Lead Instructor
Fall Term 2020, Dartmouth College – ENVS 3: Environment and Society – 78 Students
“Environment and Society” is an undergraduate course that introduces students to environmental economics, environmental policy, and other forms of environmental social science. It is a required course for all Environmental Studies majors, and as such it seeks to provide a survey of “grand environmental challenges,” presented through the lens of market and state failures. I co-taught this course with Professor Richard Howarth. Together, we designed the curriculum, implemented course activities, and assessed students.
Fall Term 2019, Dartmouth College – ENVS 65: Global Environmental Politics – 21 Students
“Global Environmental Politics” is an undergraduate course that considers the interaction between global environmental change, international relations, political organizations, and institutions. It is an elective course for the Environmental Studies Major as well as the Environmental Studies Minor. As lead instructor, I designed the curriculum, implemented all course activities, and assessed students.
Winter Term 2019, Dartmouth College – EEES 136: Environmental Governance and Empirical Analysis – 5 Students
“Environmental Governance and Empirical Analysis” is a graduate seminar I designed and taught for students in the Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems, and Society (EEES) doctoral program at Dartmouth College. The seminar course included content on the foundations of institutional analysis and environmental governance as well as skill sessions on the principles and implementation of causal inference techniques (in R) for analyzing environmental governance. As lead instructor, I designed the curriculum, implemented all course activities, and assessed students.
Fall 2016, Sungai Penuh, Jambi, Sumatra: Enumerator training and employment – Lead Instructor and Employer – 8 students
This training, delivered in Bahasa Indonesia over the course of 5 days, taught 8 post-graduate students from the University of Jambi interview techniques, how to use electronic tablets for survey dissemination (Qualtrics Software), and properties of representative survey dissemination and sampling. After this training, the students and I collected more than 1,300 household surveys over three months, within 54 villages, in addition to collecting 60 key-informant interviews with government officials, locally elected village heads, and citizens who depend on forest resources. My students have since gone on to continue their studies at Universitas Jambi, as well as work at WWF and Sinarmas Forestry in conservation and certification.
Training Packet | Completed Survey Locations
2008 – 2010, Navajo Middle School – 8th Grade Science, Science Enrichment, and Middle School Math Help Courses – 100 students
As a Teach for America Corps Member, I worked at Navajo Middle School (Navajo, New Mexico) as a Gallup-McKinley County Science Teacher for two years. I developed my own course material, planned, and taught lessons for approximately 50 students a day. These courses included 8th-grade science, Science Enrichment (coordinated with the Math, Engineering, Science Achievement Program and a WWF Master Gardener), and Math Assistance courses. The students I taught at Navajo Middle School outperformed all other students in the state in terms of increasing science proficiency (as measured by the New Mexico School Board’s Association tests).
Navajo Times Coverage (in “Education Briefs”) | Teach For America Coverage | Teach For America Coverage (Slide 5)
Graduate Student Instructor
Fall 2015, University of Michigan – Environment 207: Sustainability and Society – Graduate Student Instructor with Dr. Joshua Newell – 75 students
“Sustainability and Society” is an overview of sustainability as a concept, and it is mandatory for the Program in the Environment Sustainability Minor. This course includes content on environmental ethics, problems of sustainability, market-based approaches, and change agents.
In “Sustainability and Society” I was responsible for all Discussion Section development and preparation (3 hrs a week; classes of 25 students), developing and grading assignments (including online quizzes, mid-term, and final examinations, and two essays), and I delivered multiple main lectures. This work was funded through the Program in the Environment, within the School of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Winter 2015, University of Michigan – Natural Resources 543: International Environmental Governance – Graduate Student Instructor with Dr. Arun Agrawal – 25 students
“International Environmental Governance” is a case-based natural resources course that focuses on major issues of environmental governance from around the world.
My responsibilities for this course included multiple lectures, developing and assessing the social media course requirement focused on Twitter use and tracking (@Envgovernance), organizing and overseeing the student case presentation day (held in collaboration with “It’s Hot in Here” radio program for the University of Michigan Radio), and arranging for outside speakers and classroom logistics. This work was funded through the School of Natural Resources and Environment.
Fall 2014, University of Michigan – Environment 207: Sustainability and Society – Graduate Student Instructor with Dr. Joshua Newell – 75 students
Sustainability and Society is an overview of sustainability as a concept, and as such is the only requirement for the Program in the Environment Sustainability Minor. This course includes content on environmental ethics, problems of sustainability, market-based approaches, and change agents.
During Fall 2014, I transitioned the course from a 50 students lecture to a 75 student lecture and discussion section course through funding from the Program in the Environment. This curriculum development involved lecture, discussion section, and assignment planning. During the semester, I was responsible for all Discussion Section lesson planning and preparation (3 classroom hrs a week; classes of 25 students), developing and grading assignments (including online quizzes, mid-term, and final examinations, and two essays), and I delivered multiple main lectures. This work was funded through the Program in the Environment, within the School of Literature, Science, and the Arts.
Winter 2013, University of Oxford – Biodiversity and Conservation Management Research Design – Course Developer and Coordinator with Dr. Paul Jepson
“Biodiversity and Conservation Management Research Design” was a course I planned and implemented for Master’s students at the University of Oxford, within the Biodiversity and Conservation Management cluster at the School of Geography and Environment. This course elicited feedback from students about their thesis research, provided relevant methodological presentations from doctoral and master’s students within the department, and connected students in the course with faculty and doctoral students using similar methodological approaches.
For this course, I developed weekly lesson plans, reached out to faculty and students with specific methodological focuses, and created small groups for methodological learning and dissemination. I also delivered one lecture on electronic survey development and use in the field (using the Open Data Kit suite). This work was funded through the School of Geography and Environment.
Mentorship and Educational Service
Academic Year 2019-2020, Dartmouth College – Undergraduate Advising and Research Program (UGAR) – Advisor – 2 students
Through the UGAR program, I oversaw the research and development of two undergraduate students, focusing on forest management and local adaptation to climate change. As the lead mentee, I taught students how to implement online surveys through Qualtrix, code literature, as well as write technical reports on decentralization and forest management.
Academic Year 2017-2018, University of Michigan – Interdisciplinary Workshop on Environmental Governance – Graduate Coordinator – 25 Workshop Members
The Interdisciplinary Group on Environmental Governance brought together a community of faculty, post-doctoral researchers, and graduate students interested in how the environment is governed through institutions, incentives, and information. As the coordinator, I won group funding, generating meeting content in collaboration with other workshop members, and organized group meetings.
Academic Year 2017-2018, University of Michigan – Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) – Advisor – 3 students
Through the UROP program, I oversaw the research and development of three undergraduate students, focusing on the environmental and social impacts of renewable energy transitions in the global south. As the lead mentor, I held weekly meetings with the students and provided tutorials on literature, methods, and skills related to understanding renewable energy transitions in the Global South.
Fall 2015, University of Michigan – Graduate Student Mentor – Graduate Student Mentor for new Graduate Student Instructors – 30 students
All first-year Graduate Student Instructors in the School of Natural Resources and Environment and the Program in the Environment are required to attend two training sessions and obtain an in-class observation, to inform their educational practice. As the only graduate student mentor for both the School of Natural Resources and Environment as well as the Program in the Environment, I provided training sessions for 1st year Graduate Student Instructors.
I developed, organized, and held 12 Brown Bag Lunch Sessions focused on different skills training for Graduate Student Instructors, in addition to completing 9 in-class observations for first-year Graduate Student Instructors in the Program in the Environment. This work was funded through the Program in the Environment, within the School of Literature, Science, and the Arts.