Student Ambassadors

The Bill Lane Center student ambassadors are a collective of Center-affiliated undergraduates that assist in refining the Center’s undergraduate programming initiatives. Undergraduates interested in participating in any of the Bill Lane Center’s offerings should connect with a student ambassador.

Camden Burk, class of 2025, is studying earth systems in the energy, science and technology track and a minor in public policy. His primary academic focus is within the energy transition, and the deployment of clean energy technologies to help combat climate change. He is especially interested in the intersection of clean energy development with other land use considerations such as sustainable agriculture, or conservation goals. Camden has conducted research with the Bill Lane Center on the growth of electric vehicles in Bay Area municipalities, and is currently working on a project studying university climate action plans. Outside of academics, he can most often be found playing trumpet, playing unnecessarily complex board games, or dueling with lightsabers in the Main Quad. 

Fields of interest
Research Assistantship, Sophomore College, Shultz Energy Fellowship: California Energy Commision (CEC)

Kate Esbenshade

Kate Esbenshade, class of 2025,  is from Massachusetts majoring in earth systems with a focus on human environmental systems. She has a strong interest in environmental policy, particularly in energy (after going on the Bill Lane Center’s Sophomore College program on Energy Policy and Technology!). She has also done research in the intersection of behavioral science and policy and on carbon dioxide removal. Outside of school, you can find Kate spending time in the outdoors, playing ultimate frisbee, and tap dancing!

Fields of interest
Research Assistantship, Sophomore College

Solomon Kim, class of 2024, is from Glendale, CA interested in applying engineering and policy solutions to the energy space. Solomon is interested in understanding how to streamline government programs aimed at subsidizing energy bills for low-income Americans. He is also interested in expanding energy efficiency programs for Americans. Solomon likes to play sports, especially basketball and is a huge Los Angeles Lakers fan.

Fields of interest
Research Assistantship

Xavier, class of 2024, is a coterm student from Central Washington studying for a BA in economics and MA in journalism. He's interested in the factors that make the West socially, geographically, economically, and politically distinct. His research has focused on carbon tax efficiency and the cost that U.S. prisoners face to make phone calls. As a journalist, he writes about the West's unique immigration, labor, and environmental characteristics. Xavier has served as a course assistant for the Lane Center's Sophomore College program and a teaching assistant for the American West course. Reach out if you're interested in rural life in the West, storytelling, or his cat, Sally. 

Fields of interest
Sophomore College assistant, American West course teaching assistant, Environmental Journalism internship

Luke McFaul, class of 2025, is from California and studying earth systems with a focus on human environmental systems. Luke is interested in energy policy. In particular, he is passionate about policies that decarbonize the grid at a low cost to consumers. Currently, Luke is working on a project to degasify and decarbonize Stanford’s laundry systems and heating. He also helps the class “Understand Energy” develop a web portal. Outside of class, you can find him playing basketball, listening to music, or playing board games.

Fields of interest
Sophomore College

Isaac Nehring, class of 2026, is from Helena, Montana, majoring in American Studies with a concentration in "Rural Life and Natural Resources in the American West." Having grown up in the American West, Isaac is particularly interested in the people and cultures of the region and how they interact with natural resources and the landscape, especially in an agricultural context. Isaac has been involved with the Lane Center primarily through Sophomore College and the American West course. He also co-leads “Rural Club” on campus, works at the campus farm, and loves to be outdoors or playing twangy tunes on the guitar in his free time.

Fields of interest
Sophomore College, The American West Course

Adria Nyarko

Adria Nyarko, class of 2024, (she/her) is from Southeast Michigan and is majoring in civil engineering with a focus in environmental quality engineering.  Her minor is African and African American Studies. Professionally, Adria is interested in water policy and equity, wastewater infrastructure and hydrology, and the intersection of environmental issues, race, and class. While working for the Bill Lane Center, she worked on water rights and governance in counties on the Central Coast. Outside of class, Adria is an executive board member of the Black Gender Marginalized Collective. You can also find her watching movies, listening to music, and crocheting in her free time.

Fields of interest
Research Assistantship

Vale Rasmussen, class of 2026, is from Los Angeles, California majoring in aeronautical and astronautical engineering and minoring in history. His primary interests include commercial aircraft design, low-carbon-emission transportation, and the impact of new technologies on society and the environment. Last summer, he loved participating in the Bill Lane Center’s Sophomore College program, “River and Region: The Columbia River and the Shaping of the Pacific Northwest,” where he learned countless perspectives on energy production in the Pacific Northwest, the significance of Columbia River salmon, and the history of the region. In his future career, Vale will focus on developing solutions to help decarbonize aviation. Vale is also a private pilot and a lifelong aviation enthusiast. He enjoys sharing his passion with others as a course development assistant (CDA+), a member of the Stanford Flight Club, and a volunteer at the LAX Flight Path Museum & Learning Center. In his spare time, he also enjoys baking, skiing, traveling, playing violin, and playing video games.

Fields of interest
Sophomore College

Caroline Reinhart, class of 2024, is majoring in science, technology, and society with a concentration in nature and environment with a minor in data science. She is also a coterminal student in the School of Sustainability. Her passions include water quality issues, environmental justice, and animals! With the Bill Lane Center, she has written for "& the West" and published a piece on water reuse in California. Caroline also works as a research assistant focusing on water politics of the Central Coast and military pollution of former Fort Ord in Monterey County. Additionally, she loves fostering animals, adventuring around the Bay Area, and was a member of Stanford's field hockey team. 

Fields of interest
Environmental Journalism Internship, Research Assistantship

Sze En Tan

Sze En Tan, class of 2024, is studying earth systems, with a focus on human environmental systems, and economics. She is also a coterm student in management science and engineering. Sze En was born and raised in Singapore but completed her last two years of high school in a suburb of Chicago. Sze En has a strong interest in the global energy transition and really enjoys the multidisciplinary nature of climate policy. This past summer, she conducted research with the Bill Lane Center on water governance in the Central Coast. Outside of class, you can find her laying on Meyer Green and drinking an iced vanilla latte!

Fields of interest
Research Assistantship

Serena Turner, class of 2025, is studying symbolic systems on the neuroscience track and minoring in earth systems, sustainability. She is interested in understanding human decision making in order to create further advancements in the environmental realm. In an effort to create cultural change, she intends to pursue a career in environmental communication. Through the Bill Lane Center, she interned at Deschutes Land Trust in the summer of 2023, where she interacted with the local community through a visioning project and led various events. In her free time, Serena enjoys hiking, adventuring, and meeting new people. 

Fields of interest
Summer Internship: Deschutes Land Trust

Jas Wheeler, class of 2025, is majoring in American Studies, with a focus in the relationship between historical politics and popular culture. Her minor is in film and media studies. Professionally, Jas has enjoyed applying her interest in and knowledge about American history and culture as a museum intern at Yellowstone National Park, and as a research intern at the King Papers Project. Outside of school, Jas adores exploring national parks, writing historical fiction screenplays, and daydreaming about meeting Nat Love (look him up if you don't know him!). Jas hopes to apply her interest in history to a future career in academia, archival studies, or museum studies. 

Fields of interest
Summer Internship: Yellowstone National Park