Faculty & Staff Profiles

ENVS Faculty	Associated Faculty
Concentration Advisors	Staff

Environmental Studies Faculty

Carlos Davidson
Professor

B.A. (1982) Economics, UC Berkeley
M.A. (1990) Economics, UC Berkeley
Ph.D. (2000) Ecology, UC Davis
Office: HSS 332
Phone: (415) 405-2127
Email: carlosd@sfsu.edu
Webpage: http://bss.sfsu.edu/cdavidson

My research seeks to understand the causes of amphibian population declines, with particular attention to the role of pesticides in causing declines. The research draws upon the fields of landscape ecology, conservation and population biology, and biogeography. I am also interested in issue of environmental justice and the relationship between economic growth and environmental destruction.

Glenn Fieldman
Assistant Professor & Advisor for ESSJ Concentration
Office: HSS 330
Phone: (415) 405-2431
Email: glenn@sfsu.edu

I have taught at SFSU since 1990, mostly in the International Relations Department. I volunteered to teach an Environmental Studies class when the professor who had taught it left in 1992. Two years later I helped to launch the ENVS Program. I am currently working on Focus the Nation, a climate teach-in taking place in January 2008.

Brent Plater, ENVS Lecturer Brent Plater
Lecturer

B.S. (1995) Natural Resources & Environment, University of Michigan
JD (2000) University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law

MPA (2000) Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government
Office: HSS 332
Email: bplater@sfsu.edu

Brent Plater is a Lecturer within San Francisco State University's Environmental Studies program and the Executive Director of the Wild Equity Institute, a non-profit organization uniting the grassroots conservation and environmental justice movements. Previously he was a Visiting Assistant Professor at Golden Gate University School of Law and the Bay Area Director of the Center for Biological Diversity.

Mr. Plater is the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his work protecting endangered species and wild places throughout the world, including the Environmental Education Conservation Award from the John Muir Association; the Unsung Hero Award from San Francisco Tomorrow; and in 2009 the editors of SF Weekly selected him as a "Best of San Francisco" winner for his conservation initiatives. In 2010, Mr. Plater was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago, where he taught in the University's new program on science and management of tropical bioldiversity, and drafted regulations to protect the island nation's imperiled leatherback sea turtle population. He continues to serve as an adjunct professor. In 2011, he was awarded a TogetherGreen Fellowship by the National Audubon Society and Toyota for his conservation work.

Mr. Plater teaches a variety of courses including Environmental Law and Policy, Introduction to Environmental Studies, Senior Seminar in Environmental Studies, Environmental Justice, Environmental Economics, Animal and Wildlife Law, International Wildlife Law, and Administrative Law.

Concentration Advisors

Glenn Fieldman
Assistant Professor & Advisor for ESSJ Concentration
Office: HSS 330
Phone: (415) 405-2431
Email: glenn@sfsu.edu

Karen Grove
Professor of Geosciences & Advisor for ESS Concentration
B.S. (1983) University of Maryland, Geology
Ph.D (1989) Stanford University, Geology
At SFSU since 1989
Office: TH 516
Phone: (415) 338-2617
E-mail: kgrove@sfsu.edu
Website: http://funnel.sfsu.edu/faculty/grove/personal/home.html
Research Area: Sedimentology and active tectonics
I am primarily interested in interpreting the tectonic evolution of an area based on studies of sediments and geomorphic features. My primary recent project has been to investigate the Quaternary (past 2 million years) history of the Point Reyes region, located about an hour north of San Francisco. The main tectonic feature in this area is the San Andreas fault, which lies in a linear valley between the Point Reyes Peninsula and the Marin County mainland. We have used a variety of geologic tools to reconstruct the paleogeography of the fault zone, obtain more information about fault zone geometry, and evaluate the structural style and changes through time. Most recently, we have used marine terraces on the western flank of the Point Reyes Peninsula to evaluate the role of contractional deformation and uplift in the region. Another current project involves stratigraphic and hydrogeologic studies of the Westside Groundwater Basin, located in the western part of San Francisco, with the goal of helping the San Francisco Public Utility Commission (SFPUC) better manage this resource.

Barbara Holzman

Professor of Geography
& Advisor for NRMC Concentration
B.A. (1982) Geography, UC Berkeley
M.A. (1990) Geography, UCLA

Ph.D. (1992) Wildland Resource Science, UC Berkeley
Office: HSS 339
Phone: (415) 338-7506
Email: bholzman@sfsu.edu
Webpage: http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzman
The focus of my research is plant and animal interactions in wildland urban interface, plant recovery from fire disturbance, endangered plant communities, natural resource management and tropical forests. My interest lies in understanding how plant species and communities react to natural and human caused disturbances such as fire, mining, or urban development. My research addresses ecosystem disturbance and interactions between humans and the natural world. I am currently involved in projects modeling distributions of invasive and rare plants. I have a long term studies in Point Reyes National Monument documenting the effects of the 1995 Mt Vision Fire on the Bishop Pine community and working with the city of San Francisco on their Significant Natural Areas. I am also interested in environmental and geographic education. I just completed a book on Tropical Forest Biomes of the World, now out in hard cover.

Joel Kassiola
Professor of Political Science & Advisor for ESSJ Concentration
B.A. (1967) Brooklyn College of the City University of New York; Political Science
M.A. (1971) Princeton University; Political Philosophy Program
Ph.D. (1974) Princeton University; Political Philosophy Program
At SF State since 1995 (as Dean of the College of the Social Sciences)
Office: HSS 353
Phone: (415) 338-3463
Email: kassiola@sfsu.edu
Website: http://bss.sfsu.edu/kassiola
Research Area: Environmental Political Theory
I am interested in studying the root cause of the environmental crisis: our modern political values. So I study modern values and how they must be changed if we are to avoid environmental catastrophe. I teach a course on political values and the environment (PLSI 354) and a course on the consumer society where consuming is the supreme value (PLSI/PHILO 355). I also teach the introductory course to political theory (PLSI 275) and the introductory course on political philosophy (PLSI/PHILO 150) and Environmental Ethics (PHILO 470). I have published an edited volume on environmental political theory (EXPLORATIONS IN ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICAL THEORY, 2003, M.E. Sharpe), and articles on teaching introductory political theory (PS; October, 2007), and how teaching effectively in the 21st century requires doing research (COLLEGE TEACHING; October, 2007). Recently, I have shifted my concerns to the environmental crisis in China and published a co-authored article on the environment and China's development to be published in an edited volume on China's political challenges edited by my colleague, Professor Sujian Guo; Rowman and Littlefield. 2007).

Tomoko Komada
Assistant Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry & Advisor for ESS Concentration - Chemical Analysis Emphasis
Office: TBA

Phone: (415) 338-3748

Email: tkomada@sfsu.edu

Raquel Rivera-Pinderhughes
Professor of Urban Studies & Planning, Advisor for TUE Concentration
Office: HSS 136
Phone: (415) 338-7520
Email: raquelrp@sfsu.edu
Raquel Rivera Pinderhughes is professor of Urban Studies and Environmental Studies at SFSU. She is one of the founders of the Environmental Studies Program at SFSU and helped create the major’s concentration in the Urban Environment. Her research and teaching areas are focused on urban environmental planning & policy; sustainable development in cities; urban infrastructure development & management; environmental justice; alternative urban futures; green collar jobs; and research methods. Her current research is focused on how a coalition composed of business owners, public officials, educators, and work force development experts can strategically prepare youth and adults with barriers to employment for green collar jobs in the Bay Area and elsewhere.

Nancy "Sami" Reist
Professor of Broadcast & Electronic Communication Arts & Advisor for HUM Concentration
Office: HUM 253
Phone: (415) 338-2241
Email: sami@sfsu.edu

Associated Faculty

Luiz Barbosa
Professor of Sociology
B.S. (1982) Southeast Missouri State University, Psychology
M.A. (1985) University of Oklahoma, Sociology
Ph.D. (1989) University of Washington, Sociology
At SFSU since 1991
Phone: 415.338.1330
Email: lbarbosa@sfsu.edu

Research Area: My research emphasis is the impact of economic development on the remaining forests of the world. I am especially interested in the ecopolitics of development and preservation in the context of the Brazilian Amazon rain forest. My most recent work examines how the increasing globalization of food systems is causing deforestation in the region.

Kathy Boyer
Assistant Professor, Romberg Tiburon Center
My research is focused on the ecology and restoration of coastal habitats, primarily salt marshes and seagrass beds. I am particularly interested in how species interact to structure their environments and influence fundamental ecosystem processes such as nutrient cycling. I have a strong interest in species assemblages and processes occurring at habitat borders and the manner and extent to which adjacent habitats are linked through biotic activity and interactions. Such basic ecological research has important implications for the restoration of damaged habitats. My more applied work includes comparisons of structure and functioning (e.g., trophic interactions, nutrient dynamics) of natural and constructed habitats. I also work to develop restoration techniques and nutrient pollution indicators for estuarine and coastal waters. I work mainly with vascular plants, macroalgae, and invertebrates as well as the water and sediments on and in which they live. My work is mostly experimental, conducted in field, greenhouse, and outdoor mesocosm settings. While much of my research experience and interest is in the coastal marshes and the shallow subtidal zone in California, I work periodically in the tropics on detecting patterns in nutrient supply to coral reef and adjacent habitats and the response of herbivores to nutrient-related changes in their algal foods. I am also part of a bi-coastal team examining the relative importance of producer and consumer diversity on the functioning of marine ecosystems.

Sudip Chattopadhyay
Associate Professor of Economics

Tendai Chitewere
Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies
B.S. (1995) State University of New York, College at Oneonta, Water Resources
M.P.S. (1997) Cornell University, Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Ph.D. (2006) Binghamton (SUNY), Anthropology
At SF State since 2007
Phone: 415.405.2676
E-mail: tendai@sfsu.edu

My research interest is in the interdisciplinary study of US environmentalism. Specifically, I'm interested in the responses to environmental and social degradation especially as it relates to equity and justice. My work explores the emergence of "green lifestyles" as a response to the current environmental crisis and examines the relationship between being green and being just.

I'm currently working on two major projects. First, I continue to examine the consumption of "green" commodities as a means to affect environmental change through creating a "green lifestyle". This research builds on my early ethnography of Ecovillage at Ithaca, where residents attempt to create a social and ecological sustainable community. Through this work, I question the compatibility between green consumption and capitalism, and explore ways to make equity matter in sustainable communities.

Building on my ecovillage work, my current research is an ethnography of urban agriculture in the San Francisco Bay Area. Eating the Front Yard asks how growing food in the front and backyard might contribute to a sense of community and civic engagement. I use tools from political ecology and environmental justice to explore sustainable community in the urban landscape. Using GIS technology and quantitative methods I document the relationship between growing food and access to various social and cultural amenities in the city.

Jerry Davis
Associate Professor of Geography, Director of GIS Specialty Lab

Jane DeWitt
Associate Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry

Sheldon Gen
Associate Professor of Public Administration
B.S. (1990) Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Civil Engineering
M.P.A. (1995) University of Southern California, Public Administration
Ph.D. (2004) Georgia Tech, Public Policy
At SFSU since 2003
Phone: 415-817-4458
Email : sgen@sfsu.edu

Research areas: environmental policy, public policy studies. Study of the social aspects of environmental policy: how humans value environmental amenities, how communities make collective decisions affecting the environment, and the behavioral responses to the physical environment. Study of private sector and public participation in public policy: how individuals, organized groups, and businesses influence policy making and contribute to the delivery of public services. Policy analysis: measuring the outcomes of our public policies and programs.

Jason Gurdak

Assistant Professor of Geosciences

B.S. (1998) Geology, Bates College

M.S. (1999) Environmental Science and Engineering, Colorado School of Mines Ph.D. (2006) Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines

At SFSU since 2009

Phone: 415-338-6869

Email: jgurdak@sfsu.edu

webpage: http://online.sfsu.edu/~jgurdak/

Research Area: Hydrology, environmental geochemistry, and water resources. My research strives to understand the sustainability of water resources in California and the western United States. I’m most interested in groundwater and the natural and human processes such as nutrient cycling and nonpoint-source contamination that affect the quantity and quality of this important resource. Groundwater provides much of the Nation’s public and private water supply, supports agricultural and industrial economies, and contributes flow to rivers, lakes, and wetlands. In California, groundwater is the largest source of freshwater and is pumped at rates that exceed groundwater use in all other States. My students and I strive to quantify local hydrologic interactions within the global water cycle, the role of groundwater in support of ecosystems and society, and hydrologic and geochemical responses to climate change and interannual to multidecadal climate variability such as from the El Niño/Southern Oscillation. I am currently collaborating on a United Nations project called Groundwater Resources Assessment under the Pressures of Humanity and Climate Change (GRAPHIC), which uses research, education, and outreach to advance groundwater sustainability under the coupled pressures of climate change and human activity.

John Hafernik
Professor of Biology
B.A. (1970) Texas A & M University, Entomology
Ph.D. (1977) University of California, Berkeley, Entomology
At SFSU since 1977
Phone: 415-338-1740
Email: hafernik@sfsu.edu

Research Area: My research focuses on: 1. Evolutionary and ecological processes at the population or species level. 2. Conservation biology of insects. I am especially interested in the evolution of mating systems, isolating mechanisms, and interactions between insects and their animal and plant hosts. My students and I study mating systems and hybrid zones of damselflies of the genus Ischnura using both traditional and molecular approaches. I am also interested in ways that studies of insects and their relatives can be used to test conservation biology theory and to provide measures of community health and change. Several of my students are completing thesis projects on the conservation biology of insects and arachnids. Recent thesis topics of my students include oviposition preference of the endangered mission blue butterfly, reintroduction of the rare San Francisco forktail damselfly to a former habitat in San Francisco, spider diversity in restored coastal sand dunes of the San Francisco Presidio, diversity of invertebrates in wetlands of the San Francisco Presidio and ecology of tiger beetles at Point Reyes National Seashore.

Jason Henderson
Associate Professor of Geography

Ph.D. (2002) University of Georgia
Office: HSS 269
Phone: 415-405-2483
Email: jhenders@sfsu.edu
Website: http://bss.sfsu.edu/jhenders

Interests: Urban transportation, land use planning, cities; Geographic Areas: San Francisco Bay Area, New Orleans, U.S. South. Jason Henderson is currently finishing a book on the politics of transportation in San Francisco, and has published articles in the International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Antipode, Urban Geography, and the Journal of Transport Geography. His broad research interests are in how culture, economics, ideology, and politics shape urban transportation policy and the geography of cities. Specific topics include the politics of bicycling, parking debates, public transportation, and freeway removal. Future research includes a history of San Francisco's MUNI and a book on the growth and development of New Orleans.

Logan Hennessy
Assistant Professor of Liberal Studies

Sherry Keith
Associate Professor of History & Social Sciences
B.A. (1967) Sociology, UC Berkeley
M.A. (1969) Sociology, University of Essex, England
Ph.D (1974) International Development Education, Stanford University

Phone: 415-338-1669
Email: skeith@sfsu.edu
Research Interests: The relationship between children and nature in post-industrial and pre-industrial society. I am especially interested in the developmental, health and interpersonal benefits of nature on children and youth. And from the educational perspective, my work encompasses the application of nature based pedagogy to both formal and non-formal learning settings, e.g. schools and community based programs. My geographic areas of expertise include California, Brazil and the Caribbean. I welcome working with students interested in environmental/place based education and whose focus is on children and youth.

Phillip King
Associate Professor of Economics

Jaime Kooser
Manager of National Estuarine Research Reserve and Romberg Tiburon Center B.A. (1975) Northwestern University, Geography
M.A. (1976) UC Berkeley, Geography
Ph.D. (1980) UC Berkeley, Geography
Phone: 415-338-3703
Email: jkooser@sfsu.edu

Research Area: Dr. Kooser manages the San Francisco Bay Area National Estuarine Research Reserve, an independent unit in the College of Science & Engineering. SF Bay NERR is part of a national network of 27 reserves established for long-term research, education, and stewardship of the nation's estuaries. Jaime has worked on coastal zone management issues since 1990, bringing together her state agency experience in science, policy and management with her academic background as a former professor of Geography at the University of Washington and at the Evergreen State College. Formerly, she served as deputy director for Energy, Ocean Resources and Water Quality at the California Coastal Commission. Jaime has a passion for healing the earth and the relationship of people to the earth. She recharges her spirit by bird watching and continuing her broader interest in geography, including the study of vernacular architecture.

Gretchen LeBuhn
Assistant Professor of Biology

Bruce Manning
Associate Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry
B.S. (1985) University of Massachusetts, Environmental Science
Ph.D. (1993) University of California, Davis, Environmental Chemistry
Phone: 415-339-1292
Email: bmanning@sfsu.edu

Research Area: Environmental - Analytica; Determination of molecular surface structures of trace elements and oxyanions adsorbed on synthetic metal oxides, clay minerals, and soils using extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (EXAFS). Separation and detection of redox sensitive elements (arsenic(III)/(V), selenium(IV)/(VI), and chromium(III)/(VI)) by hyphenated analytical techniques. Synthesis and characterization of metal oxides and metal oxide-coated substrates. Equilibrium and surface complexation chemical modeling of environmental systems.

Kathleen McAfee
Assistant Professor of International Relations
Ph.D. (1999) Geography, UC Berkeley z

Phone: 415-405-2412

Email: kmcafee@sfsu.edu
I teach courses on Global Environmental Policy, International Political Economy, Global Politics of Food and Hunger, and '3rd world' Development. I came to SF State after a career in international development: consulting for NGOs and UN agencies on bio-cultural diversity, food aid, and crop genetic engineering, and 10 years as Policy Analyst for Oxfam. I have published a book and many articles about social justice and sustainable development. My past research analyzed conflicts surrounding forest conservation, indigenous peoples, the World Bank, and the International Convention on Biological Diversity. My current research concerns “selling nature to save it” - the treatment of living things, genes, and environmental services (such as carbon storage by tropical forests) as commodities to be bought and sold in global markets. Most of my field work has been in Guyana, Mexico, and the Caribbean. I am inspired by the social-movement slogan: "No ecology without equity; no equity without ecology."

Leora Nanus
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Geosciences and Research Scientist
B.S. Earth Science – University of California, Santa Cruz
M.S. Geology – Western Washington University
Ph.D. Geography – University of Colorado, Boulder
At SFSU since 2009
Office: TH 538
Phone: 415-338-3849
E-mail: lnanus@sfsu.edu

Research Area: Hydrology, GIS, Atmospheric Deposition, Water Quality. My research focuses on understanding hydrologic and biogeochemical processes in undisturbed watersheds, including high elevation watersheds in National Parks and Wilderness areas of the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, Cascades, and across the western US. I use GIS and geostatistics to analyze spatial variation in regional and watershed-scale water quality, atmospheric deposition of pollutants, sensitivity of aquatic resources, and critical loads of atmospheric nitrogen. I apply stable isotope techniques to distinguish sources of pollutants to watersheds. I am interested in the ecological effects of air pollution, and environmental impacts and implications of anthropogenic activities on water resources.

Melissa Nelson
Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies
B.A. (1991) University of California, Santa Cruz, Integrated Ecology
Ph.D. (2000) University of California, Davis, Cultural Ecology
At SFSU since 2002
Phone: 415-338-7062
Email: mknelson@sfsu.edu

Research Areas: Native Science/Ecology/Environmental Studies; Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Environmental Knowledge; California Indians - history and contemporary issues; Oral History/Oral Literature and Community-Based Ethnography; Cultural Revitalization.

Andrew Oliphant
Assistant Professor of Geography

Peter Palmer
Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Advisor for ESS Concentration (chemical analysis emphasis)
B.S. (1983) Canisius College, Chemistry
Ph.D. (1988) Michigan State University, Analytical Chemistry
At SFSU since 1994
Phone: 415-338-7717
Email: palmer@sfsu.edu

The major theme of my group’s research is the development, characterization, and application of highly automated instrumentation for the analysis of environmental pollutants in various media. We are particularly interested in techniques that provide advantages such as minimal sample preparation, monitoring of multiple target species, low detection limits, and the ability to rapidly screen large numbers of samples in the field. We have been active in pioneering the development and use of X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) methods for FDA applications such as the determination of toxic elements in candy, face creams, supplements, and arsenic in drinking water. We also utilize Gas Chromatography / Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) and direct sampling MS techniques to monitor gases and volatile organic compounds. Our recent work in this area focuses on the use of Solid Phase Micro-Extraction (SPME) for rapid sampling of volatile species and the use of DART/orbitrap MS for direct analysis of pesticides, melamine, phthalates in real-world samples. I also serve as a science advisor for the FDA and teach a number of nationwide short courses on spectroscopy and mass spectrometry.

Tom Parker
Professor of Biology
Office: HH 449
Phone: 415-338-2375
Email: parker@sfsu.edu
Website: http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~parker/

Specialties: Plant Ecology, Community Ecology, Vegetation dynamics (dispersal, seed banks, seedling establishment, mycorrhizae), Fire Ecology, Vegetation conservation, management, and restoration; Evolution and Ecology of Arctostaphylos (Ericaceae) and Ceanothus (Rhamnaceae), ecology of climate change.

Bruce Paton
Assistant Professor of Business Management

Nina Roberts
Associate Professor of Recreation, Parks, & Tourism and Director of Pacific Leadership Institute
Phone: 415-338-7576
Email: nroberts@sfsu.edu
Website: http://online.sfsu.edu/~nroberts

Nina S. Roberts, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Tourism where her areas of emphasis include outdoor recreation, parks, youth development, urban programming, and leadership. She is also the Director of SFSU’s Pacific Leadership Institute connecting urban youth with the outdoors. Nina is a former Board member of the Yosemite Institute, and currently serves on the Advisory Board for both the Center for Diversity and the Environment and GirlVentures. Nina is a Fulbright Scholar with the Indo-American Environmental Leadership Program and is nationally recognized for her work regarding cultural diversity and national parks and public lands.

Murray Silverman
Professor of Business Management

Leonard Sklar
Assistant Professor of Geosciences

Mike Vasey

Nancy Wilkinson
Professor & Department Chair of Geography