Sydney Harris Email & Phone Number

Portland, Maine, United States

Portland, Maine, United States

Co-founded and continue to co-lead Reuse Maine - a dynamic coalition of local businesses, environmental organizations, city staff, and sustainability leaders from the Greater Portland region and beyond who share a vision to advance reuse throughout our state.

As of December 2022 I have transitioned into an independent/freelance role in the EPR/DRS/Reuse policy space. Looking forward to sharing my next steps here in the months to come!

Greater Boston Area

• Org. lead on packaging and plastics.• Facilitated stakeholder dialogue in support of extended producer responsibility (EPR) policies and programs for packaging, single-use plastics, and paper products. • Designed & conducted research on product stewardship and EPR policies and programs around the world. Analyzed and developed U.S. state EPR legislation.

Portsmouth, New Hampshire

• Coordinated and delivered educational marine debris programming • Designed and solicited new educational and school programs• Managed and oversaw volunteers for a variety of activities including marine debris and microplastics community research, educational outreach and general organizational support• Maintained and updated www.blueoceansociety.org

Seattle, Washington

• Oversaw re-issuance of Nature’s Scorecard and update of www.NaturesScorecard.com, holding local governments accountable on stormwater permit compliance and low-impact development laws.• Engaged members in grassroots campaigns to strengthen Salish Sea protections; e.g. 1700 comments submitted to WA Dept. of Ecology urging environmental justice review and stronger stormwater retrofit requirements in 2019 update of municipal Clean Water Act (CWA) permits.• Host/Planning Committee member for annual Green Infrastructure Summit, with over 200 region-wide attendees. Facilitated 2019 Youth Voices plenary panel to unprecedented audience engagement.• Co-led Orcas Love Raingardens; organized stakeholders into steering committee; secured City funding and local leadership; oversaw expansion from 4 projects in 2018 to 12 projects in 2019; developed www.orcasloveraingardens.org and outreach materials.• Developed multi-year organizational strategy on shoreline protections, including assessment of policy levers at local, state and federal levels. Grew relationships with regulators and stakeholders; invited to serve on WA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife and Puget Sound Partnership citizen committees on shoreline recovery.• Legislative policy lead on HB 1579 (civil enforcement on HPA violations; protecting shoreline habitat for Chinook salmon and forage fish).• Initiated WEC involvement in Plastic Free July, engaging thousands of members across WA and drawing connections between plastic waste and environmental justice.• Supported successful passage of SB 5397 (Extended Producer Responsibility) and other plastics-reduction bills through 2019 state legislative session as plastics lead for WEC.

Greater Seattle Area

Trash Free Waters Program Regional Co-Lead• Engaged and connected partners from federal, state, local and tribal governments, NGOs, academic and private-sector institutions on matters relating to trash and plastics in aquatic systems.• Facilitated coordinated stakeholder efforts such as Oregon’s and Washington’s Marine Debris Action Plans; participated in the West Coast Marine Debris Alliance.• Secured funding for community science research, such as Columbia River Estuary Partnership trash hot-spots ID survey and Sitka Tribe microplastics analysis in mollusks.• Founding team member of Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol (ETAP) development team, currently being tested by three Estuary Partnerships and by the CEC on the Canadian and Mexican borders.• Orchestrated innovative waste-prevention initiatives such as mug-share pilot program between University of Washington and Starbucks.• Member of www.epa.gov/trash-free-waters Editorial Board.ORISE Research Fellow: “Ocean Dumping” Program Associate• Conducted research relating to the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA), CWA,and Endangered Species Act, including the collection and evaluation of hydrographic, chemical andbiological data from coastal sites in Alaska, Washington and Oregon.• Managed and analyzed over 40 years of ocean survey data from 14 sites.• Assessed emerging contaminants; recommended actions to address new threats under the MPRSA and CWA.• Initiated partnership with US Geological Survey and University of Washington to analyze coastal sediment samples for microplastics.

Pound Ridge, Ny

• Provide communications, website development and graphic design expertise to PRLC Land Steward as needed.• Create educational and outreach materials for the PRLC's Armstrong Outdoor Classrooms.

Bainbridge Island, Seattle, Wa

• Designed and implemented curriculum and educational outreach materials relating to polluted storm water runoff, marine debris, ocean acidification and other threats facing Puget Sound.• Oversaw all aspects of student-led scientific research, including oceanographic and water qualityequipment deployment, data analysis and marine science lessons/discussions.

Leigh, New Zealand

• Guided school groups through Discovery Centre, implementing school programming curriculum and facilitating educational activities.• Supervised visitor interactions with animals in touch tank and provided educational demonstrations at microscope. • Promoted and interpreted exhibits.

Auckland, New Zealand

• Guided up to 15 participants at a time on open-ocean snorkel expeditions, providing background on local marine ecology and instruction on swimming and snorkeling safety and techniques.• Designed and delivered discussions and classroom lessons on marine biodiversity and conservation.• Trained and supervised volunteers to ensure successful delivery of guided snorkel programs.• Developed outreach materials using Photoshop, Microsoft Office and iWork Suites.• Performed administrative and logistical duties as needed, including makingrecommendations about snorkel program operations.

Edwards Middle School, Charlestown, Ma

National AmeriCorps Teaching Fellow, Edwards Middle School• Instructed 6th grade students in ELA, math, academic improvement and leadership development.• Coached and supervised adult volunteers in designing and teaching “apprenticeships” (12-week hands-on electives).• Coordinated communications between Citizen Schools, Edwards Middle School and students’ parents.Regional College Readiness Curriculum Lead, Citizen Schools Headquarters• Established partnership program with four universities, organizing and implementing visits of 60 middle school students at a time to each university from six Citizen Schools campuses across Boston. • Conceptualized, organized and presented monthly workshop trainings to staff about college access, mindset and beliefs, incorporating relevant educational and learning theory from primary literature.• Trained staff on writing and delivering objective-driven curriculum and measuring student learning through formal assessment.• Piloted re-design of program model at two of six campuses, integrating data-driven focus into curriculum.College Readiness Curriculum Lead, Edwards Middle School• Developed training materials and instructed staff on leadership and college readiness curriculum in alignment with MA ELA and math standards.• Designed and coordinated three college visits for 200 middle school students each month.• Promoted to Regional Curriculum Lead.

Oberlin, Oh & Gaithersburg, Md

• Synthesized and characterized magnetic nanoparticles using solution chemistry methods, X-ray Diffractometry, Vibrating Sample Magnetometry, and Igor Pro data analysis software. • Completed 5-day Small Angle Neutron Scattering experiment at NIST with collaborators from Carnegie Mellon.

Oberlin, Oh

• Led campus tours and assisted at Admissions Office recruitment events including panel discussions.

Oberlin, Oh

• Graded weekly student problem sets• Supervised student groups during bi-weekly lab sessions; answered questions and assisted with experiments.

Leiden, Netherlands

• Conducted research on pulsars and the inter-stellar-medium (ISM) at the Universiteit Leiden, creating and analyzing data arrays using the Unix programming language.

Greater New York City Area

• Managed and coached teams of canvassers each day, assuring that they reached daily fundraising quotas.

Master Of Science (M.Sc.), Marine Science, First Class Honours

Activities and Societies: Auckland University Underwater Club, New Zealand Marine Sciences Society, New Zealand Coastal SocietyMSc thesis.

B.A, Physics; Pure Physics, Gpa 3.5

Activities and Societies: Campaign Founder & Coordinator, Hunger & Homelessness Campaign, Ohio Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG).