1. Victoria Tersigni ’14 graduated from Moravian Academy in
Bethlehem, PA as an inductee to the cum laude society and was
a National Merit commended student. After captaining her field
hockey team, Victoria continued her playing career at
Dartmouth, where she is a member of the varsity squad.
Victoria is an engineering major with a modification in
environmental sciences. She is on the executive board of
Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering, which blends her
interests in the sustainable energy, public policy, and human
impact.
Victoria was funded by the Rockefeller Center for a Winter 2013 Internship, with generous
support from the John French Memorial Internship Fund.
Executive Summary from Victoria’s final report:
Environment New Hampshire is a non-profit citizen-based environmental advocacy group. It
functions as part of a national federation under the federal group, Environment America. While
I worked as an intern at Environment New Hampshire during the Winter of 2012-2013, I
performed a variety of tasks that covered a broad scope of the organization’s duties.
Our priorities changed as set by our state organization as well as Environment America, and
ranged from wind and solar power as renewable energies, to the Land and Water Conservation
Fund. Therefore, on a regular basis I used phonebanking lists to contact our members and
inform them of our work and ask them to call Senators
Shaheen and Ayotte to inform them of public support for
these issues.
To further build grassroots support for selected
environmental issues, I asked members of the public to sign
petitions that were set to local Congressmen or New
Hampshire’s US Senators. Public education of these issues
[JOHN FRENCH MEMORIAL FUND PUBLIC POLICY INTERN PROFILE]
“After my internship
experience at Environment
New Hampshire, I have an
increased appreciation for
how much work a non-profit
with just a few staff members
can accomplish.”

2. was also bolstered though numerous letters to the editor, which I wrote and submitted to
specific New Hampshire newspapers.
One of my individual initiatives included planning a press conference on wind power in New
Hampshire. This effort required me to find and book a location, ask a New Hampshire legislator
to make a few remarks on renewable energy, and invite our local members to the event. I also
edited the materials and handouts used for the press conference.
From this internship experience, I have a much better understanding for how a small non-profit
operates on a daily basis. While I do not intend to work in the non-profit sector as a long-term
career goal, I see how the passion that motivates many members of environmental non-profits
is a vital component of making real change in the world. It is this vision that I most hope to
bring into my academics and future work plans.
During my internship, I found the most rewarding parts of my work were those when I was able
to have my own individual projects, and see them through to completion. For example, I
planned our press conference on wind power, and was proud to have put together an entire,
successful event. I was also given responsibility for our work on the Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF). As part of a coalition supporting the renewal of the fund, I collected
all of the signatures that Environment New Hampshire added to the coalition letter. By
surpassing the goal number of signatures that was set for me, I felt that I had made a real and
significant contribution towards the LWCF, while representing Environment New Hampshire’s
commitment to conservation in the state.
Victoria Tersigni ’14 with New Hampshire Governor Maggie Hassan during her Winter 2013 internship.