ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½

On Friday, May 8, the Nicholas School of the Environment will honor 169 graduates from the following professional degree programs: Master of Environmental Management (MEM), Duke Environmental Leadership Master of Environmental Management (DEL-MEM), Master of Forestry (MF) and International Master of Environmental Policy (iMEP). The ceremony will begin at 4 p.m. in Duke’s Wilson Recreation Center.

Of the graduates, 138 students will receive an MEM, including 13 from the DEL-MEM program for experienced working professionals; three will receive an MF; and 28 will receive diplomas from the iMEP program. Graduates from the iMEP program spent 18 months at Duke Kunshan University in China, and their last semester at ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ in Durham. Additionally, 22 individuals will graduate with dual professional degrees, including five MEM/MF students.

ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½s were required to complete a Master’s Project for graduation. To learn more about these and past projects, visit the .

The professional student ceremony will be for those who cannot attend in person.

ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ Speaker

Professional students elected Ananya Aggarwal, an MEM student concentrating in Energy and Environment and Community ÌÇÐÄ´«Ã½ment and Environmental Justice, as their peer speaker.

In addition to serving as a teaching assistant for two classes taught by Gendell Family Associate Professor Dalia Patiño-Echeverri, Aggarwal worked as a research assistant at the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment & Sustainability.

Her responsibilities included supporting the Nicholas Institute’s research and thought leadership initiatives on international climate finance and energy partnerships, as well as its work on international energy transitions — the shift from fossil-fuel based systems to low-carbon, renewable energy systems.

Aggarwal also served as a case studies editor for Duke’s , an interdisciplinary group of undergraduate and graduate students dedicated to fostering research and policy dialogue about access to reliable, affordable and sustainable energy. In that role, she collaborated with peers across campus on a examining energy access challenges and opportunities in countries across Africa and Asia.

Additionally, Aggarwal worked as a graduate student researcher with The Nature Conservancy (TNC), where she contributed to research informing TNC’s strategy on ecovoltaics — an emerging approach to solar energy development that integrates renewable energy generation with ecosystem services.

Duke Alumnus Speaker

The professional students’ recognition ceremony will also feature Duke alumnus speaker Kathy Moser, acting commissioner of the .

The office manages 250 parks and historic sites across New York, including the oldest park in North America, Niagara Falls State Park. New York is home to the second largest parks system in the nation, hosting 86 million visitors annually.

Moser previously served as chief conservation and policy officer at the Open Space Institute (OSI), an East Coast land trust based in New York. At OSI, Moser directed the Parks, Stewardship and Government Relations programs. Prior to that post, she was OSI’s senior vice president of parks and policy. 

Before OSI, Moser served as deputy commissioner for natural resources at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, where she oversaw the agency’s portfolio in lands and forests, fish and wildlife, and marine resources. 

Moser has also worked as managing director for strategic initiatives at the World Wildlife Fund and has held senior positions at TNC in New York State and in its International Program. Her career began in 1985 with the Peace Corps, where she managed Cerro Uyuca, which at the time was a newly established protected area in Honduras. 

Additionally, Moser has served on the board for the Mohawk Hudson Land Conservancy and that of the New York League of Conservation Voters’ Capital District. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in botany and a master’s degree in forest productivity, both from Duke, and served two terms on the Nicholas School’s Alumni Council.

Nicholas School recognition ceremonies also include a designated event for graduates from the iMEP program at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7, in Field Auditorium of Grainger Hall at Duke; an event for Ph.D. graduate students at 10 a.m. Friday, May 8, in Love Auditorium, within the Levine Science Research Center at Duke; and an event for undergraduates at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 9, in the Wilson Recreation Center. 

For more information on Duke’s commencement activities, visit .