Stephen Oliveira has lived in many U.S. states:  Hawaii, Nevada, Alaska, Washington and New York.  His formative years were spent in Alaska, where he attended high school and started college, then worked for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.  He later attended college in Las Vegas where, while pursuing a degree in Environmental Science, he worked as a paid intern at the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA), providing consultation services for participants in SNWA’s Xeriscape Program (Xeriscaping refers to landscaping and gardening in ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental irrigation).  He also worked in the environmental science lab at the University of Nevada/Las Vegas conducting research on invasive fish species, among other projects.

When Oliveira relocated to New York City in 2005, he applied to CUNY Baccalaureate to complete his degree.  Here he supplemented his prior learning in Environmental Science and Ecology with courses in Map Science and Global Information Systems (GIS), Energy Conservation, Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Health Programs, and Urban Environmental Evaluation Techniques, among others.  This was done under the mentorship of Prof. W.D. Solecki, Geography, Hunter College.  He also completed an internship with the New York City Department of City Planning, which honed his skills in GIS mapping techniques.

After graduation, Oliveira went to work as the Environmental Educator at Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, an organization that seeks to transform both the people and the physical infrastructure of blighted South Bronx neighborhoods and change the systems that negatively impact them.  Here he applies his skills and experience in leadership and the interdisciplinary fields of environmental conservation, education, justice, research, and management.  His specialties and areas of interest continue to be ecology, environmental science, natural resource, policy, youth education, wildlife and natural resources, and sustainable energy (specifically solar energy), and he is a member of many environmental organizations, including Natural Resources Conservation Service, GreenWorldGroup, and Environmental Consulting Professionals.

Oliveira is the recipient of a 2008 EPA Environmental Quality Award (for his work with Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice), and was featured in The New York Times in 2007 and on a CBS Television Special, “Sacred Earth, Sacred People” in 2006.