Success Stories
Tchelet Segev: 2018 PMF
Tchelet never thought her Presidential Management Fellowship would take her up to Alaska after starting her career as a PMF in the Los Angeles area on the U.S. Forest Service's Angeles National Forest. Yet after doing a PMF rotation with the Chugach National Forest in Anchorage, she converted there as a Project Engineer, excited to continue hiking among glaciers, see moose and bears (from a safe distance), and work to conserve some of the nation's most pristine environment while increasing the public's ability to enjoy the beautiful outdoors.
Although Tchelet's background is in environmental engineering, she started and continues to work in the collaboration space. Tchelet began her PMF managing the multi-million-dollar fire restoration efforts associated with the Powerhouse Fire in Los Angeles' backyard, collaborating with numerous nonprofits, universities, contractors, and other agencies on projects ranging from reforestation to watershed repair to campground reconstruction. Tchelet then went on rotations during her PMF at both the regional and national level of the U.S. Forest Service as a partnership coordinator, conducting analyses on partnership trends to inform decision-making and building a national strategy to increase partnerships with the private sector.
Now in Alaska, Tchelet continues to lead large-scale partnership projects in the construction and environmental restoration space, including restoring a 2.2-mile, 74-acre segment of Resurrection Creek and constructing the eight-mile Portage Curve Multimodal Connector, which includes four new trailheads that will connect the 120-mile Southern Trek section of the Iditarod National Historic Trail. Additionally, Tchelet is responsible for the U.S. Forest Service's interagency coordination on the $485 million Sterling Highway Mileposts 45-60 project, which is constructing 10 miles of new highway primarily through the Chugach National Forest. The project will also include the first wildlife overpass in the State, additional wildlife crossing structures, and a new trailhead and trail connectors. She also collaborates with the Alaska Railroad on train depot construction to increase access to the only Forest in the nation that you can get to via whistlestops.
Since completing her PMF, Tchelet has also served on details as a Deputy District Ranger on the Coronado National Forest and in support of the U.S. Agency for International Development's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance. Through those assignments, Tchelet had the opportunity to supervise and further hone her leadership and decision-making skills, in addition to working in the disaster response space.
The work Tchelet is most proud of, though, is paying it forward through mentoring interns, new PMFs, and staff, improving the work environment as part of the Alaska Employee Advisory Group, and serving on numerous PMF committees at the PMF program, agency, and interagency level.