Jack Jennetta

I grew up in a small town in north-central Connecticut, surrounded by woods and just a five-minute bike ride to a state wildlife refuge. Encouraged to explore these woods by my father, this setting instilled a passion for hiking in, mountain biking through, skating on frozen ponds, and simply observing whatever slice of paradise I was lucky enough to call home. When I had the decision to attend Tulane University in New Orleans or stay relatively close to home and become a UConn husky, I knew it was time to venture far beyond my small town. This decision expanded my viewpoint, developed my perspective, and cemented my desire to pursue a career bettering our physical and social environment.

While at Tulane and during my time studying abroad in Beijing, I majored in environmental studies, political science, and Mandarin Chinese. While in these diverse environments, I dipped my toe in environmental non-profit work, ornithological field research on the Louisiana coastline, operations management at a Beijing-based zero-waste lifestyle store, and museum curation at the world’s largest fish collection. All of these experiences led me to the Aldo Leopold Land Stewardship Fellowship, where over the course of one year, I got my hands dirty learning what adaptive land management looks and feels like. A formative and impactful experience, I will take the lessons learned and employ them in my new role.

I am excited to be in fundraising and development, exploring the possibilities that this field lends. In the past, I have always enjoyed meeting new people and getting to know them, so now that I am able to do that professionally, I couldn’t be more excited to see where this new experience takes me!