UC TSR&TP Trainee
Amy D. Kyle
Amy D. Kyle
Doctoral Scholar
University of California, Berkeley
As an undergraduate, Amy D. Kyle studied environmental sciences in an interdisciplinary program at Harvard University. Her emphasis was on oceanography, and she studied biology, geology, and ecology. After receiving her degree in 1977, she moved to Juneau and went to work for the state of Alaska in an environmental assessment program focusing on near-shore resources.
After several months, Kyle transferred into the Office of the Governor, where her duties included work on natural resource policy issues, including outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing and wetlands management. Her work which took her to rural communities throughout the state, focused on balancing the needs of subsistence communities, the need for rural development, and the demands of active development industries, including oil and gas, in overall state policy. A few years later, Amy became the Executive Director for the Coastal Management Program.
In 1985, Amy Kyle was appointed as Deputy Commissioner for the Department of Environmental Conservation in Alaska. The agency had wide responsibilities in environmental protection and public health, with duties analogous to those of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, along with responsibilities for tasks that would be handled by county health departments in more populous states. Kyle says, "In the Deputy Commissioner role you have to be responsive to everyone. You're involved in the political process, interacting often with both legislators and lobbyists for all kinds of industries and groups. One great thing about a small population state is that everyone feels free to call you about issues they face. I had a lot of interaction with people from throughout the state. It was an excellent education in the practical reality of environmental policy." She remained in that position for five years, under two different governors, and feels that the department accomplished most of an ambitious agenda to improve the statutes for environmental protection and improve the State's statutes for environmental protection and to obtain increased funding to carry out its functions.
Amy Kyle came to Berkeley in 1990 to pursue graduate studies in the health sciences. "All the issues of risk assessment had become pivotal to environmental policy. My previous training had focused on the environment. I wanted to study health sciences. I chose a masters program in environmental health sciences, which is interdisciplinary in epidemiology, biostatistics, risk assessment, toxicology, exposure assessment and a few other areas," she said.
After receiving her MPH, Kyle decided to continue in the doctoral program to explore research in environmental policy. She explains, "I think that more policy research is needed in environmental health. The policy debate is being dominated by economists. I think that public health schools also have contributions to make. It is very important to know whether the environmental programs and initiatives we have actually match the problems." Thus, she became a UC TSR&TP trainee, advised by Dr.Patricia Buffler (see accompanying article).
Amy Kyle has tailored her doctoral program to include both her research and her participation in environmental policy processes. She conducted research into pesticide policy over two years and has published work in that area, some of this in conjuction with the environmental health policy program at Berkeley. Her dissertation research compares methods of assessing health effects of hazardous waste sites used by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. She is interested in determining whether use of community-based information influences the results of the assessments.
Kyle's participation in the environmental policy process been done in conjunction with her UC TSR&TP Advisor, Dr. Patricia Buffler. Kyle has worked with Dr. Buffler on several projects and participated as senior staff for the National Commission on Superfund. Kyle was appointed as principal staff on a subcommittee for health issues, where she prepared information about risk and health assessment in the Superfund process. She presented those findings at the American Public Health Association and is preparing a manuscript that outlines her findings. She also worked with Dr. Buffler on a panel appointed by the National Research Council to consider alternatives for groundwater cleanup and the Cal/EPA Comparative Risk Project.
Currently, Amy Kyle continues to assist Dr. Buffler in the environmental policy arena, as well as working on her dissertation research. She anticipates completing her doctorate early in 1996, and is keeping her options open. She has considered teaching in combination with consulting. Kyle concludes, "I want to be able to continue to do research while also working on important issues in environmental policy. I think that policy research can make a real contribution to improving the effectiveness of the environmental regulatory process."
| <-April/May 1995 |