Introducing the 2022 Shansi Fellows to India
This year, there are two Shansi Fellows heading to India. Isabel Tadmiri ‘21 will join the Keystone Foundation, an eco-development organization based near the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in South India. Phoebe von Conta ’22 will serve at the International Studies Center at Lady Doak College in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
Isabel Tadmiri (she/her) ‘21 was a Neuroscience major with Politics and Environmental Studies minors. At Oberlin, you’d often find Isabel scouring the spice racks of OSCA’s Third World Co-op, affecting campus waste streams with the Office of Environmental Sustainability’s Resource Conservation Team, or hanging out with Students for Energy Justice. As an undergrad, Isabel conducted research on neuroeconomics with NYU’s Center for Neural Science, on environmental justice and repair with Oberlin’s Environmental Studies Department, and on environmental pollutant neurotoxicity through Oberlin’s Neuroscience program. Isabel is originally from New York, NY and currently serves on the Oberlin Board of Trustees (‘21-‘24).
Through work with and mentorship from the communities of Africatown, Alabama and the Oberlin Indigenous Peoples’ Day Committee, Isabel gained great appreciation for the power of oral history and intergenerational knowledge-sharing in environmental repair.
As Shansi Fellow at Keystone, She is excited to learn more about how we can honor traditional knowledge bases to work towards environmental and public health justice solutions with Adivasi communities and Keystone while in the Nilgiri Hills of South India. She aspires to always work towards sustainable and caring environmental community building at Keystone and beyond!
Phoebe von Conta (she/her) ‘22 is a Hispanic Studies and Environmental Studies double major who enjoys running and biking around Oberlin, going to the Oberlin Public Library, and beekeeping. Since her first year at Oberlin College, Phoebe has developed a curiosity for the ways that people connect and learn through their environments. She has conducted research on climate activism and Indigenous media, helped develop Oberlin’s Climate Vulnerability Assessment, authored a case study with climate resilience organizations and local governments, and is an instructor for Oberlin’s Spanish in the Elementary Schools. She became a board member of the Green EDGE Fund in her first year and has been involved in the Environmental Studies department ever since, helping to conduct Oberlin’s 50th Earth Day celebration, and connecting with students and faculty as an ES student representative. Additionally, Phoebe is a captain for Oberlin’s Cross-Country and Track and Field team and a member of Tank Cooperative. She looks forward to deepening her understanding of environmental sustainability, community resilience, and education are intertwined through her work as Shansi Fellow.