Lab Members & Alumni

Cody's research examines the interactions of social and ecological systems in wildfire management at a regional scale. His work links social and physical models to GIS systems, either using ‘off-the-shelf’ packages or as ‘developed-from-scratch’ for a specific need.  Cody has worked on projects examining drivers of wildfire risk at scales that range from the western US, to regional landscapes like the southern Willamette Valley, North Central Washington, and Norther Utah.  He has also worked on projects examining risk of wildfire within the contaminated forests surrounding Chernobyl, Ukraine and the economic impact of large wildfires on rural communities in the United States. Cody graduated from PSU's Earth, Environment, and Society PhD program in December 2019 and has dual masters degrees in Environmental Studies and Community and Regional Planning from the University of Oregon. Previous to his graduate work, he was a middle school science teacher in Colorado, and has an undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology from Colorado College.

As a faculty research associate, Cody works on research related to wildfire risk, management, and adaptation in the western US.  Cody is supported by awards from the National Science Foundation Coupled Human-Natural Systems program and the US Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Olivia is a MS student with an interest in collaborative governance, climate change mitigation and science-to-policy translation. She's interested in examining how community-based collaboratives apply the latest climate adaptation research to management practices and principles, with a focus on water storage and wildfire mitigation. She is also interested in how collaboratives make recommendations and policy proposals to state and federal government bodies that take into account community-specific ecological needs. Prior to joining the lab, she worked as a seasonal field technician, a forest collaborative coordinator/project manager, and an assistant to Oregon's legislative Climate, Energy and Environment Committee. Outside of work she enjoys playing music, cooking, and spending time outdoors with her partner and their two dogs, Tippi Toes and Polaris.  

Ale's PSM project was a team project working with Evan Suemori to examine current green stormwater infrastructure practices on PSU's campus and robust stategies for managing future stormawater given the uncertainty of climate change. In collaboration with their community partner, PSU’s Campus Sustainability Office, Evan and Alexandra created a comprehensive inventory of stormwater management facilities at PSU and developed a Storm Water Management Model to evaluate how green infrastructure on campus impacts PSU's stormwater management.  Ale received a bachelor's degree in Environmental Engineering and spent 7 years working in the field of sustainability in the private sector back home in Peru where she was a specialist in carbon footprint management, and developed cleaner production projects as well as implemented environmental education tools and carried out awareness campaigns. Connect with Ale on LinkedIn.

Evan's PSM project was a team project working with Alexandra Vargas to examine current green stormwater infrastructure practices on PSU's campus and robust stategies for managing future stormawater given the uncertainty of climate change. In collaboration with their community partner, PSU’s Campus Sustainability Office, Evan and Alexandra created a comprehensive inventory of stormwater management facilities at PSU and developed a Storm Water Management Model to evaluate how green infrastructure on campus impacts PSU's stormwater management.  Evan received a B.S. in Environmental Science with a minor in Sustainability from the University of Portland in 2019, and is planning to attend law school at the University of Hawaii. 

Andy's research focused on (1) characterizing the risk of large wildfires under different climate scenarios, and (2) to exploring land management strategies that are likely to mitigate the damage caused by wildfires in the future. While at PSU Andy worked with the Institute for Sustainable Solutions and multiple stakeholders to explore the threats and opportunities that climate change and wildfires pose in the Clackamas Watershed. He also was a National Forest Foundation Conservation Connect Fellow.  Before coming to PSU Andy worked with land trusts in Maine to achieve regional conservation goals by increasing inter-organization collaboration, programming, and funding. He is interested in developing collaborative solutions to landscape level natural resource issues.  Connect with Andy on LinkedIn.

Check out Ashley's research.  At Portland State, Ashley's research focused on the human dimensions of private land conservation.  Prior Portland State, Ashley worked for the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation (ICECF) on natural area conservation where she helped nonprofit land trusts and forest preserve districts.  Ashley is now a social science data specialist with the Pacific Marine Fisheries Commission division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle, WA.  Contact Ashley on LinkedIn!

Aakash worked on research funded by the US Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station focused on the Economic contributions of stewardship contracting on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.  Since leaving PSU, Aakash has enrolled in a PhD program at Oregon State University's Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences.  Connect with Aakash on LinkedIn.