[YSEALI Professional Fellows Program spring ’15] Elisabet Jupesta: “An enormous opportunity”
This spring I was given the opportunity to travel to theTwin Cities to work at the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) through the YSEALI Professional Fellows Program with ACYPL.
After arriving in Minneapolis, I received a warm welcome from the EQB staff and they helped me make the most out of the experience. While there, I was exposed to new environmental regulatory processes, fascinating culture, and friendly people. I had the opportunity to meet Governor Mark Dayton briefly and commissioners from different agencies. Luckily, my fellowship coincided with the biennial session of Minnesota Legislature and thanks to EQB and my mentor Chas Anderson, I had the chance to closely observe and understand how the legislative and governmental process affected environmental and natural resources policy. I also learned about the role EQB plays in managing the environmental review and developing environmental rules with a crosscutting approach and how to address public concerns.
My fellowship activities have allowed me to obtain a broad overview of Minnesota’s energy sustainability and environmental challenges. I visited Lake Superior in Duluth and realized that clean water is not just a health priority, but it also drives economic growth; and therefore safeguarding the clean water to keep it free of pollutants is really essential for a country. The statement, “clean water is the new oil,” might seem far-fetched today, but the fact is right now many sources of water are drying up and there isn’t a clear strategy on how to manage our future water supply.
Looking to the future, I am excited to put the knowledge that I acquired during this fruitful program to practice as we, in Southeast Asia, approach the key issues facing the world. The challenges will certainly be interesting, but the opportunities are enormous and I will make the best of them.
Elisabet Jupesta is legal counsel at Technip Indonesia. You can find more information on the YSEALI initiative and the PFP program on our website.
Want to hear more about Elisabet’s fellowship? Check out this video below:
