Faculty Profiles
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James Pittman, M.Sc., M.A. - Director of Sustainability
Academic Statement (Return to top)
James Pittman is the Director of Sustainability at Prescott College, an alum, and also teaches in the BA, MA and PhD programs at with a focus on sustainability science and practice, ecological economics and whole systems design.
His personal mission is to engage with others in lifelong learning and applied practice healing the human-Earth relationship through creation of resilient, regenerative ecological, social and economic relationships.
For over a decade James has been a professional consultant serving government, business, industry, non-profit, tribal and other community stakeholders; past clients have included the President's Council on Sustainable Development, the USDA Forest Service, the US Department of Energy the City of Washington D.C., the Washington State Department of Ecology, the EcoSage Corporation, a Fortune 50 software corporation and many others.
Successful projects have included work on sustainable development planning and implementation, market research and economic valuation of ecosystem services, sustainability indicator assessment and stakeholder engagement process facilitation.
James also teaches ecological economics, systems thinking and dynamic modeling at the prestigious Bainbridge Graduate Institute in their Sustainable Business MBA program. With strong entrepreneurial inclinations, he has worked with many collaborators to found and manage a number of non-profit organizations and businesses.
James is a published author and accomplished public speaker supported by an extensive international network of advisors and allies, colleagues and collaborators. James also fills his life with time kayaking, rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking, gardening and in spiritual practice.
Background & Experience
Selected Publications (Return to top)
McCormick, R. J., J. Pittman, and T. F. H. Allen. 2010. Chapter 16: The Ecology of Economics from a Complex Systems Perspective. In Environmental Risk Assessment and Management from a Landscape Perspective, L. Kapustka and W. Landis (Eds.). John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
Pittman, J., and R. J. McCormick. 2010. Chapter 17: Ecosystem Service Valuation Concepts and Methods. In Environmental Risk Assessment and Management from a Landscape Perspective, L. Kapustka and W. Landis (Eds.). John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, NJ.
Pittman, J., and Wilhelm, K., 2007. Creating Appropriate Economic and Financial Indicators of Sustainability. In Litten, L., (ed.) New Directions in Institutional Research: The Sustainability Challenge. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.
Farley, J., Baker, D., Batker, D., Koliba, C., Matteson, R., Mills, R., Pittman, J., 2007. Opening the Policy Window for Ecological Economics: Hurricane Katrina as a Focusing Event. Journal of Ecological Economics, Special Section on Coastal Disasters. Vol. 63 Iss. 2-3. Elsevier: New York.
Pittman, J., Batker, D., de la Torres, I., 2006. Special Benefit from Ecosystem Services: An Economic Analysis of King Conservation District Activities. Earth Economics: Seattle.
Batker, D., Pittman, J., Burgess, E., Patterson, T., 2005. Ecosystem Services Valuation Study for the Tolt River Watershed: A General Technical Report to the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
Pittman, 2004. Living Sustainability Through Higher Education: A Whole Systems Design Approach to Organizational Change. In Corcoran, P. and Wals, A. (eds.) Higher Education and the Challenge of Sustainability: Problematics, Promise and Practice. Kluwer Academic Press: Dordrecht, Netherlands.
Voices of America’s Youth Roundtable, 1999. Report on Youth Vision of Sustainable America delivered to the President’s Council on Sustainable Development at the National Town Meeting for a Sustainable America. (Editor)
Education (Return to top)
M.Sc. with distinction, Ecological Economics - University of Edinburgh, 2004
M.A., Whole Systems Design - Antioch University Seattle, 2001
Certificate, Organization Systems Renewal - International Institute for the Study of Systems Renewal, 2001
B.A., Ecopsychology and Sustainability Education - Prescott College, 1997
Certificate, Basic and Advanced Permaculture Design, 1996
Academic Involvement at Prescott College (Return to top)
Programs/Degrees
- On-Campus Undergraduate Programs
- Limited-Residency Master of Arts Program
- Limited-Residency Ph.D. Program
Areas of Study
- Sustainable Community Development
- Ecological Design
- Environmental Policy
- Sustainability Science and Practice
- Spirituality
- Sustainable Business
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