Leigha Schultze is a dual major in Environmental Studies and Political Science at Colgate University with a particular interest in creating comprehensive environmental legislation that balances environmental demands with human ones in instances where they so often diverge.
She has spent the past academic year as a research fellow, completing a comparative analysis of policy and management strategies for National Parks across the U.S., Australia, Mexico, and Canada. In doing so, she hopes to shed light on how conservation policy has historically dispossessed marginalized and Indigenous communities and spotlight developing co-management strategies that bring Indigenous perspectives to the forefront of park economic and ecological decisions. She additionally works as a student attendant at Chapel House, a nondenominational spiritual center at Colgate, where she aims to help guests foster a deeper connection with the environment through total submersion in nature.
Home to Leigha is Hunterdon, New Jersey, where she spends her free time developing outreach programming for a homeless veterans’ nonprofit, cooking, hiking & camping, and playing tennis with her family. She is beyond excited to be joining the ANCA team this summer, working as a research fellow for the Adirondack Diversity Initiative. Through this work, she hopes to play a small part in the much larger undertaking of making nature welcoming, safe, and accessible for all people. To her, the ability to access and enjoy the outdoors is a fundamental human right, one that should be staunchly protected and promoted through all walks of life.