Meet the 2024 Class of NWF Graduate Student Research Fellows

The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is pleased to introduce the recipients of this year's graduate student research fellowships.

Each year, NWF Graduate Student Research Fellows support the advancement of NWF Education and Engagement programs through dedicated research projects. This research helps to expand the content and development of a variety of efforts across NWF's Education and Engagement programs.

Meet Charmayne Planter

Charmayne Planter, upon receiving her bachelor's degree from Sarah Lawrence College, will be pursuing graduate studies in geography at the University of Georgia. Charmayne has been affiliated with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in various capacities since high school, where she led the Earth Tomorrow Club. In 2021, Charmayne was honored with the National Wildlife Federation's National Conservation Young Leader Award for her outstanding leadership as an eco-leader.

During her undergraduate years, Charmayne pursued independent academic fieldwork focused on conservation efforts in rural coastal communities and Indigenous landscapes, incorporating perspectives from her Gullah-Geechee ancestry and Western Indigenous communities in the U.S.

Her work emphasizes the intersectionality between the environment and economy, a focus she has highlighted through support from organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation, National Geographic, The Nature Conservancy, and the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium.

Most recently, she assisted in creating a Youth Climate Action Toolkit in collaboration with This is PlanetEd, The Nature Conservancy, and the Aspen Institute. Throughout this fellowship, she will bring her talents back to NWF and engage in research on expanding NWF youth programs and developing strategies to involve the next generation in the National Wildlife Federation's mission.

"I am very excited to embark on this opportunity as a graduate fellow and build upon the work I have done with the National Wildlife Federation. I believe that developing new strategies within the framework of NWF's youth engagement initiatives can drive meaningful change and offer innovative solutions to the shortage of young people involved in conservation. Younger generations are more likely than older generations to be alarmed by the state of their future environment, and it is essential to include their perspectives in this work. I am eager to research and address these critical issues, collaborate with my team leading this graduate fellowship, and work with NWF to make a significant impact."

-Charmayne Planter

Meet Hennessy Martinez

Hennessy Martinez is currently a graduate student at Columbia University's Climate School. She has experience in environmental justice, sustainability, and conservation research, as well as climate policy at the local level. Her primary interests lie in climate justice and climate resilience.

She recently completed an internship at WWF's climate team working on environmental and disaster management. She currently serves as a Youth Advisory Congress member for the Gulf of Mexico

Youth Climate Summit, and a youth council member for Reserva: The Youth Land Trust. She also has served as a Youth Climate Commissioner for Los Angeles County, informing and advising on county-level goals, policies, and plans relating to climate adaptation and resilience.

Hennessy also has a research background in qualitative research. Prior to finding her niche in the environmental justice and climate space, Hennessy was curious in pursuing conservation research. Her first research fellowship was with the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, where she conducted a theory-based qualitative evaluation on the decline of giraffe meat consumption among pastoralists in Northern Kenya.

She also conducted mixed-method environmental justice research for Esperanza Community Housing. She and her team addressed the implications Senate Bill 1137 (SB 1137) will have on the South Los Angeles (LA) community through a community-led investigation. Her team is now working towards writing their research papers and are planning to get published in an environmental justice journal.

Hennessy hopes to pursue a career in climate legislative action in the near future. Outside of school, Hennessy loves to go on hikes, hang out with friends, or read a book.

"I'm involved with different youth climate movements, and I am excited to be doing my fellow research focused on youth programming and how to improve youth experiences overall!"

-Hennessy Martinez

Meet Zachary Zeller

Growing up in North Florida, Zach's childhood was filled with a curiosity for the wide range of ecosystems and wildlife that fill the landscape. When he wasn't exploring the outdoors, he was reading Ranger Rick magazines or rewatching VHS tapes of nature documentaries. This passion for nature was largely thanks to his dad, an environmental scientist who instilled in him a love for the natural world.

As he got older, Zach knew that he wanted to pursue a career protecting the environment. He attended the University of Florida where he majored in Sustainability Studies. During this time, Zach learned more about the overlap between the environment and social justice, and the importance of empowering local communities in environmental activism.

After graduating with his bachelor's degree, Zach pushed himself out of his comfort zone and applied for a graduate program at a German University. Despite never living outside of his home state, much less his home country, he packed his bags and began his MSc in Global Change Ecology at the University of Bayreuth.

Here, Zach learned about the ecological and societal implications of climate change and biodiversity loss. Additionally, he gained hands-on experience in environmental advocacy by attending the COP27 conference in Sharm el-Sheikh and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

In Spring of 2024, Zach served as mentor on the NWF Climate Equity Collaborative Youth Advisory Council (CEC YAC). Here Zach contributed to the future direction of the Climate Equity Collaborative and learned more about NWF's mission.

Currently, Zach is writing his thesis on the correlation between heat stress and suicide rates in Sunbelt cities across the United States. He intends to submit his thesis in the winter and begin working in the field of climate change research and advocacy afterwards.

For his NWF Fellowship research, Zach will be considering the extent to which mental and psychiatric health is considered in existing and planned environmental justice programming as well as opportunities to incorporate it further.

"I am looking forward to answering a research question that contributes to the mission of the NWF and is relevant for youth empowerment."

-Zach Zeller

Congratulations to our new class of graduate student research fellows! These fellows join a national network of current and alumni fellows, many of whom have gone on to lead new businesses, agencies, and programs for sustainability all across the U.S.

Read their stories and connect with them directly in the NWF EcoLeaders Community.

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