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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Lamb_2.jpg" style="width: 188px; height: 250px; float: right;" />Faculty of the Au Sable Institute include numerous individuals with long careers covering many years of distinguished service and achievement in science and education. But the Institute can also claim the honor of having many rising scholars, teachers and practitioners now joining its work, who are themselves becoming widely known and respected in their fields. In this summer of 2015, Au Sable celebrates the addition of one of these to its faculty in Rachel Loraine Lamb, the newest member of its teaching team in its Land Resources course.</p>
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	A scholar and practitioner in the field of environmental law and policy, Rachel Lamb brings the fruits of a formal education intensively focused in these subjects and their applications to conservation, as well as experience in the work of compliance, regulation and policy issues in major environmental policy agencies of the United States, practical experience as a professional consultant transforming scientific research into conservation policy, and professional skill as an environmental activist.</p>
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	Joining the Land Resources course in the second half of Summer Session I at the Great Lakes Campus (Michigan), Rachel comes to Au Sable from the University of Maryland where she earned a Master of Public Policy with an Environmental Policy Specialization and a Master of Science in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology. Prior to her graduate studies, Rachel worked as a Researcher for the Enforcement Division of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, where she was engaged in the review of environmental enforcement orders, as well as monitoring and resolving violations of environmental permits. Subsequently, serving as a Fellow of the US Environmental Protection Agency, Rachel worked in the EPA&rsquo;s Tribal Trust and Assistance Unit in Alaska and the US Pacific Northwest, helping Native American communities develop strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change on their traditional lifestyles. More recently, Rachel served as a Consultant to the Defenders of Wildlife, where she coordinated an effort to determine the means of using spatial analysis tools and technologies for translating scientific research into management objectives and policies for endangered species. Concurrently, as a Project Coordinator at Society for Conservation Biology, Rachel worked with the Southern Rockies Landscape Conservation Cooperative to determine priority conservation resources throughout the region and determine a wide-range of management objectives.</p>
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	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}Lamb_1.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 188px; float: left;" />For all of her formal education and professional experience, Rachel is becoming best known for her efforts and leadership as Chair of Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (YECA), a ministry of the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) mobilizing young Christians throughout North America and the world in efforts to encourage governments, private organizations, and individual citizens to take action to stop climate change. As YECA&rsquo;s Policy Representative in Washington, D.C., Rachel has joined meetings with other faith leaders in the offices of congressmen, senators, and heads of federal environmental agencies, where her presence has become increasingly respected and persuasive. As Ben Lowe, Director of Young Adult Ministries of EEN and Chair of the Au Sable&rsquo;s Board of Trustees noted, &quot;Rachel Lamb brings a lot to Au Sable through both her academic expertise as well as her leadership experience on the front lines of sustainable development, climate action, and Christian advocacy. She is a valuable addition to our faculty and will serve as an inspiring yet relatable teacher, mentor, and role-model for our students.&quot; Fred Van Dyke, Au Sable&rsquo;s Executive Director, concurred, saying, &ldquo;In Christian academics, we hear a lot about the integration of faith and learning. But I wanted to bring someone to our students who would be a passionate example of faith and practice, whose faith in and love for Jesus Christ was at the very center of what they were known for in their practice of environmental advocacy and activism. Rachel Lamb is one of those individuals and is increasingly becoming the voice and the face of this generation of Christians involved in advocacy for climate action. I am thrilled to be able to name her among our faculty at Au Sable.&rdquo;</p>
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	Rachel considers it a joy to fit teaching at Au Sable into her work and ministry, because, as she puts it; &ldquo;Walking alongside and equipping students to more fully engage the Christian call to serve, protect and restore the earth is always a privilege. Au Sable&rsquo;s dedication to place-based education and the conscious fostering of theocentric vocations among its students makes this a particularly special place to teach.&rdquo;</p>
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	&nbsp;It&rsquo;s a great day in the life of the Institute to welcome such an outstanding young Christian professional to the Au Sable community! We look forward to the blessing Rachel will be and bring to all our students and faculty this summer.</p>
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