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https://jenniferlepstein.github.io/

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4<title>Jennifer Epstein</title> 
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27<body>
28    
29    <div id="header">
30        <div class="container">
31            <div class="row">
32                <div class="col s12 m3 valign-wrapper">
33                    <img class="responsive-img circle center-align" src="images/JenSelf.jpg">
34                </div>
35                <div class="col hide-on-small-only m1 valign-wrapper"></div>
36                <div class="col s12 m8 valign-wrapper">
37                    <h1>Jennifer Epstein</h1>
38                </div>
39            </div>
40            <div class="row">
41                <div class="col s12">
42                    <p>
43                        I work to translate big environmental issues into local contexts, helping people make informed decisions about how their communities should operate and develop. 
44                        I do this by combining my experience in environmental policy, academic background in earth and biological sciences, and skills in programming and GIS. 
45                        I thrive at the intersection of environmental science, data analytics, and policy advocacy. 
46                    </p>
47                    <p>
48                        I am driven by an insatiable curiosity about the world and an unquenchable desire to improve systems. 
49                        My early career focused on freshwater ecology, with field work in rivers and wetlands, and research on water quality in urban streams. 
50                        I spent several years managing a community-based water quality monitoring program and using the data to advocate for improved wastewater management. 
51                    </p>
52                    <p>
53                        No environmental problem exists in isolation, and I am in my zone when combining data and policy analysis to untangle complex issues. 
54                        I am especially interested in water, specifically how constructed stormwater, wastewater, and drinking water systems intersect with each other and with natural streams, rivers, and wetlands. 
55                        I bring an interdisciplinary mindset to every project.
56                    </p>
57                    <p>    
58                        A native of New York's Hudson Valley, I currently live in Arusha, Tanzania, with my husband and two kids. When I am not working, you can find me planning my family's next outdoor adventure, researching genealogy, or reading science fiction. 
59                    </p>
60                    <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferlepstein"><i class="fa-brands fa-linkedin fa-xl r-pad" style="color: #ffffff;"></i></a>
61                    <a href="https://www.instagram.com/jenniferleighepstein"><i class="fa-brands fa-instagram fa-xl r-pad" style="color: #ffffff;"></i></a>
62                    <!-- <a href="https://bit.ly/JenniferEpsteinCV"><i class="fa-regular fa-address-card fa-xl r-pad" style="color: #ffffff;"></i></a>-->
63                </div>
64            </div>
65        </div>
66    </div>
67
68    <div class="container">
69        <!--Current Work-->
70        <div class="row"> <!--Header row for work samples-->
71            <div class="col s12">
72                <h2>Here's What I'm Working On Now <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></h2>
73            </div>
74        </div>
75
76        <div class="row"> <!--Leachate heading-->
77            <div class="col s12">
78                <h3>The Leachate Loophole</h3>
79            </div>
80        </div>
81        
82        <div class="row"> <!--Leachate photo and description-->
83            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
84                <a href="https://leachateloophole.org/">
85                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/LeachateTimesUnion.jpg" alt="Screenshot of project web map">
86                </a>
87            </div>
88            <div class="col s12 l8">
89                <p>"The Leachate Loophole" is a project that I co-founded to examine the interconnections between solid waste landfills and drinking water. 
90                    In summer 2026 we released our second report and web map, documenting how and where approximately half a billion gallons of landfill 
91                    leachate are diluted and discharged into rivers and lakes in New York State every year.
92                </p>
93                <p><strong-link><a href="https://leachateloophole.org/web-map/"><b>Web map </b></strong-link><i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></p>
94                <p><strong-link><a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OYDooQ4nLVkcDgK-xAA4Fg6LP1EHRM9RaXJ6PPFmx4Y/edit?tab=t.0"><b>Report </b></strong-link><i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></p>
95                <p><strong-link><a href="https://leachateloophole.org/"><b>Project website (featuring StoryMap)</b></strong-link><i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></p>
96                
97            </div>
98            <div class="col s12">
99                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>QGIS, Postgres, PostGIS, ArcGIS StoryMaps, ArcGIS Experience Builder, policy analysis, writing</b></p>
100            </div>
101        </div>
102
103        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
104
105        <!--Past Work-->
106        <div class="row"> <!--Header row for work samples-->
106
107            <div class="col s12">
108                <h2>Here's A Look At Some Of My Past Work <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></h2>
109            </div>
110        </div>
111        <!--past projects-->
112        <div class="row"> <!--Capstone heading-->
113            <div class="col s12">
114                <h3>River Flow Model</h3>
115            </div>
116        </div>
117        
118        <div class="row"> <!--Capstone photo and description-->
119            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
120                <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aOMfxx2S5eFjFatQnF8cacKc8NCyLpfO/view?usp=drive_link">
121                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/Pangani.jpeg" alt="Map of total precipitation in the Pangani River Basin">
122                </a>
123            </div>
124            <div class="col s12 l8">
125                <p>As population growth, climate change, and land use change disrupt hydrological systems and long-standing water use patterns, 
126                    water stress threatens an increasing number of places. The river basin that I live in is one example, and I used my Master’s 
127                    Degree in GIS Capstone project as an opportunity to study it. My general goals for this final project were to focus on remote 
128                    sensing data, modeling, and open-source tools. I explored the potential for an empirical model using only remote sensing data 
129                    to estimate river flow. My model did reasonably well, showing that the concept has potential as a tool for water management.</p>
130                <p><strong-link><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aOMfxx2S5eFjFatQnF8cacKc8NCyLpfO/view?usp=drive_link"><b>Project poster </b></strong-link>
131                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></p>
132               </div>
133            <div class="col s12">
134                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Python raster processing libraries, Google Earth Engine, QGIS, Monte Carlo modeling</b></p>
135            </div>
136        </div>
137
138        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
139
140        <div class="row"> <!--Asylum Brook heading-->
141            <div class="col s12">
142                <h3>Asylum Brook Project</h3>
143            </div>
144        </div>
145        
146        <div class="row"> <!--Asylum Brook photo and description-->
147            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
148                <a href="https://bit.ly/asylumbrook">
149                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/AsylumBrookPlaque.jpeg" alt="Photo of a plaque commemorating a stream burial">
150                </a>
151            </div>
152            <div class="col s12 l8">
153                <p>Asylum Brook is a small stream in the city of Beacon, NY, that was buried in phases during the twentieth century. I researched
154                    its history and created a <strong-link><a href="https://bit.ly/asylumbrook">StoryMap</a></strong-link> to tell its story in the context of environmental values and stewardship.</p>
155                <p><strong-link><a href="https://highlandscurrent.org/2023/10/06/out-there-the-buried-streams-of-beacon/"><b>Newspaper article about the project </b></strong-link>
156                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></p>    
157                </div>
158            <div class="col s12">
159                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Georeferencing, data editing, ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS StoryMaps, inclusive communications</b></p>
160            </div>
161        </div>
162
163        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
164
165        <div class="row"> <!--Dam Removal Prioritization heading-->
166            <div class="col s12">
167                <h3>Dam Removal Prioritization Model</h3>
168            </div>
169        </div>
170        
171        <div class="row"> <!--Dam Removal Prioritization photo and description-->
172            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
173                <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wAw5zHrhjNhN3nhYLMzUsz8lYmfGS0r8/view?usp=sharing">
174                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/DamRemovalSuitability.png" alt="Map images showing dam removal model results">
175                </a>
176            </div>
177            <div class="col s12 l8">
178                <p>River dams cause a wide range of negative impacts to flowing waters, and dam removal is an increasingly popular ecological restoration method. 
179                    Due to the cost and complexity of removals, and the sheer number of dams present in the landscape, it is useful to prioritize dams for removal. 
180                    I created a spatial model to prioritize dams in the Hudson River Estuary watershed for removal based on potential to restore habitat access. 
181                    </p>
182                <p><strong-link><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wbGfBkkIm1v-zReLGUYYeQXdtWGLpvw
182a/view?usp=drive_link"><b>Project poster </b></strong-link>
183                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></p>
184            </div>
185            <div class="col s12">
186                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>ArcGIS Pro Trace Networks Toolbox, Python, model validation, model sensitivity analysis</b></p>
187            </div>
188        </div>
189
190        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
191
192        <div class="row"> <!--Hudson River Swimming Access heading-->
193            <div class="col s12">
194                <h3>Hudson River Swimming Access</h3>
195            </div>
196        </div>
197        
198        <div class="row"> <!--Hudson River Swimming Access photo and description-->
199            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
200                <a href="images/HudsonSwimAccess.jpg">
201                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/HudsonSwimAccessClip.jpg" alt="Map showing the locations of Hudson River swimming access areas now and with projected sea level rise">
202                </a>
203            </div>
204            <div class="col s12 l8">
205                <p>As low-lying shoreline areas are inundated by sea level rise, beaches may become inaccessible due to flooding at access points, even as increased 
206                    temperatures extend recreational seasons. I analyzed pedestrian and vehicle-based access to swimming areas under current and projected sea levels. 
207                    This information can help planners ensure equitable future access.</p>
208            </div>
209            <div class="col s12">
210                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Spatial data analysis, ArcGIS Pro</b></p>
211            </div>
212        </div>
213
214        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
215
216        <div class="row"> <!--Clean Water Act Breakdowns heading-->
217            <div class="col s12">
218                <h3>Clean Water Act Breakdowns</h3>
219            </div>
220        </div>
221        <div class="row"> <!--Clean Water Act Breakdowns image and description-->
222            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
223                <a href="images/CWABreakdowns.jpg">
224                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/CWABreakdowns.jpg" alt="Infographic showing the Clean Water Act Assessment Cycle and descriptions of breakdowns where they occurr">
225                </a>
226            </div>
227            <div class="col s12 l8">
228                <p>The Clean Water Act is a 50-year-old U.S. law that was created to ensure that all waters are 'fishable, swimmable, and drinkable.' This infographic 
229                    highlights the gaps between how the CWA was designed to work, and where it often breaks down. The CWA focuses on what state governments must do, but 
230                    it also calls for extensive public involvement. One of the overarching solutions to these breakdowns, I believe, is to open more doors, more widely, 
231                    to community involvement.</p>
232                <p><strong-link>
232<a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/12AkArPdTcmIDIZ-bhVei1PoWyQCIr2s2/view?usp=sharing"><b>Infographic </b>
233                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></strong-link></p>
234            </div>
235            <div class="col s12">
236                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Policy analysis, Clean Water Act, community science</b></p>
237            </div>
238        </div>
239
240        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
241
242        <div class="row"> <!--Tributary Water Quality Report heading-->
243            <div class="col s12">
244                <h3>Hudson River Tributary Water Quality Monitoring</h3>
245            </div>
246        </div>
247        <div class="row"> <!--Hudson River Tributary Water Quality Monitoring photo and description-->
248            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
249                <a href="https://cdn.sanity.io/files/waft8lae/production/1497522c5b526c6902bf4647ced3e36705211974.pdf">
250                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/TribReport.jpg" alt="Image of a hand wearing a nitrile glove and holding a water sample"> 
251                </a>
252            </div>
253            <div class="col s12 l8"> 
254                <p>For 9 years I managed Riverkeeper's volunteer water quality sampling program. We sampled streams for indicators of wastewater pollution. 
255                    After leaving Riverkeeper, I continued as a part-time consultant to analyze the 11-year monitoring dataset and write a report 
256                    synthesizing results in the context of peer-reviewed research, climate adaptation, regulatory policy, and funding needs.</p>
257                <p><strong-link><a href="https://cdn.sanity.io/files/waft8lae/production/1497522c5b526c6902bf4647ced3e36705211974.pdf"><b>Report </b>
258                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></strong-link></p>
259            </div>
260            <div class="col s12">
261                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Freshwater Ecology, Clean Water Act, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, statistics</b></p>
262            </div>
263        </div>
264
265        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
266
267        <div class="row"> <!--Wastewater Infrastructure Funding Needs heading-->
268            <div class="col s12">
269                <h3>Wastewater Infrastructure Investment Needs</h3>
270            </div>
271        </div>
272        <div class="row"> <!--Wastewater Infrastructure Funding Needs photo and description-->
273            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
274                <a href="https://jenniferlepstein.github.io/WastewaterNeeds">
275                    <img class="responsive-img" src="images/wwdb.jpg" alt="Choropleth map showing infrastructure project needs for eastern New York"> 
276                </a>
277            </div>
278            <div class="col s12 l8"> 
279                <p>Wastewater infrastructure is essential for preventing water pollution, but in the U.S., much of it is well past its intended lifespan. In 
280                    New York State's Hudson Valley, investment needs are staggeringly large when aggregated at the state or regional level. To help residents 
281                    connect local water quality problems to local solutions, I created a spatial database of project costs at legislative and watershed scales
282                    and a <a href="https://jenniferlepstein.github.io/WastewaterNeeds/">web map</a> to explore the results.</p>
283                <p><strong-link><a href="https://jenniferlepstein.github.io/WastewaterNeeds"><b>Web map </b>
284                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></strong-link></p>
285                <p><strong-link><a href="https://www.riverkeeper.org/blogs/water-quality-blogs/more-than-2-billion-needed-to-fix-hudson-river-watershed-sewers"><b>Blog post </b>
286                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></strong-link></p>
287            </div>
288            <div class="col s12">
289                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>ArcGIS Pro, PostgreSQL, postGIS, Clean Water State Revolving Fund, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, responsive design</b></p>
290            </div>
291        </div>
292
293        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
294        
295        <div class="row"> <!--Mohawk River Dam Relicensing heading-->
296            <div class="col s12">
297                <h3>Hydroelectric Dam Relicensing</h3>
298            </div>
299        </div>
300        <div class="row"> <!--Mohawk River Dam Relicensing image and description-->
301            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
302                <img class="responsive-img" src="images/MohawkLock10_20190812.jpg" alt="Photo of Mohawk River Lock and Dam 10">
303            </div>
304            <div class="col s12 l8">
305                <p>Hydroelectric power is renewable and therefore often assumed to be 'green,' but dams fundamentally alter the character of free-flowing rivers. These  
306                    modifications are one of the reasons that freshwater biodiversity is collapsing. The once-in-a-generation federal license renewals for two Mohawk River 
307                    dams were opportunities to improve wildlife and water quality protections.
307<br></p>
308                <p><strong-link><a href="https://www.riverkeeper.org/blogs/ecology/mohawk-dams-threaten-drinking-water-and-habitat"><b>Blog post  </b>
309                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></strong-link></p>
310            </div>
311            <div class="col s12">
312                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Freshwater ecology, data and policy analysis, writing</b></p>
313            </div>
314        </div>
315
316        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
317
318        <div class="row"> <!--Sparkill Creek Watershed Assessment heading-->    
319            <div class="col s12">
320                <h3>Sparkill Creek Watershed Assessment</h3>
321            </div>
322        </div>
323        <div class="row"> <!--Sparkill Creek Watershed Assessment image and description-->    
324            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
325                <img class="responsive-img" src="images/Tappan Library_20200910.jpg" alt="Photo looking upstram at Sparkill Creek in Tappan">
326            </div>
327            <div class="col s12 l8"> 
328                <p>I worked with a volunteer watershed alliance to complete a comprehensive water quality assessment designed to provide the type of data that New York State 
329                    grant and technical assistance programs require. The ultimate goal of the project was to help municipalities access water quality improvement project 
330                    funding. I also developed an action agenda to suggest future work guided by the data.</p>
331                <p><strong-link><a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vF17Y6JVk_f7F29xbj_tgpzQi9juo2nG/view?usp=sharing"><b>Project report </b>
332                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></strong-link></p>
333            </div>
334            <div class="col s12">
335                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Freshwater ecology, Clean Water Act, study design, data management and analysis</b></p>
336            </div>
337        </div>
338
339        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
340
341<!-- Peace Corps service 
342        <div class="row">
343            <div class="col s12">
344                <h3>Peace Corps Volunteer</h3>
345            </div>
346        </div>
347        <div class="row">
348            <div class="col s12 l4 valign-wrapper">
349                <img class="responsive-img" src="images/PicoDAnotonia_20120214.jpg" alt="Photo of Pico D'Antonio, in Sao Lourenco dos Orgaos, Cape Verde, at sunrise with clouds surrounding the peak">
350            </div>
351            <div class="col s12 l8"> 
352                <p>Learning about other cultures and viewpoints has always been important to me. I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cape Verde and Benin, working with 
353                    local schools and women's business cooperatives. My personal blog is a record of my experiences and thoughts.</p>
354                <p><a href="https://jenandadamincapeverde.wordpress.com/author/jenniferlepstein/"><b>Blog post archive </b>
355                    <i class="fa-solid fa-arrow-right"></i></a></p>
356            </div>
357            <div class="col s12">
358                <p><strong>Knowledge and Tools Used</strong>: <b>Communication, resilience, ecology, project planning</b></p>
359            </div>
360        </div>
361
362        <div><hr class="dotted"></div>
363--> 
364
365    </div> <!--End of Materalize container for work samples-->
366
367</body> 
368
369<footer><p id="footer">&copy; Jennifer Epstein 2024</p></footer>
370
371</html> 

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