My name is Max and I am a junior at Franklin & Marshall College pursuing a degree in Government and Environmental Studies with a minor in Arabic. I grew up in different neighborhoods in Manhattan and Queens, providing plenty of opportunities to explore urban environmental problems such as food insecurity, lasting health effects of air and water pollution and waste management.
For the last two years I have lived in "Amish country", also known as Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where a combination of factors including geographical location, the county's robust agricultural sector and persistent extractive energy usage have led to the decay of environmental and human health. The cascading public policy, social justice components and ecological challenges in the area inspired me to create a platform called The Green Zine for youth activists and full-time students to engage in multimedia, interdisciplinary and intersectional storytelling on underreported content. We have published fifteen newsletter and two dozen forms of content (articles, podcasts, poetry, etc.) since September of 2020. Interested in participating? Fill out this Google Form!!!
I have also been involved with local environmental politics as social media coordinator for the local Citizens' Climate Lobby chapter, an organization that provides resources and workshops to enable local communities to engage in politics, reach out to their elected officials and become agents of change, and a part-time research assistant into Sustainable Food Systems with Dr. Eve Bratman, Professor Patrick Fleming and F&M's Earth and Natural Environment Department.
After college, I wish to specialize in environmental policy and sustainable agriculture as a means to measure biodiversity while improving quality of life for those with the most need. I want to work with an institutional or intergovernmental organization that promotes food soverignty, environmental justice and carbon-mitigation strategies.