Cohort 1 was accepted in Fall 2014

Kesha Fevrier (York) – graduated

Kesha is a PhD graduate of the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University. She has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies, a BA in Geography and a Diploma in Project Management. She has a worked in both the public and private sector in the areas of education (teaching), low income housing development, community development, public consultation, health research and environmental management and planning. While her professional experiences may seem non-linear, her greatest desire is to combine her knowledge and experience in these areas, to deliver initiatives that seek to improve the lives – environmentally, economically, socially and culturally – of the poor and marginalized in the global south. Currently, she works as Assistant Professor in Radical Black Ecologies at Queen’s University.
Keywords: Race, Waste, Value determination, Informal Livelihoods, Resilience
Email: kmfevrier@gmail.com

Jennifer Gobby (McGill) – Graduated

Jen’s main scholarly interest is how research can help support social transformation in response to the many converging crises we face, from climate change to social inequality. Jen completed a BA in Environment (minor Anthropology) from McGill University in 2014 and is now a climate justice activist and researcher working in solidarity with Indigenous and other communities impacted by climate change and extractive industry. She has completed her PhD in Renewable Resources through the Department of Natural Resource Sciences at McGill. Her work focuses on collaborative theorizing, reflection, and strategizing with activists and land defenders across Canada. These collaborations seek to identify and mobilize strategies and theories that can help strengthen efforts to transform our systems into ones that are ecologically sane and socially just, with a firm commitment to both decarbonizing and decolonizing Canada.  Jen is currently a post-doctorate fellow at Concordia University.
Keywords: social-ecological systems transformation, theories of change, climate justice, social movement theory, indigenous rights and resistance and anti-pipeline movements in Canada, decolonizing and decarbonizing
Twitter: @jengobby
Email: jennifer.gobby@mail.mcgill.ca

Christopher Orr (McGill) – GRADUATED

Christopher Orr is a PhD graduate of in the Economics for the Anthropocene (E4A) project at McGill University in Montreal, Canada and is an Earth System Governance Research Fellow.  His doctoral research focuses on understanding deep transformations in society-nature relationships and explores their dynamics in the context of Canadian climate change politics. He holds a B.Sc. in Physics and Environmental Science from the University of Toronto and an M.S. from McGill University. His Master’s research focused on the legitimacy of collaborative watershed governance in Quebec. He recently co-edited Liberty and the Ecological Crisis: Freedom on a Finite Planet.
Keywords: climate change, coevolution, critical realism, deep transformation, environmental sociology, uneconomic growth
Email: christopher.orr@mail.mcgill.ca

Alvaro Palazuelos (York)

Alvaro is pursuing a PhD in Environmental Studies at York University. His research is focused on system dynamics modeling approaches to better inform wildlife management issues in Ontario. After a successful internship with the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ontario, Alvaro transitioned to the role of Senior Economist. In this role, he used his newly acquired knowledge  and expertise as a PhD student at York University and as a scholar in the E4A research initiative to evaluate and inform policy development in issues such as climate change and wildlife management. More recently, he has transitioned to the role of Senior Economist with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines, working   mostly on resource revenue sharing of mining tax and         royalties with First Nations. He has a Master’s Degree in   Environmental studies from University of Northern British   Columbia (UNBC) and a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce   from  Universidad de San Andres (Buenos Aires, Argentina).   Past roles have included Sustainability Manager for UNBC     and  project manager for different non-profit organizations   working with underprivileged people in Buenos Aires, his   home city. Alvaro’s ultimate goal is to become   a bridge   between academic ecological economics theory and   real       world practice.
Keywords: systems dynamics modeling, socio-economic-ecological modeling, input-output analysis and enviromental extensions, indigenous economics, natural resources economics.
Email: palazuelos.alv@gmail.com

james Arruda (York) 

James has an undergraduate degree in economics from Concordia University, Montreal, and is now pursuing a Masters in Environmental Studies (MES) at York University. His interest lies in Ecological Economics and Indigenous knowledge. As a scholar in the E4A program, he wishes to push the barriers of Ecological Economics as a dynamic, inclusive and interdisciplinary field of study.
Email: jamesmarruda@gmail.com

Matthew Burke (McGill) – Graduated

Matthew Burke is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and Gund Institute for Environment at the University of Vermont, in collaboration with the Leadership for the Ecozoic project. Matthew’s current research aims to examine and support successful integration of renewable energy development and protection and preservation of ecological and agricultural functions of working landscapes across multiple scales.​Matthew completed a Ph.D. in Renewable Resources — Environment (May 2019) at McGill University under the supervision of Professors Peter G. Brown (McGill University) and Jennie C. Stephens (Northeastern University). Matthew’s doctoral research focused on sociopolitical and ecological dimensions of the renewable energy transition by examining energy democracy in theory and practice, emphasizing groups active in northeastern North America.
 Keywords: energy democracy, renewable energy transition  social   movements, energy-ecosystem nexus, energy ethics
 Email: Matthew.Burke@uvm.edu

Courtney Hammond Wagner (UVM) – Graduated

Courtney is graduated at the Rubenstein School and a fellow in the Gund Institute’s Economics for the Anthropocene program. Her interests lie in complex Social-Ecological systems and in water systems in particular. Courtney’s research focuses on the interaction between ecosystem resilience and the institutional arrangements and policy governing water allocation. Courtney grew up in the Pacific Northwest and received her bachelor’s in Psychology from Dartmouth College. Following graduation, Courtney worked as a research associate in at ecology lab at Dartmouth, spent two summer field seasons in Greenland investigating Arctic soil carbon storage, and worked as a community you’re coordinator for a science consortium in Barrow, AK. Prior to starting her doctoral studies at UVM, Courtney  was an Energy Efficiency Consultant with Navigan Consulting, where she researched and evaluated energy efficiency programs.
Email: chamwag@stanford.edu

Anna Kusmer (McGill) – Graduated

Anna is a freelance writer and a radio reporter for WGBH and Environment producer at PRI’s The World (WGBH). She is based in Boston with a specialty in the environment, science and health. She is interested in environmental justice and how landscapes interact with issues of identity and equity. Anna is also interested in how culture shapes narratives about who and what landscapes and health systems are for. She has also worked as a radio reporter in KQED in San Francisco. She was a 2017 AAAS Mass Media Fellow at KQED Science. Anna has a Master of Science degree from McGill University in Montreal, Canada where she studied ecology and sustainability. She believes stories can change the world.
Twitter: @ASKusmer
Email: anna.kusmer@mail.mcgill.ca

Phoebe Spencer (UVM) – Graduated

Phoebe Spencer completed her Ph.D. at UVM. Her studies focussed on issues of gender equity in economic systems, including the disconnect between the neoclassical economic paradigm and justice. In the fall of 2014, Phoebe completed an internship with the United Nations Statistics Division working on the World’s Women 2015 report. At UVM, Phoebe completed a Graduate Certificate in Ecological Economics in 2015, her MS in Community Development and Applied Economics in 2013, and a Graduate Certificate in Sustainable Transportation Systems and Mobility in 2012. She completed her BA (Joint Honours) at McGill University in 2011 in Anthropology and Geography with a minor in Hispanic Languages. Phoebe is currently working as a Spatial Econometrician at World Bank Group in Washington, DC.
Twitter: @phoobsey
Email: pspencer@uvm.edu

Michael Wironen (UVM) – Graduated

Michael Wironen is currently a Senior Scientist for Agriculture & Food Systems at The Nature Conservancy. Michael completed his PhD in Natural Resources at the Gund Institute at UVM as part of the E4A program. He also received a Graduate Certificate in Ecological Economics. Michael’s research explores decision-making in the management of water resources, environmental flows, and food systems at different scales. Prior to joining UVM, Michael worked as a senior sustainability specialist at an international environmental consulting firm. He helped private and public sector clients integrate sustainability best practices into development projects and large-scale master planning regional planning initiativesIn addition to his PhD from UVM, he holds a Masters in Sustainability Science from Lund University in Lund, Sweden and a Bachelor’s in Physical Geography from McGill University in Montreal, Canada.
Keywords: phosphorus, food systems, deliberative democracy, environmental change, governance and policy.
Email: mwironen@uvm.edu