Our Environmental Advocacy Fellowship program! This year VCN recruited two paid fellows seeking to gain experience in Virginia’s conservation field.

Our Environmental Advocacy Fellows are working at VCN for ten weeks over the summer where they will tackle summer-long projects. They are joining VCN’s Outreach Team to advance their skills and knowledge in the conservation field through communications, grassroots advocacy, fundraising, event planning, and more!

Meet VCN’s Environmental Fellows!

Caroline Buttemere

Caroline’s interest in conservation began in 2019 when she learned about sustainability through an immersive summer program in Costa Rica. Since then, Caroline conducted summer research on sustainable agricultural practices in North Macedonia, where she was raised.  She also serves as a Dining Sustainability Interns at William and Mary. This summer, she will be working under Nicole Duimstra, VCN’s Director of Communications and Outreach, to understand and work in the outreach and media side of the conservation policy world. 

Location: Alexandria

Education: College of William and Mary – I’m a rising junior double majoring in Public Policy and Environment and Sustainability on the Policy Track. 

If you were an animal, which would you be?: I would be a dolphin because I’m very social, energetic and silly, and sometimes a bit noisy too!

What’s your go-to karaoke song? Definitely Ed Sheeran’s “Galway Girl” which I’ll sing all the words to as loud as I can. I can’t believe I’m gonna get to hear him sing live this summer!

Favorite childhood memory? One of my favorite memories is performing Annie as a ballet over 10 times as a kid and playing the lead role some of the time. Ballet was my main hobby from age three until the end of high school, and despite the stress and difficult rehearsals before performances, it was always worth it.

What’s your favorite thing about yourself? My ability to spark conversation with almost anyone (in three languages!) and be full of smiles while I’m doing it. 

If your pet could talk, what would they say about you? I have a dog named Shadow and she’d say I’m her favorite human even though I’m mostly away at college now, because I love her and spoil her more than my other five siblings.

Tytus Suchotinunt

Tytus’ passion for the environment was sparked during his first semester at college when he took a Sustainable Energy Systems class and learned about redlining in Richmond. Now Tytus works at the University of Virginia’s Office for Sustainability during the school year, where he is responsible for planning sustainability-focused events and overseeing the Equity and Environment Fund. This summer, his supervisor is Barry Greene Jr., VCN’s Fundraising and Grants Manager, who will help him learn and develop skills in the fundraising side of conservation. 

Location: Centreville, VA

Education: University of Virginia – I am a rising 4th year, majoring in Global Studies with a concentration in the Environment and Sustainability. I’m also pursuing a double minor in Data Science and Chinese Language and Literature. 

If you were an animal, which would you be? I definitely would be a sloth because I can sleep for ungodly amounts of time. I’ve always seen myself as a slothful individual.

What’s your go-to karaoke song? Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” – I’m still extremely jealous that I did not get tickets to her Eras Tour, but am hopeful another opportunity will come around.

Favorite childhood memory? One of my favorite childhood memories is going to the Temple during Thai and Laos New Year. The festivities are always fun, the food stalls are delicious, and being surrounded by family, friends, and a community of people is heartwarming. The atmosphere of the temple during that time of the year is unbeatable, its lively, sweltering, tiring, but always unforgettable.

What’s your favorite thing about yourself?

I love my eyes. Even though my vision sucks, they’ve been hanging on for the past 21 years. Plus, bad eyesight is great because without my glasses it feels like the world has a filter on.

If your pet could talk, what would they say about you?

My dog, Tofu, would definitely tell me that I pet her too much and that I snuggle her too hard. I swear though I am not suffocating her, she’s just so squeezable after a stressful day.