Lindsey McDougle is fascinated with the intersection of humans and the environment, an interest that goes back to her undergraduate days at Ohio State University. After having won the National Science Fair as a youngster with a project on plant hormones and tropisms, she considered a career as a plant biologist but once she arrived at Ohio State, she found herself drawn to a more interdisciplinary major, Human Dimensions in Natural Resources.

Summer 2007 update:

Lindsey has just completed her first year of doctoral studies in the School of Leadership and Education Sciences at the University of San Diego (USD). Here she focuses on Leadership Studies with a specialization in Nonprofit Management and Leadership.
 
When she isn’t in class or studying, Lindsey works 20 hours per week as a doctoral research associate for USD’s Center for Nonprofit Research. The Center was created to examine issues of strategic importance to the nonprofit sector by engaging in research that enriches the nonprofit community, analyzes trends that impact the local sector, and provides access to informational resources that can directly assist nonprofit practitioners.

Currently she is involved in a project examining public confidence in San Diego County nonprofits. Her research approach is to design a survey instrument based on local issues and nationally reported data of public confidence in nonprofit charitable organizations. “I really like it a lot,” Lindsey says. “I am doing for the San Diego nonprofit sector what I did on a small scale with corporate business (IBM) and environmental nonprofit organizations in North Carolina. At IBM I was able to help local environmental nonprofits bring greater awareness of their missions to the IBM community.  In a similar manner here in San Diego, I am able to help the local nonprofit sector better understand their impacts on the community and the public perceptions of the county.”

That’s not all. Lindsey also is the incoming doctoral student representative of the graduate student association, a formerly dormant association now trying to resurrect itself.

After school, Lindsey sees herself in a professorship position relating to
nonprofit administration and corporate-cause partnerships—most likely back on the East Coast in her native Ohio. In her free time, Lindsey frequently takes advantage of her close proximity to the beach—she is just two minutes away and enjoys sightseeing in San Diego and surrounding areas.

Hindsight:

Lindsey recommends being active in graduate student associations and getting to know fellow students from all over the university. While at Duke, though she served on a graduate student executive committee, she didn’t get to participate as much as she would have liked because of her part-time job with IBM and her heavy course load. Now that she is a doctoral student representative she sees how she could have benefited if she had been more involved with graduate student life at Duke.

Lindsey McDougle is fascinated with the intersection of humans and the environment, an interest that goes back to her undergraduate days at Ohio State University. After having won the National Science Fair as a youngster with a project on plant hormones and tropisms, she considered a career as a plant biologist but once she arrived at Ohio State, she found herself drawn to a more interdisciplinary major, Human Dimensions in Natural Resources.

At the Nicholas School, she has chosen to pursue the Environmental Economics and Policy concentration, with a focus on Business and the Environment. She is interested in how corporations introduce sustainability into their business practices, and her master plan has her working to change a corporate culture after first getting a doctorate in organizational leadership. With that degree and the environmental skills she is developing at the Nicholas School, she will be well poised to turn any corporation green.

Already she is working in that direction with a summer internship at LMI Government Consulting in McLean, Virginia, where she handles research for consulting projects, some with an environmental angle and some in other areas, such as safety. After hours, she enjoys exploring the Washington, DC, area, walking her dog in nearby parks and learning more about a city she might eventually call home.

Lindsey's first year at the Nicholas School was a whirlwind of required courses, activities, and a plum internship with IBM. She is the secretary of the Black Graduate and Professional Student Council, the Nicholas School representative on the Duke University Judiciary Board, and a member of the Environmental Internship Fund. But these activities had to take a back burner when she was chosen by IBM for a 20-hour-per-week internship in nearby Research Triangle Park. Lindsey won the internship with her pitch for a week-long Earth Day celebration at IBM, a program she implemented in April 2005. She brought in vendors—green builders, local sustainable farmers and service organizations like Habitat for Humanity—held an organic food tasting, and organized “Lunch and Learns” on topics like biodiesel fuel (the most popular), natural gardening, vermicomposting, and recycling.

As if that were not enough, Lindsey also responsible for working with Wildlife at Work projects, sponsored by the Wildlife Habitat Council, and assisting in alternative transportation efforts, encouraging IBM employees to carpool or employ the regional bus and vanpool system.

Lindsey looks forward to furthering her coursework in business and environment when she returns for her second year. She has also been asked to continue her internship with IBM in January. How does she manage to get everything done? “It is a lot,” she admits. “But I plan in advance, sometimes weeks in advance, and it all gets done.”

As hard as Lindsey is working, she is enjoying every minute. “I get so much from my classes, every day,” she says. “I’m excited about where I’m going, the avenues I’m taking, what I’m learning here.”

To view the video, choose from the formats listed after each caption:

1. Lindsey expresses her satisfacation with her Nicholas School experience so far and says she is very excited about her future here.
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2. Lindsey McDougle talks about why she is drawn to the human dimension of natural resources.
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3. She shows by example the many possibilities for student activity both at Duke and the Nicholas School
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4. Lindsey talks about her IBM internship experience and how she manages her time.
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5. Lindsey talks about coursework, favorite classes.
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6. Sharing thoughts on faculty, Lori Snyder Bennear, in particular..
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7. She talks about her MP ideas surrounding brownfield redevelopment.
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8. Parting words, advice for first year MEMs.
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