Hello!

Background

I am a concerned citizen who teaches and conducts research at Northern Arizona University. I am a critical social scientist interested primarily in the social dimensions of climate change. My academic work has focused, broadly, on why, despite increasing interest and concern, our society becomes more unsustainable all the time. I am particularly interested on how ideology affects perceptions around environmental and social problems. My recent work has focused on social ecological transformation and social change.

I started out as an undergraduate interested in natural science, hoping that accumulating sufficient evidence would convince society to make better decisions. Nearing graduation my interests changed and since then have focused on social phenomena, especially how we think about problems and the solutions we put forward to address them. Based on these interests, I created the Critical Sustainability Studies Minor (see teaching page for an overview). See my research page for publications and current research projects.

Education

BS University of Idaho, Environmental Science, Botany Minor

MS Forest Resources, University of Washington

MPA Public Administration, University of Washington

PhD Environmental Studies, University of California Santa Cruz

Academic Positions

2010-2013 Post-Doc, Michigan State University, Kellogg Biological Station

2013-2015 Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies, Western Michigan University

2015-2020 Assistant Professor, Geography, Northern Arizona University

2020- present Associate Professor, Geography, Northern Arizona University