Name Droppers: Davisite wins climate change fellowship

Sierra Schelegle of Davis, a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Curriculum for the Environment and Ecology program, has received the 2013 Coastal Policy Fellowship from North Carolina Sea Grant and the N.C. Coastal Resources Law, Planning and Policy Center.

The program is designed to foster research on coastal policy issues within North Carolina, including exploration of the legal implications. Schelegle will compare and contrast climate adaptation practices in North Carolina and Maryland. Her study’s focus is on assessing factors that influence a community’s degree of planning for sea level rise.

“This fellowship is an amazing opportunity to delve into a subject of great personal interest and extreme importance to coastal North Carolina,” Schelegle says.

A native of Davis, Schelegle received her bachelor’s degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from Princeton University.

Schelegle’s academic advisor is Philip Berke, deputy director of the UNC Institute for the Environment and a faculty member in the university’s department of city and regional planning.

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Jennifer Lester Moffitt, 32, of Davis, has been reappointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, where she has served since 2012.

Moffitt has worked in multiple positions at Dixon Ridge Farms since 2004, including managing director and marketer. She served as an education, outreach and research specialist for the American Farmland Trust from 2002 to 2005 and was appointed to the food safety working group of the California Walnut Board in 2009.

This position requires Senate confirmation and the compensation is $100 per diem. Moffitt is a Democrat.

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Zack Hester, of Davis, was a recipient of this year’s Van R. Johnson Sutter Scholars program at Sutter Davis Hospital. The scholarships are a portion of the 155 awards given to students of employees who work at Sutter Health affiliates and who are heading into the 2012-13 academic year.

Hester, 23, whose mother Cheryl Newbern works in postpartum at Sutter Davis Hospital’s Birthing Center, is putting his scholarship to good use at Sacramento City College, where he is studying computer science. He graduated from Da Vinci High School and Davis School of Independent Study.

Hester plans to transfer to a University of California campus soon and working in software development after college. When he isn’t studying, his days are full caring for his 2-year-old daughter, Lilly.