Sustainable communities faculty and staff

Paul Q. Helford, MA 
Senior Lecturer

At NAU since 1990
BS, University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign
MA, Northeastern Illinois University
Focus: film studies, communication studies 

Janine Schipper, PhD 
Professor of Sociology 

At NAU since 1997
BA, Brandeis University
MA, PhD, Boston College
Focus: environmental sociology, cultural studies, consciousness and social change 

Miguel L. Vasquez, PhD 
Professor of Anthropology 

At NAU since 1989
BA, University of California-Berkeley
MA, San Francisco State University
MS, PhD, University of California-Davis
Focus: applied anthropology, indigenous agriculture, cultural ecology, rural and agricultural development; north and central America, US southwest 

Anne Weiler Walka, MA, MS 
Professional Author and Poet

BA, Indiana University
MA, University of Arizona
MS, University of Arizona
Focus: writing, poetry, naturalism, southwest landscapes 

Rom Coles, PhD 
McAllister Chair of Community, Culture & the Environment 

At NAU since 2008
BS, Huxley College of Environmental Studies at Western Washington University
MA, Western Washington University
PhD, University of Massachusetts
Focus: environmental ethics, grassroots democracy, the political economy of transition to sustainable communities, dialogue across histories of difficult difference 

Kimberley Curtis, PhD 
Instructor, First year seminar program, sustainable communities, politics and international affairs 

At NAU since 2008
Focus: democratic theory, engaged pedagogy 

Luis A. Fernandez, PhD
Director, MA Sustainable Communities 

At NAU since 2006
MA in Political Science
PhD in Justice Studies, Arizona State University
Focus: globalization, protest policing, and immigration 

 

Christine K. Lemley, PhD
Assistant Professor
Bilingual Multicultural Education/Secondary Education

5th year at NAU (Since 2007)
BA French/English minor, certified to teach secondary education (grades 6-12), Lawrence University
MA French, Middle College
Peace Corps Volunteer, Philippines
PhD Curriculum & Instruction, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research Interests: equity, social justice, culturally relevant pedagogy, indigenous education, narrative inquiry

 

Gerald K. Wood
Assistant Professor, Educational Foundations
Department of Educational Leadership

6th year at NAU
BS Foreign Service, Georgetown University
MA Elementary Education, University of Alabama
PhD Instructional Leadership with a concentration in Social and Cultural Foundations of Education, University of Alabama
Research Interests: critical geographies of/in education, grassroots youth community organizing and education organizing, community-based research, postcolonial studies, immigration, and photo-elicitation, place-based education

 

Alan Francis 
Assistant Professor of Practice, College of Engineering
Construction Management department

I am finishing my second year at NAU
BS Business Administration/Accounting, San Jose State University
Master of Architecture (MArch), Arizona State University
Master of Science, Building Performance and Climate Responsive Architecture (MSBE), Arizona State University
Research focus: Integrated Design Process, regenerative (net-zero energy) architecture, performance-based adaptive reuse of existing buildings, whole building energy modeling, building life-cycle energy and cost analysis.
I am also a principal at Studio RE, a small Flagstaff based architectural design firm.

Patty West
Research Specialist Senior (Freerange Botanist)

At NAU since 2001
B.S. in Biology (botany) and B.S. in Parks and Rec Management (botanical interpretation), NAU
M.S. in Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona (Biogeographical study of the islands of Bahia de los Angeles, Baja California Norte, MX)

Shawn Skabelund 
Artist-in-Residence

At NAU since 2006
Utah State University, MA & MFA, University of Iowa
Focus: site-specific, place-based installation art, exploring cultural/ecological genocide 

http://www.shawnskabelund.com

Sean Parson
Associate Professor (Politics and International Affairs)

At NAU since 2012
B.A in Environmental Studies and Political Science, Drake University
M.S. and Ph.D. in Political Science, University of Oregon
Focus: Environmental and Radical Political Theory; Environmental and Anarchist Social Movements; Climate Change; Environmental and Climate Justice

Nancy Wonders
Professor

At NAU since 1990
BA in Criminal Justice from Western Michigan University
PhD in Sociology from Rutgers University
Areas of focus:  social inequality and justice; globalization and borders; sustainable and just communities; transnational harm and justice

Peter Friederici, M.S.
Associate Professor, School of Communication
Professional Journalist/Author

Teaching at NAU since 2005
B.A., Comparative Literature, Northwestern University
M.S., Environmental Education, Lesley University/Audubon Expedition Institute
Focus: science and environmental journalism, place-based oral histories, investigative reporting, creative writing

Jason Matteson, PhD
Lecturer, Department of Philosophy

At NAU since 2010
PhD in Philosophy, University of Arizona
Areas of focus: environmental ethics, virtue, and activism, urban design and sustainability, ethics of climate change, transitional justice, community and citizenship