No two days are ever alike for Devan Willemsen, one of the young staffers at the Ohio Environmental Council, which argues for the Ohio outdoors. She's parlayed her diverse interests and a master's degree in city and regional planning into one of the coolest jobs in town.

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I was born in Akron and grew up in Stow because both my grandparents lived there. I lived in Portage County from ages three to 12, and then we moved back to Stow. My family has lived in Stow since 1918. My grandmother lived in the house she was born in.

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The environment was kind of a lifelong passion. My mom would pick me up after school, and we'd just go to the park. My grandmother made sure that my kindergarten bookbag was from the National Audubon Society. I've also always been interested in history. I've always been interested in maps, atlases, how things got their name.

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Actually, I have a lot of interests. In city and regional planning, you have to take courses in engineering and sociology and history and architecture and conflict resolution. It's kind of the ADD of grad degrees.

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Three things I can't live without are Wikipedia, Google Maps and cats.

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The Ohio Environmental Council is a statewide nonprofit that's been around since 1969. That was the year the Cuyahoga River caught on fire. We have program areas in air, land, water and legal. We employ the only full-time environmental lobbyist on Capitol Square.

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Here at the OEC, I work on air and transportation issues first. Then I do a little bit on land use and also climate change. I have 36 folders on my desk - and that's always growing. Usually Friday at 5 p.m. comes, and I'm like, "Where did my week go?"

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I think people are becoming more aware of environmental issues. I think our generation is more tapped into it, especially because it's always been there. Globalization puts issues in front of us that we didn't really have to confront in the past.

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The best advice I've ever received is look outside the box. It's kind of cheesy, but it definitely gets you thinking about things rather than the way they've always been.

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In spare time, I like to take yoga. I was a dance minor at OSU, so I try to see performing arts. I love to read.

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My perfect Saturday night would be going out to dinner with friends at Pad Thai in Hudson. We'd have a really long dinner, then take a night hike through Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

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My perfect Sunday morning would be going to a bookstore. I'm good at browsing. There has to be a deal for me to buy it.

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Something people might not know about me is that I was selected to try out for "Jeopardy!" twice.

Know someone doing cool things around Columbus? E-mail John Ross at jross@columbusalive.com.