Erica Elliott
eelliot1@uoregon.edu

Focal Department: English

I might be new to the Environmental Studies program, but I've been at the University of Oregon for a while now. After majoring in English and Biology (with a concentration in Environmental Studies) at Kenyon College in Ohio, I began work towards a doctoral degree in English here at UO. My work in the English program has been interesting, but not as inspiring as working on the borders between disciplines. I look forward to continuing my work on literary and cultural representations of the environment, as well as doing work outside of the English department in the areas of Biology and Geography. I'm interested in fostering lines of communication between the sciences and humanities and thinking about what it means to engage in "interdisciplinary" and "multidisciplinary" studies. I'm also looking forward to putting my own interests in dialogue; I hope to work in areas as (seemingly) disparate as landscape ecology, environmental justice, the rhetoric of science, race and space, resoure management, and ecocriticism. Most of all, I'm excited by the prospect of learning from and with other scholars that are thinking about how to integrate various approaches in the service of environmental problem solving.

Focal Department: Sociology

I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley in the spring of 2009. Through both my education at UC Berkeley and my childhood experiences on the family ranch just outside of Sacramento, California I learned firsthand not only about the marvelous complexity of even the tiniest of ecosystems, but also of the reciprocal relationships between social institutions and the urban, rural, agricultural and wilderness ecosystems we inhabit. I am deeply interested in understanding how people evaluate the environmental consequences of their actions and what can be done to motivate large groups of people to create and maintain healthy ecosystems. I am equally passionate about being involved in educating the next generation of environmental scientists who face both tremendous challenges and unique opportunities to help rectify the environmental issues that plague human societies around the world.

Shangrila Joshi Wynn
sjoshi@uoregon.edu

Focal Department: Geography

Shangrila comes to the ESSP program with a Master of Arts degree in International Affairs from Ohio University, Athens, OH, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Sciences from St.Xavier's Campus, Kathmandu University, Nepal. She has also been a reporter for The Himalayan Times in Nepal, writing with a 'science, technology and environment' beat.
Her research interests lie at the intersection of Environment and Development Studies, Environmental Justice and Political Ecology. For her dissertation project, Shangrila seeks to explore the tensions embedded in environment-development debates in the global South, and to advance discussions of environmental justice in a North-South or international context, through the analysis of contemporary climate change negotiations between and within the global North and South.

Classes taught:
GEOG 143: Global Environmental Change, Summer 2007, Summer 2008

Memberships: Association of American Geographers

Ezra Markowitz
emarkowi@uoregon.edu

Focal Department: Psychology

Research Interests: As a Conservation Psychologist, there are many topics I am interested in exploring through the application of an interdisciplinary approach to the study of individual actors. Currently, my research thoughts have turned to two driving questions. First, how do individuals think about others' environmentally-relevant actions? What sorts of motivations and intentions do we ascribe to the people we observe throughout our daily lives with respect to those others' environmental behaviors? Second, what role does empathic connection to nature play in driving various 'proenvironmental behaviors' (PEBs)? If an individual's sense of feeling connected to the natural world does predict participation in various PEBs, how can we increase such feelings in an attempt to improve our physical, psychological, and emotional relationships to nature?

I am a recent transplant to Oregon, having lived the past 22 years primarily in New York. I love being outdoors, running, and playing my saxophone when I can find time. I currently live in Corvallis with my partner, Melissa.

Focal Department: Economics

Research interests: market-based mechanisms and trading systems for environmental compliance, conservation and restoration; the commons; definitions and valuation of natural capital ecosystem services.

Josh is a co-founder and principal of Good Company, a sustainability research and consulting firm. For his professional bio, visit Good Company on the web (www.goodcompany.com ). Before joining ESSP, Josh taught courses on sustainable development and sustainable business in the Department of Planning, Public Policy and Management.