SNRE students associated with two of the school's most prestigious fellowship programs convened at a retreat this weekend to discuss the organizational and political challenges facing leaders and NGOs this election season.

This year's retreat for Doris Duke Conservation Fellows and Wyss Scholars, titled "Strategic Choices in Leadership,"  continued a traditional emphasis on networking among Fellows, Fellows-led discussions and a focus on leadership styles. But this year' retreat also highlighted strategic choices made by conservation organizations, leaders and individuals. The event was at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, W.V.

Forty-six Fellows/Scholars from all eight universities involved in hosting the programs participated. The eight host schools are the University of Michigan, Yale, Duke, University of California-Santa Barbara, Cornell, Northern Arizona, Florida A&M and Wisconsin. Eight SNRE students attended as did Professor Steven L. Yaffee, who coordinates SNRE's programs. Professor Yaffee facilitated the retreat, which was designed with staff from the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation.

"The retreat is one of the most motivating things I do because of the focused time I'm able to spend with a set of very good students,"  Professor Yaffee said. "The retreat provides a mechanism for interaction across the eight leading schools of the environment, which is a rare opportunity."

A Friday afternoon speaker panel included alumnus Sara Tucker (M.S. '05), a Majority Staff Member from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and a former Duke Fellow.

SNRE students attending were Wyss Scholars Amanda Barker and Brittney Van Der Werff; and Duke Fellows Ria Berns, Rebecca Held, Julian Dautremont-Smith, Tina Tam, Kat Superfisky and Ariel Shaw. Jessica Gorchow is also a Duke Fellow, but she is not attending the retreat this year.

A new cohort of Fellows and Scholars will be selected in January 2011.