People

Email: casilva@purdue.edu

Project description: Becca’s current project examines the links between environmental restoration and community revitalization in areas along the Great Lakes where significant remediation and restoration projects have been employed to repair highly degraded shorelines. This project seeks to identify the catalysts of revitalization as well as the equity implications of community change.

Education: 

• Ph.D. in Natural Resource Social Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2021)
• M.S. in Sustainable Agriculture, Iowa State University, Ames, IA (2017)
• B.A. in Education, Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI (2011)
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Email: nixon17@purdue.edu

Website: https://beccanixon.weebly.com/

Project description: Rebekah’s research supports the development of a community managed forest in North Kona and explores institutional best practices in collaboratively managed terrestrial systems. Specifically, Rebekah will perform a political ecology analysis of stewardship networks in North Kona and South Kohala, Hawai‘i Island through Stewardship Mapping and Assessment (STEW-MAP).

Education: 

• M.A. in Social Science, Environment and Community, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA (2013)
• B.A. in Anthropology, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA (2009)
• Teaching License, Chaminade University, Honolulu, HI (2014)
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Email: rebekah@akakaforests.org or oharar@purdue.edu

Project Description: Brooke’s research uses a random control trial experimental design to explore how individuals take up different types of water conservation contracts in lowland Bolivia and the different socioeconomic and social equity factors that may influence those decisions.

Education:

• M.S. in Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (2018)
• B.S. in Wildlife Biology, Missouri State University, Springfield, MO
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Email: bmcwhert@purdue.edu

Project description: Forthcoming.

Education: 

• M.S. in Ecological Science and Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
• B.S. in English Literature, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
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Email: nlshoaf@purdue.edu

Project description: Taylor’s research investigates people’s cognitions, emotions, and satisfaction towards white-tailed deer populations and their management across Indiana. She uses mixed-methods social science including interviews, focus groups, surveys, and geospatial analysis. Her research is part of Purdue’s Integrated Deer Management Project, a collaboration with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Education:

• M.S. in Wildlife Biology & Conservation, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK
• B.A. in Environmental Studies, Reed College, Portland, OR
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Email: tstinchc@purdue.edu

Project description: Mary’s project determines the barriers to and opportunities for conservation-oriented adaptations and pro-environmental behaviors for coastal communities in Rhode Island. This research is in collaboration with the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and it will be used to highlight areas within coastal community resilience education and outreach programs that can be improved to facilitate higher levels of participation.

Education: 

• M.S. in Biology at Georgia Southern University (2015)
• B.S. in Wildlife at Purdue University (2013)
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Email: mstrick@purdue.edu

Research interests and career goals: Emilie assists with several research projects in the lab, including one focused on coupled human-natural systems, and another on improved seed technology. Emilie is interested in researching how scientific advances impact societal developments and human behaviors. Within the marine biology field, she is also interested in coral reef conservation, restoration, and management. Upon graduation, Emilie hopes to pursue a career in environmental law.

Project description: Zelin’s research focuses on the environmental justice aspect of large-scale water transfer projects in China, with a focus on the mid-route project for the South-to-North Water Transfer Project in southern Shaanxi.

Education:

• M.A. in aesthetics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China; Advisor: Pengjie Han (2015)
• B.A. in Philosophy, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, China (2013)
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Email: wang3732@purdue.edu or zelin.wang@foxmail.com

Project Description: The Nexus Institute project investigates how communities across the rural-to-urban gradient in the Arequipa Region perceive water availability and quality in the context of climate change to identify potential strategies for facilitating the co-existence of agriculture, mining, and regional development in an equitable way.

Education:

• PhD in Planning, Governance, and Globalization, Virginia Tech, VA (2017)
• M.A. in Appropriate Technology, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC (2009)
• B.A. in English, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC (2004)
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Website: http://www.annaerwin.com/

Project description: Meagan’s research determined the environmental  and social equity impacts of conditionality in a Payment for Ecosystem Services program in Bolivia.

Education: 

• M.A. in International Affairs, American University, Washington, D.C. (2017)
• M.A. in Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, UN Mandated University for Peace, Costa Rica (2017)
• B.A. in Botany, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Hawaii (2012)
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Email: mrathjen@purdue.edu

Project description: Kimberly’s research examined the psychological distance of invasive plants with a focus on family forest owners in the Central Hardwood Region of the U.S.

Education: B.S. in Wildlife, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2017)

Project description: Jake’s research modeled the social, economic, and environmental impacts of a new water rights agreement in the Eastern Snake River Plain in Idaho. Jake constructed an agent-based model to identify resilience of water management institutions in the face of water use limits and climate change.

Education: 

• B.S. in Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2017)
• M.S. Natural Resource Social Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2019)
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Email: jasonkhawes@gmail.com

Project description: Landon’s research investigated the impact of community-level innovation processes on project outputs and outcomes, including transformative and adaptive capacity, in Malawi specifically and Sub-Saharan Africa broadly.

Education: 

• M.S. in Interdisciplinary Ecological Science and Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2012)
• B.S. in Landscape Architecture, Minor Horticulture, Certificate Entrepreneurship, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2011)
• PhD in Civil Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN (2019)
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Other experience: 

• University Innovation Fellows Design Thinking Program, Standford d.school, Stanford University, Stanford, CA (2014)
• Executive Education Certificate Program: Sustainable Cities Master Planning, Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cambridge, MA (2012)
• Landon was named one of thirteen Kauffman Foundation Global Scholars in 2013, awarded the National Science Foundation Fellowship in 2011, and is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper.
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/landonyoung/

Project description: Dr. Barak studied biodiversity and restoration in the tallgrass prairie. Her post-doctoral research project focused on seed mix design for restoration from a social and ecological perspective.

Education: 

• Ph.D. in Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL (2017)
• M.S. in Plant Biology and Conservation, Northwestern University/Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago, IL (2012)
• A.B. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ (2004)
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Email: beckybarak@u.northwestern.edu

Websites: https://www.beckybarak.com/ or https://conbio.org/mini-sites/smith-fellows/meet-the-fellows/2017-fellows/rebecca-barak

Project description: Jenn’s research assessed factors shaping resident’s adoption of water quality improvement practices across different types of landownership in northwestern Indiana.

Education: 

• B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Environmental Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI (2014)
• M.S. in Natural Resource Social Science (2018)
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Email: jdomenec@purdue.edu or jenndomenech@gmail.com

Research interests and career goals: My interests as a student are to learn about the main factors that affect sustainability in small communities that grow around artisanal mining and to know how to approach small communities to learn about the social reality that is lived there, in order to improve the quality of life of the people who are part of them in the future. In the future I would like to continue my studies focusing on sustainable development and social work with communities.

Research interests and career goals: Angela is interested in studying human impacts on the natural environment and the implications for climate change. Angela assists with several research projects in the Human Dimensions lab to learn more about data collection methods along with thesocial and collaborative aspects of the research process. Upon graduation, Angela will further her education by attending a graduate program in Environmental Policy.

Research interests and career goals: Mya is interested in ecological restoration and aims to use her time as a research assistant in the Human Dimensions lab to gain a more comprehensive knowledge about how and why groups and individuals make environmental decisions, and the impacts of those decisions on the environment. She is also interested in how culture influences environmental choices. Upon graduation, Mya hopes to find a position that implements and analyzes environmental sustainability, natural resource, management, and/or mitigation, ideally one that combines time in the office with time spent in the field.