Teaching
I am the Director of two professional master's programs at the University of Colorado.
The Masters of the Environment Professional Graduate Program is now the largest graduate program at the University of Colorado and the largest residential professional program focused on sustainability in the Mountain West. I teach MENV courses, but I also direct all curriculum development for the MENV program, including in-person, distance, hybrid, and international.
I am also the Director of the new Outdoor Recreation Economy, which launced in fall 2021. This program is the first of its kind anywhere, and focuses on the intersection of economic development, policy, sustainable business, and leadership in support of the outdoor industry. ORE offers non-credit and graduate-level education.
I also teach a MOOC, which is Coursera's only courses on stakeholder engagement and sustainable community development. Leading Sustainable Community Transformation. Access is free.
In the past, I have taught a range of different courses that vary in audience that span a wide range of topics and sub-disciplines in geography and environmental studies (Physical Geography, Environmental Geography, Biogeography, Regional Geography of the Non-Western World, Field Methods) at the University of New Hampshire in the Department of Geography. I also served as faculty for the Masters of Arts in Community Development Policy & Practice (MACDPP) at the University of New Hampshire. Courses have ranged in size and format (laboratories, field-based, lectures, online).
The Masters of the Environment Professional Graduate Program is now the largest graduate program at the University of Colorado and the largest residential professional program focused on sustainability in the Mountain West. I teach MENV courses, but I also direct all curriculum development for the MENV program, including in-person, distance, hybrid, and international.
I am also the Director of the new Outdoor Recreation Economy, which launced in fall 2021. This program is the first of its kind anywhere, and focuses on the intersection of economic development, policy, sustainable business, and leadership in support of the outdoor industry. ORE offers non-credit and graduate-level education.
I also teach a MOOC, which is Coursera's only courses on stakeholder engagement and sustainable community development. Leading Sustainable Community Transformation. Access is free.
In the past, I have taught a range of different courses that vary in audience that span a wide range of topics and sub-disciplines in geography and environmental studies (Physical Geography, Environmental Geography, Biogeography, Regional Geography of the Non-Western World, Field Methods) at the University of New Hampshire in the Department of Geography. I also served as faculty for the Masters of Arts in Community Development Policy & Practice (MACDPP) at the University of New Hampshire. Courses have ranged in size and format (laboratories, field-based, lectures, online).
Most Recent Undergraduate CoursesStrategies for Effective Stakeholder Engagement
One of the obstacles to social innovation is a failure to engage stakeholders effectively in a genuine and meaningful way. Solving complex problems effectively, appropriately, and timely requires a major shift in mindset. Throughout this course, you will learn the tools, knowledge, and skills needed to think in systems, assess strengths and opportunities, and establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholders to gain that all-important “buy-in.” This course also covers techniques for effective communication, working in teams, scoping your project, and managing expectations. Human-Environment Interactions in Sub-Saharan Africa Many of the important issues facing Africans today are the consequences of human modifications of the physical landscape. These consequences can be intended and unintended, positive and negative, and both long and short-term. This course investigates the inter-relationship between humans and their natural or physical environments in Sub-Saharan Africa, a place of extraordinarily diverse, vibrant, and dynamic human cultures and environments. Topics to be considered include human subsistence strategies, natural resource use, and human impact upon vegetation, soil, water, landforms, and climate. Students will explore these topics through governance, risk perception, demography, resilience, and the concept of sustainability. This course is discussion-based class and is intended for upper-level undergraduates. Throughout the course, students will examine case studies and interact with scientists and practitioners in order to bring these issues “to life.” While welcomed, no course work on Sub-Saharan Africa is required prior to taking this course. We will look at dynamic issues facing contemporary African societies and the challenges that the people and nations of this vast continent are working to resolve Crowdsource Mapping
Taught at both University of New Hampshire and University of Colorado. Introduction to crowdsourcing, and its application for collecting geographic information, visualizing spatial data, building responses and decision support for disaster relief. The course will incorporate concepts from geography, history, anthropology, sociology, planning, information science, and disaster management. Students will learn about the ongoing process of data acquisition and problem conceptualization. This course is open to upper level undergraduate students and also graduate students of all majors and disciplines, and no GIS or computer programming experience is necessary. This course will be taught exclusively online, with no scheduled classroom or online appearances, and taught weeks 1-6 during the spring semester. |
Graduate Courses Circular Economy and the Integration of Sustainable Business Practices
This course is designed for those who will set, implement, track, and communicate progress towards sustainability goals. This course teaches you the fundamentals of a circular economy, the business value in a circular economy, how business models are presently shifting, and most importantly, why businesses should become part of this transformational shift. This course will also cover sustainability measurement and the skills needed to critique and improve sustainability outcomes for businesses and their stakeholders. Knowledge and skills from this course can be used to build sustainability strategies with clear and measurable outcomes, develop sustainability plans, and support existing sustainability agendas with effective measurements to monitor their progress. Engagement for Resilience Whether working in industry, or for a city government, state agency or non-profit, the relationships that you develop with communities, constituents, and your market are important. Strong community relations can and should empower and include people from different backgrounds, voices, and experiences. The ability to enroll and activate communities as influencers is an increasingly important competency that requires tact, strategy, a collaborative approach, and high-quality communication skills. Working alongside stakeholders and with communities can create or legitimize your “license to operate”, enhance the image of your organization, motivate employees, while at the same time providing important benefits to communities and advancing social change. Engaging stakeholders means involving the stakeholders, listening to them, prioritizing them. In this course, you will learn the tools, knowledge, and skills you need to establish and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with stakeholders - to gain that all important “buy-in.” The course will apply stakeholder engagement skills through a series of contemporaneous case studies and group projects. Students will engage with communities around the State of Colorado to determine how municipalities are planning for resiliency. Resiliency planning may include health (COVID-19), environmental (drought and climate change), and economic (economic development; cost-of-living; unemployment) considerations. Sustainable Landscapes, Sustainable Livelihoods The nation’s public lands are central to the economy, and, in many ways, our national identity. Public land uses, such as energy and natural resource extraction, agriculture and ranching, and outdoor recreation activities, serve as important economic drivers in communities all over the country. However, population pressures, and economic and policy transitions are disrupting conceptions and uses of public landscapes. At the same time, Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy generates $28 billion in consumer spending annually and contributes 229,000 direct jobs. As a result, the ways of life in many communities and industries, whose futures are intertwined with these lands, are dramatically affected as well. This course will focus on communities, public lands and the connection to recreation economies. Solving complex problems in rural communities means that students must understand cultural, economic and political underpinnings. This is a project-based course, partnered with Rural Technical Assistance Program through the Colorado state Office of Economic Development and International Trade and the Outdoor Recreation Industry Office to grow outdoor industry and recreation economies in small communities. Students will work closely with stakeholders in a real-world project, serve as consultants to organizations and communities, conduct the analysis, and deliver a final product. Class time will be devoted to project management, guest speakers, case studies and dialogue that supports the development and execution of the project as well as understanding of recreation economies and rural community transformation. Students will be expected to travel to the project location multiple times and interact with a variety of stakeholders throughout the semester. |