Environmental activists strive to protect, preserve, and restore the world's health and biodiversity. Some protest on the front lines while others work behind the scenes as lobbyists or policy specialists.    As an environmental policy specialist, I meet with national leaders, including U.S. Representatives, U.S. Senators, federal agencies, and policy makers to discuss environmental, public health, and consumer protection legislation. I also communicate breaking environmental news to the media and community groups.   This field sort of chose me. When my family and the rest of the community learned that our village was sited for a regional landfill and incinerator, we organized and successfully fought the proposal! Since then, I have taken many educational and environmental training courses to build my career.    I try not to get overwhelmed by the enormity of environmental degradation and its relation to social injustices and poverty. My goal is always to stay focused on the cause and to work collaboratively with a team of concerned citizens. Christine Shahin-Wood:     7:00 AM Read local paper and get ready for work. 8:00 AM Leave for work. 8:30 AM Browse Internet and newspapers; "cut & paste" work related articles. 9:30 AM Begin phone networking or organizing current project. Conduct press conference or write paper press release related to clean air, energy, global warming, and children's environmental health. 12:00 PM Lunch is usually a meeting lunch with coalition partners on these issues. If not, then lunch with local school kids. 1:30 PM Back in the office to finish up tasks until 6:00 PM. 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM Local school kids come into the office and work on answering e-mails, letters, connecting with school chapters, and projects. No matter what career you choose you can always incorporate desire to protect the environment into your life. You can always recycle. You can choose to purchase least-impact products. You can make your home, school, and community environmentally friendly. For more details about my career path, look through my resume. (pdf file) Learn more about the topic of AIR Go to the Class Project Christine Shahin-Wood designed Check out the other mentor whose career is related to Air: Steve Russell Check out AIR Resources Home | Cool Careers | Hot Topics | Class Projects Glossary | Resources | Site Map | Credits Thirteen Ed Online | Educators | Students | Parents/Caregivers Thirteen Online