VISTA Summer Associate

About the Program

The Conservation Legacy Program's Stewards Individual Placement connects the WV Department of Environmental Protection with the broader Chesapeake Bay Program. This network of partners works to improve the environmental quality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, addressing conditions that impact the resilience and sustainability of surrounding communities. Many of these communities face challenges related to age, income, and education, often lacking the capacity to address adverse environmental conditions. This project supports the WVDEP's ongoing efforts by enhancing data reporting efficiency and equipping a new individual to improve the lives of West Virginia residents.

About the Role

As a VISTA Summer Associate, you will focus on capacity-building activities designed to produce internal planning resources, documentation tools, and community engagement materials. Your work will directly assist the Chesapeake Bay Analyst and the Potomac Basin Coordinator. You will help evaluate green infrastructure stormwater best management practices (BMPs), participate in public outreach events, and accompany environmental enforcement teams on inspections.

This role offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in environmental stewardship, workforce development, and programmatic planning. You will attend work group meetings to understand the Chesapeake Bay Program's structure and learn to utilize the Chesapeake Assessment Scenario Tool (CAST). The position is designed to prepare you for future careers in the WVDEP or other natural resource sectors while providing tangible connections between planning tools and community needs.

Hiring Process & Application

Interested candidates should contact the Supervisor, Erin Adams, at eadams@conservationlegacy.org or the Host Organization Contact, Samuel Canfield, at samuel.a.canfield@wv.gov.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We also consider qualified applicants regardless of criminal histories, consistent with legal requirements. If you need assistance or reasonable accommodations due to a disability during the application or recruiting process, please send a request to the hiring manager.

Orientation & Training

Selected members will receive a Virtual Member Orientation (VMO) from VISTA on their first day of service, which includes training on AmeriCorps prohibited and unallowable activities. Performance will be evaluated based on the completion of required hours, satisfactory assignment completion, and meeting other clearly communicated performance criteria.