Announcing the inaugural Next Interior Fellows

Does the general public often get the chance to learn about  and ponder the impacts of critical minerals policy? Almost certainly not. Does anyone fully understand what knowledge is being lost from the Department of the Interior, and where it is being lost? The stories associated with that loss? Not yet. That’ why we’re proud to welcome our inaugural Next Interior Fellows, Vanessa Raymond and Adam Auerbach, as they bring both topics to light.

As a Next Interior Fellow, Raymond will bring Alaskans into the radio studio to discuss critical minerals & the future of technology, society, and energy together. The weekly radio show, Them Thar Hills, will be an original radio show on KSUA 91.5 FM (Fairbanks) with each episode themed around a critical mineral issue, featuring interviews, community stories, and music. She’ll also craft an important resource, What We Heard: Critical Minerals, Climate, and Sovereignty from the U.S. Arctic and Pacific, which will synthesize DOI actions, guest & public feedback, and Arctic and Pacific voices from the show to inform future engagement, land use, and resource policy decisions.

During his Fellowship, Auerbach will be supporting the crucial work of cataloging the institutional knowledge currently being lost through staff reductions across Interior, including impacts to the Department’s capacity to address and adapt to climate change and the decline of nature. Adam's work will involve assisting in identifying the most critical workforce and knowledge gaps emerging across Interior; coordinating with other organizations tracking staffing impacts; and producing maps and other tools to help everyone better understand the impacts of institutional knowledge loss within Interior.

These projects will advance all three of Next Interior’s goals:

1. Elevating the work of the Department of the Interior, like the complexities of minerals and mining, especially for Alaska Native populations; 
2. Helping shape the future through discussion and tracking resources lost to inform future needs; and,
3. Supporting the people of Interior by cataloging their work for the mission, ensuring it’s not taken for granted. 

The Next Interior Fellows Program is designed to support the professional development of Fellows, while they in turn bring their unique skills and knowledge to a project that will shape and support a stronger future for the U.S. Department of the Interior. We are thrilled to have Vanessa and Adam onboard! Stay tuned for updates on their important work.

Bios

Leasi Vanessa Lee Raymond is a socio-technologist passionate about data ethics and Indigenous data sovereignty. Currently serving as Deputy Director for Strategic Initiatives at Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, in prior roles she has had the honor of serving as Dir. of Research Operations for Abundant Intelligences, a large-scale Indigenous-led exploration into artificial intelligence applications that support Indigenous flourishing; act as co-chair for the Arctic Data Committee where she works on data policy & data support for Arctic international research organizations and Arctic Indigenous groups; and as program manager for the Alaska Regional Collaboration for Technology, Innovation, and Commercialization (ARCTIC) program to expand capacity in Alaska and beyond for energy resilience and community-led energy transitions.

Adam Auerbach is a conservation professional based in Colorado, where his experience relevant to Next Interior has included work in interpretation with the National Park Service, managing partnerships and workforce programs for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and grassroots public lands advocacy. Adam recently concluded his master's work in environmental policy, where his research with the National Parks Conservation Association, the National Forest Foundation, and the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center supported equitable design of visitor use management strategies in national parks and Tribal co-stewardship of federal public lands. Adam believes deeply in the importance of Interior's work, particularly the power of our public lands to bring people together across differences in this moment of societal division.