail 10:36 - Interview with Teresa Martinez Starts! 19:03 - Personal Goals in the Workplace 27:45 - Challenges of Community Input 42:49 - #FieldNotes with Teresa 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. Guest Bio:  Teresa Martinez is a co-founder and the Executive Director of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, the lead national and lead partner working with the USFS, BLM, National Park Service, State Agencies, Indigenous Communities and Tribal Nations to cooperatively steward the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail. For over 30 years, Teresa has worked professionally to increase awareness, engagement, access, and stewardship of our entire National Trails System. A graduate of Virginia Tech, Teresa holds a B.S. and M.S from the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in the College of Natural Resources. From 1987- 2007 she worked for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, from 2007 to 2012 she worked for the Continental Divide Trail Alliance and since 2012 she has been the Executive Director (and co-founder) of the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. Formerly a Board member, today she serves on the Trail Leadership Council of the Partnership for the National Trails System and has served as the Chair of the Federal Advisory Committee to aid the USFS in the development of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail. Teresa also serves on the Board of Directors for Leave No Trace and has also served on the advisory committee for the Salazar Center for North American Conservation.  Teresa is actively involved in the creation of equitable spaces for all people in the outdoors and in 2015, was part of the inaugural group of conservation leaders assembling in Washington DC to launch a new vision for the next 100 years of stewardship of our nation’s parks, forests, waters, oceans, and trails which led to the formation of the Next 100 Coalition and the Next 100 Coalition Colorado.  Today, Teresa serves as the Chair of the National Board for the Next 100 Coalition. In 2019, Teresa was honored by the Virginia Tech College of Natural Resources as the recipient of the Gerald Cross Alumni Leadership Award. When not working one of these heart driven endeavors, Teresa can be found perfecting her sourdough and puff pastry bakes, or spending her time exploring the mountains, mesas and arroyos of the landscapes around her home in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her rescue dog Riley and hosting discadas with friends while watching the sunrise and sunset over the beautiful terrain of the Land of Enc 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 Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    53 min
  4. Forced Job Transition, Career Reinvention, and Purpose Under Pressure with Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome

    12/12/2025

    Forced Job Transition, Career Reinvention, and Purpose Under Pressure with Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome

    Share your Field Stories! Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  On today’s episode, we talk with Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome, Associate Professor in the Environmental Justice Specialization at the University of Michigan about Forced Job Transition, Career Reinvention, and Purpose Under Pressure.  Read her full bio below. 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  Showtimes:  2:12 - Learning a New Job 8:37 - Interview with Jalonne White-Newsome Starts 16:37 - Key factors to continue moving forward 31:34 - How to engage communities in today political climate 42:11 - #Fieldnotes with Dr. White-Newsome! 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 Dr. Jalonne White-Newsome at https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjalonne/ Guest Bio:  Dr. Jalonne L. White-Newsome is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Justice Specialization.  Building on her multi-faceted, multi-sectoral and diverse areas of passion, practice, service and scholarship, Dr. White-Newsome’s areas of research include: environmental and climate justice policy and practice; finding solutions to address the social, economic and public health impacts of climate change – specifically, extreme heat, extreme flooding, and specific health impacts on the elderly and children; examining how to integrate justice, equity and corporate social responsibility; and advancing justice-centered leadership across the environmental sector. 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 Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    51 min
  5. Media-Powered Advocacy, Persistent Policy Leadership, and Place-Based Inspiration with Carissa Cabrera

    12/05/2025

    Media-Powered Advocacy, Persistent Policy Leadership, and Place-Based Inspiration with Carissa Cabrera

    Share your Field Stories! Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick!  On today’s episode, we talk with Carissa Cabrera, Founder of Futureswell an ocean conservation consultancy scaling solutions for planet ocean about Media-Powered Advocacy, Persistent Policy Leadership, and Place-Based Inspiration.   Read her full bio below. 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  Showtimes:  2:02 - Carbon Footprints of Travlers 8:55 - Interview with Carissa Cabrera begin 21:40 - Something I learned as an Advocate 29:35 - What kind of stories do you share? 41:45 - Carissas Hobbies; Bookclub! 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 Carissa Cabrera https://www.linkedin.com/in/carissa-cabrera-b14a6a13a/ Guest Bio:  Carissa Cabrera is an ocean climate advocate, Harvard-recognized content creator, and has dedicated her career to conserving planet ocean. For the past 10 years, she has focused on ocean recovery efforts—working with endangered species, ecosystem restoration, conservation financing, community outreach, and environmental literacy. She founded Futureswell in 2020, a conservation consultancy and storytelling firm dedicated to advancing community-based ocean climate solutions through partnerships with NGOs, coalitions, and accessible media. Specifically, she works on the development strategy of innovative ocean climate solutions that serve Hawai'i and the broader ocean community. For example, she developed the first coral restoration training program in the Pacific specifically dedicated to training Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders on diving restoration, and recently was the long-standing community organizer for passing the first visitor green fee legislation in the United States. She has been recognized as Ocean Influencer of the Year by Coral Reef Alliance, is an established educator under National Geographic Society, and was one of the inaugural Climate Creators to Watch by Harvard. Carissa's work, company, and media projects share one mission: to expand pathways for ocean climate action and accelerate collective conservation solutions globally. 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 Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and all your favorite podcast players.

    46 min
4.9
out of 5
30 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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