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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
My deepest curiosities concern the relationships between people and the earth. As an educator, I hope to nurture a collaborative sense of community while exploring the various dimensions of this curiosity. Whether I am investigating local biodiversity with children, exploring natural history with neighbors, engaging in dialogue about environmental education with graduate students, or talking about climate change with collogues, I am inspired by people’s sense of wonder and desire to connect with one another and the earth.
Growing up and spending most of my adult life in a geographical place that has changed dramatically since childhood has left its mark on me. Witnessing the transformation of a mountain meadow into an urban corridor winding through the Wilderness has compelled me to reflect on the nature of this change and find purposeful ways to act on behalf of the earth and my home community. I feel a constant tension between a sense of despair and a sense of hope. This tension kindles creative energy and a sense of purpose. I often consider my role in what Thomas Berry calls “The Ecological Age”:
The ecological age into which we are presently moving is an opposed, though complementary, age that succeeds the technological age. In a deeper sense this new age takes us back to certain basic aspects of the universe which were evident to the human mind from its earlier period, but which have been further refined, observed, and scientifically stated in more recent centuries. These governing principles of the universe have controlled the entire evolutionary process from the moment of its explosive origin some fourteen billion years ago to the shaping of the earth, the emergence of life and consciousness and so through the various ages of human history. These principles, known in past ages by intuitive processes, are now understood by scientific reasoning, although their implications have not yet been acted upon in any effective way. The ecological age must now activate these principles in a universal context if the human venture is to continue. These principles on which the universe functions are three: differentiation, subjectivity, and communion.”
Thomas Berry The Dream of the Earthp. 44
In college I studied the biological sciences at Colorado State University and found a fascination in the differentiation of life in all of its intricate forms and processes. This learning experience was enhanced through hands-on field studies and ecological research at University of Montana’s Flathead Lake Biological Station and University of Colorado’s Mountain Research Station. After college I worked as a llama trekking guide and later a naturalist for several years until I became the director of a small nature center. Here I discovered a passion for connecting people to nature. My master’s degree in environmental studies, earned through Teton Science School’s Professional Residency in Environmental Education and Prescott College’s Master of Arts Program in Environmental Studies, piqued my sense of curiosity about subjectivity and relationship to place. My thesis on place-based education served as a springboard to establish the Gore Range Natural Science School (www.gorerange.org) in my home community. After serving as Executive Director at GRNSS for seven years, my current role is Founder and Graduate Programs Director. Prior to being hired as an Associate Faculty in the Master of Arts program I served as a Graduate Advisor for five years. When I was young I learned to walk softly through the rugged landscapes of Wyoming and Alaska with the National Outdoor Leadership School. I am a certified Wilderness First Responder.
CURRENT RESEARCH
I am currently a PhD student in Environmental Studies at Antioch University New England where my dissertation research integrates the philosophy and methodology of phenomenology with the human dimensions of climate change. As an educator, my assumption is that phenomenology can help me understand the existential and moral aspects of global environmental change. In this way I hope to enhance my understanding of the human dimensions of climate change and develop a pedagogy that cultivates human transformation and sustainability during such a time of unprecedented ecological and social change.
AREAS OF ACADEMIC INTEREST
My academic interests lie within the field of interdisciplinary environmental studies. With an experiential footing in earth’s life sciences, I now turn toward interests in human-environment relations. The themes that are most prominent in my academic interests include:
Environmental education – place-based education as a foundation for ecological identity and global citizenship;
Environmental phenomenology – exploring phenomenology and considering its implications for human relations with earth;
Human dimensions of climate change – understanding the existential and moral dimensions of global environmental change;
Cultural geography – how history, values, and beliefs influence human perception of places and landscapes;
Environmental philosophy – how world views and epistemologies lend themselves toward environmental ethics;
Qualitative research methods – the art of interviewing, observing, and listening to people’s life stories as a way of researching human-environment relations.
LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS
I am interested in helping MAP students participate in learning partnerships while fulfilling components of their theory and practicum courses. Students who are interested in combining their MAP degree with opportunities such as the graduate fellowship and naturalist internship at Gore Range Natural Science School (www.gorerange.org) or the professional residency at Teton Science Schools (www.tetonscience.org) or any other learning organization are welcome to contact me.
PERSONAL BACKGROUND AND INTERESTS
I live in the mountains beside a creek in Colorado’s Eagle River watershed. I love spending time outside especially backcountry powder skiing with my husband Peter Casabonne. Learning local natural history is a life-long passion – the more I learn, the more there is to learn! Other personal interests include: yoga, travel, birding, reading, writing, and knitting.
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