Transdisciplinary Approaches Webinar Series (2023-2025)

Alison M. Meadow is an Associate Research Professor in the University of Arizona’s Office of Societal Impact. She is also a co-investigator with the NOAA-funded Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS). Dr. Meadow’s research focuses on the process of linking research with decision making to improve the usability of science with an emphasis on evaluating the societal impacts of research. She works with research programs to help them move research into use by communities, practitioners, and policymakers. Dr. Meadow received her PhD in Anthropology from the Resilience and Adaptation Program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Aparna Bamzai-Dodson is the Assistant Regional Administrator for the US Geological Survey North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC). In this role, she undertakes stakeholder and partner engagement to identify strategic science goals, outputs, and objectives. Dr. Bamzai-Dodson has a B.S. in Statistics and Mathematics from Virginia Tech, a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University, and a Ph.D. in Geography and Environmental Sustainability from the University of Oklahoma, with a focus on the theory and practice of engaging stakeholders in the creation of actionable science for climate adaptation. Dr. Bamzai-Dodson’s research provides the NC CASC with opportunities to learn how to improve its practice of producing usable knowledge to support decision making.

Maeghan Brass is a Collaborative Research Manager at the University of Michigan Water Center, where she serves as a program manager engaging multi-disciplinary, multi-sector teams to develop and implement user driven collaborative science projects. 

For the past ten years, she has helped to lead NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative which is managed by the Water Center and supports research designed to address critical coastal management needs identified by the reserves. She oversees the day-to-day administration of the program, coordinates regular requests for proposals, works closely with collaborative science teams, and contributes to social science research that answers critical questions for both the practice and field of collaborative science. 

Charlotte Hudson directs the Lenfest Ocean Program within Pew Charitable Trusts, a grant-making program that identifies, supports, and communicates marine science concerning threats facing the world’s oceans. She is responsible for identifying thematic areas of research and overseeing the design and implementation of research projects that meet the program’s criteria. She also oversees the communication and dissemination of research results in ways that inform policy decisions and promote the sustainable management of the oceans. Before joining Pew, Hudson was the senior marine scientist at Oceana, an international marine conservation organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the world’s oceans. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Davidson College and a master’s in environmental management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

Molly Hunter serves as the Science Advisor to the Joint Fire Science Program, a national, interagency program dedicated to funding research related to wildland fire. Molly also supports incident management teams responding to wildfire events as a Public Information Officer and has extensive experience responding to media requests during wildfire seasons. Prior to joining the federal workforce, Molly held faculty positions at the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University, where she developed and taught numerous undergraduate, graduate, and continuing courses, and maintained an active research program in fire ecology and management. Molly has conducted research and written on many topics related to wildland fire, including fuel treatment effectiveness, fuel treatment economics, invasive species, prescribed fire, and fire science application. She has a PhD in Forest Science from Colorado State University and a Bachelor of Science in Plant Biology from the University of California at Davis. 

Marshall Stewart is a nationally recognized leader in higher education and university stakeholder engagement. As Kansas State University’s first senior vice president for executive affairs, he acts as the president’s principal liaison with university, government and community leadership. As a member of the president’s cabinet, Stewart facilitates strategic initiatives and partnerships that have local, state, national and international impact. Stewart oversees administrative staff from the Offices of the President, Government Relations, Engagement, K-State 105, Military and Veterans Affairs, the Division of Communications and Marketing, McCain Auditorium and the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art. He provides leadership for the prestigious Landon Lecture Series and coordinates special projects in collaboration with KSU’s senior leaders. Stewart earned his bachelor's degree in agricultural education, master's in agricultural education and doctorate in education with an emphasis in agricultural and Extension education, all from North Carolina State University.

Robert J. Jones serves as chancellor of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the state’s flagship Land-grant University. He’s tenured in the Department of Crop Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). He is the first African American appointed as Urbana chancellor in the university’s history. Jones chairs the Board of Directors for the Association of American Universities (AAU), as well as the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors. A Georgia native, he earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy from Fort Valley State College, his master’s in crop physiology from the University of Georgia, and his doctorate in crop physiology from the University of Missouri, Columbia. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and the Crop Science Society of America. He spent three decades as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, as an internationally respected authority on plant physiology and a nationally recognized university administrator.

Dr. Wendy Powers is the inaugural Cashup Davis Family Endowed Dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University. Powers embodies the Land-grant mission through her collaborative work with agricultural producers and research peers nationwide. She began her career as an assistant professor and Extension specialist in animal science at Iowa State University, then moved to Michigan State University, where she served as a full professor in the departments of Animal Science and Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering, Extension specialist and director of environmental stewardship for animal agriculture in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. She was also the first director of the Agriculture and Agribusiness Institute for Michigan State University Extension. Dr. Powers came to Washington State University from the University of California, where she had served as associate vice president for the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Jay Akridge is the Trustee Chair in Teaching and Learning Excellence and Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University. He served from 2017-2022 as Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity at Purdue.  As Chief Academic Officer, he led the office responsible for the University’s overall academic strategy, faculty-related matters, teaching and learning, student life, enrollment management, engagement, and diversity, inclusion and belonging, with a total budget of approximately $2 billion, student enrollment of more than 50,000, 2,700 faculty members, and 8,000 staff.  Akridge served as the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture for more than 8 years, where he had administrative responsibility for the academic, research, Extension and international programs of the College.  He served as Director of the Purdue Center for Food and Agricultural Business from 2000-2007, as Interim Vice Provost for Engagement at Purdue in 2007-08, and as Interim Dean of Agriculture in 2008-09.

Jennifer Sowerwine is an associate professor of cooperative extension in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley, co-founder of the Karuk Tribe-UC Berkeley Collaborative and affiliated faculty at the Berkeley Food Institute. Her research and extension programs engage diverse stakeholders across the food system to examine barriers and co-create solutions to achieve healthy, equitable, culturally relevant, and sustainable food systems under changing climate conditions. In partnership with Tribes, immigrant, and urban communities, she examines the cultural politics of resource access and governance, and the relationship between bio-cultural diversity, food security, food sovereignty, and health.

Vikki is a Karuk, Yurok, Paiute, Pit River auntie, artist, and community member. She lives in the area of Perch Creek, in the larger town known as Orleans; or Panamniik, California. Vikki grew up in and around Orleans and has lived mostly at Red Cap Creek where her grandparents have their home. She works as a Cultural Resources Technician at the Karuk Department of Natural Resources, a job which incorporates archeology and traditional ecological knowledge to resource management. Much of her work is to restore cultural burning practices to Karuk Aboriginal Territory. Vikki holds a Masters of Arts in Environment and Community from Humboldt State University.

Heather is the Coordinator for the Pírish Plants Division for the Karuk Tribe where she is part of building Plants-related restoration and monitoring capacity with collaborators. She has been involved in the Klamath Basin Food Security Initiative, prescribed fire effects monitoring, and K-12 Environmental Education on behalf of the Karuk Tribe. Heather holds a Masters of Natural Resources, Cal Poly Humboldt, Department of Forestry, Fire and Rangeland Management, with a research focus on legacy hardwood mortality following low intensity Rx fire.

Kathy is a Karuk cultural practitioner, former Forest Service archaeologist and forest ecologist, now serving as an Executive Director for the Mid Klamath Watershed Council and project collaborator with the Karuk Tribe-U.C Berkeley Collaborative.

Stephanie Gutierrez (San Carlos Apache, she/her) is Forest & Community Program Director for Ecotrust. Stephanie works closely with Tribes across the Pacific Northwest to center community-engaged decision making and Indigenous Knowledge Systems in forest planning and management. She also leads a growing body of work around Tribal Forestry Workforce Development, Indigenous Science and Forests education, and Indigenous Agroforestry. At the root of her work, Stephanie is dedicated to increasing access, representation, and decision-making power for Black, Indigenous and People of Color and Women, non-binary, and two-spirit individuals in Forestry.

Frank Kanawha Lake is a Research Ecologist, and the Tribal Liaison/Climate Change contact for the Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service. His research involves wildland fire effects, indigenous knowledge, tribal agroforestry, Climate Change, and ethno-ecology. His current focus is on Indigenous Knowledge data governance regarding the Co-production of Knowledge for research and resource management. Frank is of mixed Native American and European ancestry, being raised with and identifying more with his Karuk and Yurok family’s heritage in Northwestern California.

Greta Landis is an Evaluation & Research Specialist who has worked in agroecosystems for over 15 years as a researcher, student, and farmhand. Her graduate research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison evaluated beef cattle grazing for habitat management on Wisconsin public grasslands and the decision-making processes in successful conservation partnerships. At the Natural Resources Institute, she and her colleagues provide evaluation services for local and national programs in environmental education, farmer training, conservation monitoring, land management, and transdisciplinary agricultural research. Greta can be reached at greta.landis@wisc.edu.

Hailey Wilmer is a Research Rangeland Management Specialist at the USDA-ARS Range Sheep Production Efficiency Research Unit in Dubois, Idaho. Originally from southwest, Montana, Hailey is a former high school agriculture teacher and completed her MS and PhD in rangeland ecosystem science at Colorado State University. Prior to joining the US Sheep Experiment Station staff in 2021, Hailey worked at the USDA-ARS in Fort Collins and as a social scientist with the US Forest Service in Juneau.  Her current research questions include: What are the long-term effects of grazing, climate, and other disturbances on high elevation rangeland plant communities? How can researchers and managers work together to conduct useful and useable science? How do ranchers and managers make sense of the complex systems they manage? Can mainstream science integrate local knowledge to support ranching livelihoods, biodiversity, and food production? Hailey can be reached at: Hailey.Wilmer@usda.gov

Dr. Cross is a professor of Sociology and Director of the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at Colorado State University. She has been the director of the Team Science Core for the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute since 2018. She has developed a series of team science competency workshops that focus on building individual and team collaboration competencies for translational and transdisciplinary teams. Dr Cross and her team at the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences have been on the forefront of creating training, interventions, and assessments for transdisciplinary science teams since 2015. Her research on team science has been published in a variety of journals, books and encyclopedias across myriad disciplines.

Dr. Cross specializes in studying complex teams and the processes of systemic and transformational change. Her research is published in over a dozen fields of science and her TED talk on Behaviour Change has been adopted by dozens of courses across the globe. She is regularly called on to provide coaching and expertise to large, international team science projects and institutes working on diverse subjects from public health to biology to machine learning to urban sustainability.

Dr. Mook is a senior team scientist at the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRISS) at Colorado State University. In the field of team science, she specializes in evaluations and ecosystem needs assessment. In her role at the IRISS, Anne works with and in interdisciplinary teams. Her primary roles within these teams include 1) Survey design to assess connectivity in the network and team effectiveness, 2) Interviews and focus groups, 3) Data analysis and interpretation, 4) Consultations to guide teams to improve based on the survey, social network, and interview findings, and 5) Workshops on the best practices in interdisciplinary and international science collaborations.

In addition to team science, Anne has worked on numerous interdisciplinary environment-related research projects. Her work has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Forest Policy and Economics, Rural Sociology, Sustainable Development, the Journal of Rural Studies, Business Strategy and Development, and Business Strategy and the Environment.

Alison M. Meadow is an Associate Research Professor in the Office of Societal Impact at University of Arizona. Dr. Meadow has a background in environmental anthropology, Indigenous studies, and urban planning. Her research focuses on the process of linking scientists with decision makers to improve the usability of climate science, with a particular emphasis on evaluating the societal impacts of engaged climate and environmental research. She is a co-investigator with the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (SW CASC) and the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS).

Dan Ferguson is Director of the Climate Assessment for the Southwest (CLIMAS) program and Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. A human-environment geographer, Dan contributes to and leads inter- and transdisciplinary teams that conduct place-based, problem-oriented environmental research. His teaching focuses on helping undergraduate and graduate students develop the skills and knowledge necessary to work on complex environmental problems in highly collaborative contexts. The overarching goal of his work is cooperative development of relevant and useful knowledge to prepare for and respond to societal problems related to environmental change.

Dr. Steele is Vice President for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU). Through collaborative partnerships with over 250 member institutions Doug provides leadership with a focus on broad cross-cutting issues related to agriculture, food and fiber, forestry, human sciences, natural resources, and veterinary medicine. Priority areas include advocating yearly on behalf of the agricultural research, extension, and education funding in support of land-grant and non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, life sciences and natural resources. Doug believes in the power of public higher-education and the Land-Grant University system to provide access and affordability to higher education, increase the profitability of agricultural enterprises and transform families, youth, and communities.

Dr. Amy Ganguli serves as a National Program Leader within the Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment providing leadership for programs involving sustainable agroecosystem management. Prior to joining NIFA, Amy spent nearly 12 years as a teaching and research professor of rangeland ecology and three years as an ecosystem ecologist for a non-profit organization. She has conducted research on a variety of rangeland restoration techniques and has led several interdisciplinary projects addressing land management effects on ecosystem services, rangeland/soil health with specific emphasis on land potential, and climate change with an emphasis on resilience based management strategies. She received her Ph.D. in Range Ecology from Oklahoma State University, M.S. in Range Science from Texas Tech University, and a B.S. in Wildlife Biology and Management from the University of Rhode Island.