Alexandra Paige Fischer, Ph. D.

Associate Professor, University of Michigan, School for Environment and Sustainability

Ph. D., Forest Resources Social Science, Oregon State University (2007)

M.S., Forest Resources Social Science, Oregon State University (2003)

B.A., Cultural Anthropology, Hampshire College (1994)

The focus of Paige's research and teaching is on human behavior as it relates to the sustainability of forests as social-ecological systems. She investigates factors that enable and constrain human adaptation to natural hazards and climate-driven change in the context of forests.

Paige has been interested in human-forest interactions throughout her life. She grew up in Oregon where she developed a deep appreciation for forests and the communities that depend on them. Paige received master’s and Ph.D. degrees in natural resource sociology at Oregon State University. Her research there was on private landowners’ behavioral motivations to conserve oak habitat.

Before joining the faculty at SEAS she was a Research Social Scientist with the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the Forest Service where she investigated private landowners' wildfire risk perceptions and mitigation behaviors and the capacity of gorvernance networks to adapt to increasing wildfire risk.

Heidi Huber-Stearns, Ph. D.

Visiting Professor of Practice, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability 

Director, Institute for Sustainable Environment, University of Oregon

Director, Ecosystem Workforce Program, University of Oregon

Ph. D., Colorado State University, Forest Sciences (Natural Resource Policy) (2015)

M.S., Colorado State University, Human Dimensions of Natural Resources (2012)

B.S., Southern Oregon University, Environmental Studies Social Science and Policy (2007)

Heidi Huber-Stearns is a Visiting Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Michigan in the School for Environment and Sustainability, focused on engaged research for the Western Forest and Fire Initiative. She is also an Associate Research Professor and Director of the Ecosystem Workforce Program, in the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environment at the University of Oregon. Heidi is an interdisciplinary social scientist, with expertise in environmental governance and linking science to action through strategic and diverse partnerships. Her work focuses on organizations and boundary spanning to address wildfire risks and watershed vulnerabilities in at-risk communities, particularly in the western United States.

5 questions with Associate Visiting Professor of Practice Heidi Huber Stearns

Steven Yaffee, Ph. D.

Professor, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Ph.D., Environmental Policy and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1979)

M.S., Natural Resource Policy, University of Michigan (1973)

B.S., Resource Planning and Conservation, University of Michigan (1972)

Professor Yaffee's research focuses on collaborative decision making on complex environmental and sustainability choices, including the ways that traditional political processes and organizations function, and how new collaborative structures can be developed to encourage more effective decision making. He is particularly interested in landscape-scale conservation and sustainable natural resource management, and how decision-making institutions can be encouraged to take on an ecosystem-scale perspective. Of particular interest is policy involving biological diversity, public lands, marine and coastal ecosystems, and energy. 

Steve's research and teaching draws from substantial on-the-ground work with nonprofit organizations and charitable foundations in facilitating dispute resolution and collaborative problem-solving processes, and in helping them develop monitoring, evaluation and adaptive management strategies. 

Michael Craig, Ph. D.

Assistant Professor, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Ph. D., Engineering and Public Policy, Carnegie Mellon University (2017)

M.S., Technology and Policy, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014)

B.A., Environmental Studies, Washington University in St. Louis (2010)

As an Assistant Professor of Energy Systems, Michael researches how to reduce global and local environmental impacts of energy systems while making those systems robust to future climate impacts. In between and after his graduate education, he worked at Oceana and the U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. How climate change and other environmental issues will impact humans and natural systems motivates his research. 

Michael conducts system-level analyses to understand the deployment potential and operations of new technologies given the constraints and features of the larger systems in which they are embedded. Through system analysis, his research also illuminates how the operations and evolution of energy systems respond to new technologies and other factors, e.g. nonstationary environmental conditions induced by climate change. Michael frequently collaborates with economists, climate scientists, engineers, and other disciplines. 

Stella Cousins, Ph. D.

Research Scientist, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Ph. D., Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley (2016)

M.S., Forest Science, Yale University (2010)

B.S., Biological Sciences, Stanford University (2004)

Dr. Stella Cousins is an ecosystem ecologist interested in understanding how and why forests change. She uses patterns measured in trees and forests such as growth, mortality, and community dynamics to reveal how ecosystems respond to human demands and disturbances. Her current research focuses on the drivers of tree mortality in California forests and the transformations that can be expected in ecosystems that experience rapid change. In earlier research she has examined forest carbon processes, air pollution impacts to montane forests, provision of watershed services, and the management of vegetated cultural landscapes. 

Her work leverages comprehensive surveys conducted by the USFS Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Program, long-term monitoring, and measurements ranging from individual tree rings to whole forest structures. Dr. Cousins is broadly interested in how landscapes can be sustainably managed for multiple benefits, which often involves collaborating on multi-disciplinary teams and investing in place-based data collection. She is especially interested in social-environmental problems facing the Western United States. 

Prior to joining SEAS, Dr. Cousins was an Assistant Professor at California Polytechnic State University and a postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley. She completed her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and was a graduate fellow at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC).

Sue Anne Bell, PhD, FNP-BC

Assistant Professor, Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership, University of Michigan School of Nursing

PhD, University of Michigan, 2014; Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies 2014

MSN, Emory University, 1999

BSN, The Florida State University, 1997

Dr. Bell is a nurse scientist and family nurse practitioner, with expertise in disaster response, community health and emergency care. Her research focuses broadly on the health effects of disasters and the impact of climate change on human health within a health equity framework. She is particularly interested in the long-term impact of disasters on human’s health, in developing policy that protects and promotes health throughout the disaster management cycle, and in the relationship between community resilience, health disparities and disasters. Dr. Bell is active in multiple emergency preparedness and response activities, including serving on federal panels, co-authoring books and advising on national policy issues. She is clinically active in disaster response through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s National Disaster Medical System with recent deployments to Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and the California wildfires.

Gretchen Keppel-Aleks

Associate Professor, Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering, University of Michigan

Ph.D., Environmental Science and Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 2011

M.S., Environmental Science and Engineering, California Institute of Technology, 2006

S.B., Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004

Atmospheric greenhouse gases provide the largest anthropogenic climate forcing. The concentration of CO2 and other greenhouse gases will change over the next century, due to both human activity and feedbacks in the carbon cycle. In particular, feedbacks between climate and terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage will have large effects on the atmospheric composition and hence radiative forcing. Dr. Keppel-Aleks's research group uses atmospheric and remote sensing observations to develop an understanding of processes that govern the exchange of carbon among reservoirs in the atmosphere, oceans, and terrestrial ecosystems. The research group employs observations to test and improve process-based models ranging in complexity from simple box models to Earth System Models.

Research group website

Kyle Whyte

George Willis Pack Professor, SEAS

Faculty Director, Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment 

Principal Investigator, Energy Equity Project

Ph.D. Philosophy, Stony Brook University

William Burghardt Turner Fellow

M.A. Philosophy, University of Memphis

B.S. Business Administration, Babson College

Kyle Whyte is George Willis Pack Professor at the School for Environment and Sustainability, teaching in the SEAS environmental justice specialization. He is founding Faculty Director of the Tishman Center for Social Justice and the Environment, Principal Investigator of the Energy Equity Project, and Affiliate Professor of Native American Studies and Philosophy. His research addresses environmental justice, focusing on moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples, the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and science organizations, and problems of Indigenous justice in public and academic discussions of food sovereignty, environmental justice, and the anthropocene. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

Kyle currently serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and the National Academies' Resilient America Roundtable. He is President of the Board of Directors of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition and the Pesticide Action Network North America. He has served as an author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, including on the National Climate Assessment, and for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II. He is a former member of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science in the U.S. Department of Interior and of two environmental justice work groups convened by past state governors of Michigan.  

Nancy French

Senior Research Scientist, Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI)

Adjunct Professor, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES)

PhD, University of Michigan  School of Natural Resources

Dr. French is Senior Scientist at the Michigan Tech Research Institute and an Adjunct Professor in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University. She serves on the Editorial Board and as an Assistant Editor for the International Journal of Wildland Fire. Dr. French's primary research has focused on wildfires and their effect on the structure and function of terrestrial ecosystems. Her research has included studies in boreal, arctic, and temperate ecosystems of North America and Eurasia and the use of remote sensing technologies to understand impacts of fire on ecosystems and carbon cycling. Her research has included mapping and monitoring burn severity, as well as sensing surface moisture conditions and the development of geospatial methods for quantifying wildland fire emissions of carbon and air pollutants. In particular, Dr. French is developing approaches to use satellite data, including Landsat, MODIS, and SAR systems, to monitor the spatial and temporal patterns of fire and fire effects on land, water, and air and integrating remote sensing and GIS into decision products.

Rémi Bardou

Ph.D. in Geography, University of California, Los Angeles, 2021

M.A. Geography, University of Bordeaux, France, 2014

B.A. Geography, University of Bordeaux, France, 2012

Rémi Bardou is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at The Western Forest and Fire Initiative. He is interested in species response to climatic and anthropogenic changes, using tools such as remote sensing and ecological modeling. His Ph.D. work focused on studying mangroves response to climate and human impacts in North America and Madagascar.

Rémi joined the WFFI in the Fall of 2022 to work on the post-fire recovery of western forests as a response to environmental changes due to climate change and human practices. His current research focuses on investigating the relationship between climate change, forest ecosystem change, and larger social-environmental system dynamics.

Héctor Figueroa Fox

Ph. D., Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan (2023)

B.S., Biochemistry, Eastern Michigan University (2013)

Héctor’s research interests focus on cooperative projects that center Indigenous knowledge frameworks applied to questions of sustainability, ecological restoration, applied policy decisions, and language preservation. Héctor is an interdisciplinary scientist who combines knowledge gained from personal, lived experiences and from formal academic programs to bring a multifaceted lens to research questions. Héctor is currently working alongside tribal partners to investigate how fire stewardship practices impact landscape ecology, ecosystem health, and how to elevate tribal priorities within federal land management policy. In addition to academic research interests, Héctor is also a fiction author and occasional self-defense instructor and personal trainer.

Mahmood Muttaqee

Ph.D., Public Policy, Oregon State University (2023)

M.A., Economics, Kent State University (2019)

Master of Development Studies (MDS), University of Dhaka (2017)

Bachelor of Social Science (BSS), Economics, University of Dhaka (2014)

Muttaqee’s research focuses on social and community dimensions of new energy technologies, and grid

decarbonization policies. His research interest lies in understanding how communities perceive and

respond to policies and technologies that are proposed with an aim to decarbonize existing energy

systems and improve community resilience. To gather holistic insights on human behavior, community

response and perceptions, Muttaqee employs both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis.

Muttaqee joined the WFFI team in the summer of 2023 where his research focus is on understanding

how family forest owners in the Pacific Northwest perceive and respond to climate change induced

stressors like wildfires.

Michal Russo

PhD Candidate, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (Expected 2023)

M. Urban Planning, University of Washington School of Built Environments (2007)

M. Landscape Architecture, University of Washington School of Built Environments (2006)

B.S. Resource, Ecology, and Management, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (1999)

Michal’s research focuses on group dynamics as they shape decision making for wicked environmental challenges. Her current studies examine knowledge co-production and the recognition of alternative narratives for supporting more resilient and just solutions.  Her past work has investigated the tensions between factors that facilitate constructing shared understandings and those that support challenging assumptions in diverse and contentious decision-making groups. 

Michal’s interest centers on understanding and facilitating group processes. Michal has over twenty years of experience leading workshops and conducting qualitative research with diverse groups. Her past practice has engaged with scenario planning, integrated predictive models, collaborative adaptive management, participatory action research, joint fact finding, and mediation. After years of work in the water domain, Michal is excited to examine wildfire as a complex socio-ecological system.

Caroline Beckman

PhD Candidate, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability 

B.S. Earth Systems, Stanford University (2021)

Caroline is an incoming PhD student studying human behavior and climate hazards at the School for Environment and Sustainability. Broadly, her research interests center on how communities and individuals respond to climate change. With a focus on climate adaptation, she seeks to explore how people understand specific climate hazards and what factors promote health-protective responses during climate events.

In prior research, Caroline worked on mixed-methods research projects covering a range of topics related to climate change including ocean conservation behavior, land conservation, air quality, and environmental justice. She received a BS in Earth Systems at Stanford University with a focus in human environmental systems. Before coming to SEAS, Caroline worked as a community organizer and program manager at Climate Resilient Communities, a community-based organization in the San Francisco Bay Area working on climate adaptation to wildfire smoke, extreme heat, and flooding.  

Pamela Wildstein

Pamela is a PhD pre-candidate studying energy policy in the School for Environment and Sustainability and the department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan. Her research interests include the reliability contribution of residential demand response, distributed energy resource aggregation participation in wholesale markets, and the changing role of the consumer in the system. Prior to graduate studies, Pamela worked for the Cornell Institute for Climate Smart Solutions. She holds a B.S. in Environmental and Sustainability Sciences from Cornell University and an M.S. in Environment and Sustainability from the University of Michigan.   

Francisca Santana

Ph.D. in Environment and Resources, Stanford University, 2022

M.S. Environmental Science and Management, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2014 

B.A. History, Yale University, 2006

Francisca (Kika) Santana is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan. She studies the social and psychological processes underpinning conservation and adaptation behavior of individuals and communities. Her research investigates conservation behavior in a coral reef environment on Maui, Hawaiʻi, the social nature of wildfire smoke adaptation decisions, and coastal community resilience and climate adaptation in southeastern Louisiana. Many of her projects are collaborative and community-engaged, grounding her research in place-based needs and partnering with local and Indigenous groups on issues of conservation practice and climate justice. Before her doctoral studies at Stanford, Francisca worked on air quality, coastal pollution, and marine policy issues in the nonprofit and government sectors. She received a master's degree in environmental science and management from UC Santa Barbara and a BA in history from Yale University.

Website

Federico Holm

Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Ph.D. Candidate, Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University (2021)

M.S., Environment and Natural Resources, Ohio State University (2018)

B.A., International Relations, Universidad Catolica de Cordoba - Argentina (2013)

Fede's research is centered around the study of social-ecological systems, with a strong emphasis on institutional complexity and human behavior, and its interdependencies with the natural environment. He uses network analysis and computational methods to study climate change and energy policy, non-point source water pollution, and aquatic invasive species governance. He is particularly interested in the use of social-ecological networks to understand the complexities in environmental governance and the application of computational methods to the study of structured and unstructured data.

Before joining WFFI, Fede worked as a graduate research and teaching associate at the Ohio State University, working with Dr. Ramiro Berardo and collaborating in numerous projects with faculty and graduate students from the University of Colorado Denver, Florida Atlantic University, the University of Waterloo, and the School of Environment and Natural Resources and the School of Public Affairs at Ohio State.

Riva Denny

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Ph.D., Sociology, Michigan State University (2018)

M.S., Rural Sociology, Auburn University (2012)

B.A., Anthropology, Boston University (2008)

Riva's research focuses on the interactions between social and environmental systems, particularly the way that the biophysical environment influences, or fails to influence, human decision-making at multiple scales. At SEAS she is investigating the interactions between wildfire risk and forest management among family forest owners in the Pacific Northwest, by conducting social surveys and combining the survey data with data on local environmental conditions. Prior to joining the Fischer Lab, Riva was a Research Associate in the Department of Sociology at Michigan State University where she coordinated a panel survey of Midwestern farmers and co-taught graduate social statistics courses.

Anthony "Tony" Gardella

M.S. Student, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (Expected 2022)

M.S. Student , University of Michigan Department of Economics (Expected 2022)

B.A., Environmental Analysis and Policy, Boston University (2015)

Tony Gardella is a M.S. student at SEAS with a focus on Environmental Policy and a Master of Applied Economics student in the Department of Economics. He works as a Thesis Research student under Dr. Fischer and Dr. Moore. He explores how to analyze the impacts of policy in the face of the complex wildfire problem we face. Many policies are designed and analyzed to understand how they lower the risk of wildfire damages. Few are concerned with how the costs of wildfire are distributed and who are burdened with them. To address this issue, he uses an agent based modeling approach to understand how wildfire costs on homeowners at the WUI are distributed within a neighborhood, and how demographics may determine who are disproportionately burdened with these costs.

Tony is also an ORISE fellow at the EPA, working on model validation techniques for the Climate Economics and Modeling Center. His work entails developing a custom R package for automated data model comparison with a global Integrated Assessment Model. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, Tony worked on the Predictive Ecosystem Analyzer(PEcAn) project under Dr. Dietze at Boston University. The PEcAn project aims to develop and promote accessible cyber-infrastructure for ecosystem modeling and forecasting, such that science, policy, and management can be informed by the best available data and models. All together, Tony has an interest in socio-ecological systems, how we model them, and how we use models to inform our actions in the face of climate change.

Sophie Daudon

M.S. Student, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (Expected 2024)

M.P.P. Student, University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy (Expected 2024)

B.A., Environmental Studies, Carleton College (2013)

Sophie Daudon is pursuing a dual M.S./M.P.P. degree at the University of Michigan. As a Graduate Student Research Assistant, she is supporting Dr. Fischer and the WFFI with a governance network analysis of organizations working at the intersection of forests, fire, community development, and climate change mitigation. Born and raised in Washington State, Sophie is interested in bringing together forest science with community engagement and policy solutions to develop and lead more effective forest management strategies in the Pacific Northwest. 

Sophie earned her Environmental Studies B.A. at Carleton College (‘13). As a Fulbright researcher, she conducted socio-ecological research investigating whether Greeks could survive the country’s economic crisis by moving “back-to-the-land.” She then taught high school science and outdoor education for seven years in Colorado and Washington State. Overall, Sophie aims to apply and communicate ecological understanding to activate effective community action around climate change and other environmental challenges.  

Amanda Wheelock

M.S. Student, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

B.A., Geography and Environmental Studies, Dartmouth College (2013)

Amanda Wheelock is a M.S. student at SEAS with a focus on Environmental Policy and Planning. She worked as a Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) to help Dr. Fischer and the WFFI with a governance network analysis of organizations working at the intersection of forests, fire, climate mitigation, and community development. As a Wyss Scholar for Conservation of the American West, her academic work focuses on strengthening her expertise in policy development and implementation, collaborative natural resource management, and conservation ecology in order to best prepare her for a career working to ensure that public lands across the West are truly public lands for all. 

Amanda received a B.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies from Dartmouth College, where she developed a deep love of sharing the natural world with others. She  worked for several years as an environmental educator before transitioning into conservation. Prior to attending the University of Michigan, Amanda worked as the Policy & Communications Manager for the Continental Divide Trail Coalition, and has spent the past several years exploring the Rocky Mountains from her home base in Boulder, Colorado. 

Julia Wondolleck, Ph. D.

Associate Professor, Emeritus, University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability

Ph. D., Environmental Policy and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1983)

M.C.P., Environmental Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1980)

B.A., Economics, University of California Davis (1977)

Julia Wondolleck’s research and teaching is focused on the collaborative dimension of ecosystem management. She is interested in the structure of policy and administrative processes that promote the sustainability of ecological and human systems in the face of diverse yet legitimate interests, scientific complexity, and often conflicting and ambiguous legal direction. Wondolleck has spent over 30 years examining the emergence and functioning of inter-organizational and community-based collaborative processes in ecosystem-scale resource planning and management. This research looks at both conflict and collaboration in the management of public natural resources and, in particular, the factors that promote and sustain collaborative resource management processes over time. Current research projects include: assessing lessons for policy and practice from marine and coastal ecosystem-based management initiatives around the world; understanding the factors that enable resilience of local communities; examining effective end user engagement in collaborative science; and advancing understanding of the connections between the factors that encourage and sustain collaborative ecosystem management initiatives and the institutional arrangements that might better enable community-level adaptation to the effects of climate change.