Jessica Lefford Email & Phone Number

When I was younger, I grew up in a small mountain community in Colorado. From an early point in my life, I've always had a strong connection to the environment. Once I saw the effects of new developments and pollution even in my small town, I knew that I had a duty to learn about climate change and climate action. I am deeply passionate about protecting our environments for the ecosystems which encompass all living things including ourselves. These issues surrounding our climate are pressing, and I am eager and passionate to work to make our lives more sustainable for the planet and future generations. Learning about our environment through the Environmental and Ocean Sciences department at University of San Diego helped me broaden my scope of knowledge on climate change, and I feel more prepared than ever to jump into the workforce and work on meaningful projects. Combined with my love for volunteer work and teamwork, I hope to one day work with a team in local communities that are affected disproportionately by pollution and climate change. I have volunteered through National Honors Society, Gamma Phi Beta sorority, and climate alliance. Therefore, I am a hard worker, a fast learner, and have a strong sense of leadership. I really push myself to dive into the more challenging issues and open up my mind to new ideas, conflicting views, and important innovations. In this technological age, our world is ever-changing, and that is why it is so important that we have people who are working on environmental issues to be fast-paced individuals who have great critical thinking skills. As an intern at FarmForward this year, I am hoping to learn more about the interconnectedness of Factory Farming, pollution, and the quality of surrounding environments. I want to learn more about regenerative farming that can still provide food but be safe for the environment. So far, I have taken general chemistry classes, a general physics class, geoscience, organisms and ecosystems, introduction to atmospheric and oceanic sciences, environmental justice, and environmental data analysis. In environmental data analysis, I have become proficient at coding and understanding significant data.