Student Profiles
Adrian Benedetti
Ph.D. Candidate in RPTM and HDNRE
Jordan Blair
Ph.D. Candidate. Recreation, Park and Tourism Management and HDNRE
Matthew Branch
Ph.D. Candidate. Geography and HDNRE
Research Interests
Cultural ecology, political ecology, South Asia, ethnography, human dimensions of natural resources, direct action activism
About Matt
Matt is a third-year Ph.D. candidate studying under James McCarthy who recently began Fulbright-Hays sponsored fieldwork in Bhutan. He will bethere for nine months, researching Bhutan's concept of Gross National Happiness (GNH) and how it is connected to the country's environment governance. His research involves interviewing government officials, NGO employees, and others working at the intersection of policy and the environment to understand their perceptions of how Bhutan's natural resources are tied to GNH. Additionally, Matt is working with high school environmental clubs throughout the country to collect information on how traditional institutions of environmental governance are interacting with new GNH policies.
Sarah Eissler
Ph.D. Candidate. Rural Sociology and HDNRE
Janet Ellsworth
Ph.D. Forest Resources and HDNRE
Andrea Ferich
M.S. Candidate in Forest Resources and HDNRE
Research Interests
- Watershed Management,
- Ecological Restoration,
- Remote Sensing,
- Community-based Landscape Management,
- Multifunctional Riparian Buffers,
- Agroforestry, Water Quality, Wildlife, Landowner Values and Behaviors
Lacey Goldberg
Ph.D. Candidate, Architecture
Research Interest
Energy resources, both non-renewable and renewable and their visual impacts upon the land.
Jennifer Haney
Ph.D. Candidate. Anthropology and HDNRE
Research Interests
Archaeology, Paleoethnobotany, maintenance of anthropogenic environments associated with subsistence economies, plant domestication, resource choices, and issues of sustainability. Additional research interests include textile and pottery technology.
About Jen
Jen's dissertation work focuses on the use, (potential) management, and sustainability of fuelwood supplies along the South Florida coast. Jen is currently analyzing wood charcoal from the Pineland Site Complex (AD 200-1500) located on Pine Island in Charlotte Harbor near Fort Myers. This site is open to the public. Her research will document changes in fuelwood use through time, highlighting any impacts and changes to the local environment and availability of local wood resources. This research will contribute to larger topical concerns of environmental change and their effects on coastal habitats (i.e., mangrove forests) by establishing a 'deep history' baseline. Worldwide, mangrove forests are disappearing at an alarming rate and avenues to sustainable resource management and conservation are urgently needed.
Daniel Kunches
Ph.D. Candidate. Geography and HDNRE
Research Interests
Political Ecology, Land Use, The Western United States, Parks
About Daniel
Daniel's research focuses on the Merced River Plan and the political ecology of conservation.
Rui Li
M.S. Candidate in RPTM and HDNRE
Tara Mazurczyk
Ph.D. Candidate in Geography and HDNRE
Chloe McGuire
Ph.D. Candidate in Anthropology and HDNRE
Joel (Tom) Mueller
Ph.D. Candidate. Recreation, Park and Tourism Management and HDNRE
Research Interests
The impact of natural resource use on society, Rural development, Parks and Recreation, Politics of natural resources, Governance and management of public lands, Minority representation in natural resource use
Lauren Mullenbach
Ph.D. Candidate. Recreation, Park and Tourism Management and HDNRE
Research Interests
Community development centered around city parks and other recreation resources, focusing on human health and well-being and social equity.
Maxwell Olsen
Ph.D. Candidate, Recreation, Park and Tourism Management and HDNRE
Research Interests
Outdoor Recreation Behavior, Human Dimensions of Natural Resource and the Environment.
Laura Stelson
Ph.D. Candidate. Anthropology and HDNRE