doctoral candidate
anthropology & environmental policy
About Me
Doctoral Candidate, Anthropology & Environmental Policy
I am a doctoral student at the University of Maine in the Anthropology and Environmental Policy program, a Canadian-American Center Fellow a member of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions Material Management research team and a student affiliate of the Climate Change Institute.
I am broadly interested in how governance decisions shape human-material relations, especially when and how materials are discarded as waste or become environmental pollutants.
My dissertation research explores policy solutions to the “plastic crisis” where I specifically focus on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) programs for packaging in Canada and the United States.
I have a M.S. in Conservation Biology from the University of Michigan and a B.A. in Health Sciences with a concentration in Environmental Sciences from Kalamazoo College. Prior to starting my doctoral studies, I worked in local and state government on sustainability and waste management initiatives. I am committed to participatory and inclusive transdisciplinary research that can inform more just and effective environmental policy solutions.
bridging critical social science research and environmental policy.
Research Interests
circular economy zero waste repair
environmental policy reuse trash
sustainable consumption recycling
materials management governance environmental justice waste reduction
sharing economy plastic pollution
decision -making climate change