Team

Candice Carr Kelman is faculty in the School of Sustainability and co-directs the Collab-Lab with Michael Schoon. She also leads the Actionable Science program with the Center for Biodiversity Outcomes and co-directs the Conservation Solutions Lab with Chemonics through CBO. Her research interests are in collaborative governance and knowledge coproduction as tools to improve biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. 

Michael Schoon is a faculty in the School of Sustainability and co-directs the Collab-Lab with Candice. He also hosts the PECS webinar series. His research focuses on policy and governance in sustainable systems. He studies collaborative, cross-border institutional arrangements covering a range of environmental issues, from biodiversity conservation to water sharing to fire management in the Arizona borderlands. His work combines multiple methodological approaches and looks at causal clusters for the formation and governance outcomes of institutional arrangements.

Rebecca Kariuki holds a PhD in Environmental Geography from the University of York and is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University.  Her research focuses on: 1. Land use change and its impacts around protected areas 2. Co-creating knowledge with stakeholders to envision sustainable futures for biodiversity-rich areas using modeling and scenario planning. 3. Exploring nature-based solutions to address sustainability challenges.

Brian F. O'Neill is a sociologist who explores the social and political dimensions of environmental issues, particularly climate adaptation strategies. His research focuses on:1)Understanding the surge in "green" practices and their implications, 2)Examining environmental injustices, public opinion, and social inequalities in policymaking, and 3)- Investigating the intersection of water and energy sectors (e.g., rivers, dams, desalination, fisheries, wind, and natural gas) . He uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to problematize existing adaptation efforts and uncover the underlying dynamics.

Minwoo Ahn holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Management from the University of Arizona. His research focuses on understanding the management, governance, and politics of climate change and environmental and natural resource issues.  Minwoo uses various research methods, including computational text analysis, game experiments, and case studies. For more information, visit his website.

Faranak Parkami is a rising PhD student in Community Resources and Development. Her current research focuses on the pressing issues surrounding illegal wildlife trade and the potential contributions of conservation marketing in addressing these challenges.  She also applies an Indigenous lens to her research.

Nana Sakyiwa Brown-Wood is a Sustainability PhD student whose research focuses on understanding the resilience of biocultural communities and landscapes amidst global climate crises.  In her work, she compares a selected number of biocultural communities in the desert region of North America with those in the rainforest zones of South America to identify factors that enhance their resilience in their respective regions. 

Livia Cruz is a Biology and Society PhD student 

Jessica Beaudette is a doctoral student in Environmental Humanities. Her research examines how local cultural and religious inheritances impact community responses to climate change and biodiversity loss, particularly in community-based conservation programs in Southern Africa. Her work also explores how climate narratives and contemplative practices (mindfulness) can assist both scientific and everyday communities in responding to ecological challenges.  

Cheng-yu Jung (Mori). is a Sustainability PhD student whose research focuses on sustainability transformations in Japan, examining ecological, social, and technological processes involved in shaping the country's Future Co-creation. Mori is also interested in how local communities integrate Western sustainability science with traditional knowledge and philosophy. (Website: https://sites.google.com/asu.edu/mori/home)

Denise Simmons has a background in Environmental Science and is a doctoral candidate for  Innovation in Global Development. Her research focuses on understanding how institutions collaborate to foster innovations for climate resilience and how they envision a climate resilience future. Her research also examines how science-based knowledge informs innovations in response to changing climate conditions and vulnerabilities. Her research context is Guyana's rice production system.