Principal Investigator
Carena van Riper, Ph.D. (she/her/hers)
Dr. van Riper is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois. Her lab conducts interdisciplinary and theoretically informed research to provide government agencies and community partners with the tools necessary to incorporate public viewpoints into decision-making. Dr. van Riper also specializes in survey research and design to solve problems facing the sustainability of social-ecological systems, particularly around parks and protected areas.
Post-doctoral Researchers and Graduate Students
Dr. Elizabeth Golebie
Dr. Golebie is a Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, advised by Dr. van Riper. Dr. Golebie’s research is broadly aimed at explaining why and how aquatic ecosystems are used by people. Key research themes include characterizing the dynamics of aquatic social-ecological systems and understanding why people engage in behaviors that benefit these systems. Dr. Golebie draws from theories in social and environmental psychology, as well as environmental communication, to address resource management issues. She also values interdisciplinary collaboration, building on undergraduate training in aquatic ecology at the University of Notre Dame and M.S. work in human dimensions of fisheries at the Illinois Natural History Survey. For more information, visit her website at https://ejgolebie.wixsite.com/ejgolebie/.
North Joffe-Nelson
North is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences in the van Riper Lab, and he earned an M.S. degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the University of Illinois and a B.A. in Environmental Policy from Western Washington University. He is chiefly interested in how politics and economics affect the viability of conservation policy. Through the modeling of angler preference and behavior, he is interested in identifying and developing avenues for fisheries policy that are socially as well as ecologically sustainable.
Devin Goodson
Devin is a Ph.D. student in the Program of Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation Biology (PEEC) at the University of Illinois, co-advised by Drs. van Riper and Hauber. He holds an M.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences from the same institution, and a B.S. in Zoology from The Ohio State University. Devin’s present interdisciplinary research centers on understanding how urban communities engage with birds, and how birds make decisions in human-dominated landscapes. To achieve this, he employs a wide range of methods including surveys, field experiments, spatial analysis, and focus groups. His passion lies in empowering BIPOC residents within the conservation process and understanding human-wildlife dynamics to ultimately provide management recommendations which facilitate the sustainable coexistence between humans and the environment. Explore his work further at https://devinjgoodson.weebly.com.
Shi Xue
Shi is a PhD student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences, dedicated to using transdisciplinary theories and methods to propose an adaptive framework for the world’s sustainable transformation. To achieve this goal, her academic interests span ecosystem services, ecological economics, urban planning, and public administration. She has experience working on various sustainability issues including optimizing space management in National Parks, coordinating economic growth and ecological protection in ecologically fragile cities, and many other applications. Now, Shi is working on the resilience of the social-ecological system of the Ötscher region in Austria.
Research Technicians
Helen Anil
Helen is an undergraduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign pursuing a double major in Economics and Environmental Science with a minor in Informatics. She is passionate about the intersection of business and sustainability and am extremely excited to be a part of the team furthering research on the Oschter region of Austria given that it will further sustainable initiatives in the USA and abroad. In her free time, she loves to read, listen to music, watch Netflix, thrift, and spend time with friends and family.
Sof Ford
Sof is an undergraduate student majoring in Biochemistry, minoring in Chemistry and Political Science, and is a fellow with the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment. She is interested in how science and public policy can be combined to positively affect environmental health. Much of her research focuses on applying this lens to aquatic invasive species. She is working on understanding the drivers of pro-environmental behavior among different managerially relevant communities, including aquarium hobbyists, anglers, and authors of peer-reviewed literature.
Danika Ford
Danika is an undergraduate student in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences with a concentration in Human Dimensions of the Environment. She is interested in understanding human behavior related to environmental issues along with environmental education for youth. In the future, she hopes to work on the social side of sustainability, either as an environmental consultant or environmental educator. In her free time, I enjoy playing the saxophone, singing, knitting, and spending time with friends.
Previous Graduate Students and Staff
| Name | Title, Topic |
|---|---|
| Henry Pollock | Post-doctoral researcher: Human-bird interactions |
| Riley Andrade | Post-doctoral researcher: Inclusive conservation involving communities in Alaska |
| Max Eriksson | Post-doctoral researcher: Angler preferences and behavior related to the spread of aquatic invasive species |
| Suresh Sharma | Ph.D. student: Meanings and values of sustainable agriculture |
| Evan Salcido | Ph.D. student: Values and sense of place among people around protected areas in Alaska |
| Seunguk Shin | Ph.D. student: Values and pro-environmental behavior in children |
| Elizabeth Golebie | Ph.D. student: Risk perceptions and values in aquatic ecosystems |
| Nate Shipley | Ph.D. student: Emotions and pro-environmental behavior in worked landscapes |
| Clinton Lum | Ph.D. student: Values and benefits of backcountry experiences |
| Melissa Clelland | M.S. student: Personality and values of protected area residents |
| Dana Jounson | M.S. student: Visions and preferences for conservation among protected area stakeholders. https://www.grad.ubc.ca/campus-community/meet-our-students/johnson-dana |
| Lorraine [Stamberger] Foelske | M.S. student: Community resilience in the Midwest. https://lorrainestamberger.wixsite.com/stambergersite |
| Sophia Winkler-Schor | M.S. student: Environmental values and protected areas. https://www.sophiawinklerschor.com/ |
| Katie Mimnaugh | M.S. student: The health benefits of nature through virtual reality. https://vrdevcat.com/ |
| Bradley Carr | M.S. student: Knowledge, attitudes, and social values of ecosystem services |