The University of Colorado Boulder’s Department of Environmental Studies is thrilled to congratulate Dr. Vasco Chavez-Molina after successfully defending his dissertation this week! 

Dr. Chavez-Molina’s upbringing in Perú deeply influenced his academic and professional path. Born and raised in one of the world’s most vibrant ecosystems, Dr. Chavez-Molina understood the importance of conservation and sought to have experiences in higher education that would allow him to be a leader in that space. Dr. Chavez-Molina earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science at the College of Holy Cross before making his way to Boulder. Dr. Chavez-Molina first joined us here at the University of Colorado as a student in our Masters of the Environment (MENV) Graduate Program. During his time in MENV, Dr. Chavez-Molina worked with the Governor’s Climate and Forest Task Force where he developed investment strategies aimed at fostering sustainable agricultural supply chains in the Amazon rainforest. As a student in MENV, he also met Dr. Cassandra Brooks. After completing his master’s degree, he joined the as a full-time researcher, focusing on policy analysis and fisheries management in the Southern Ocean. This role eventually opened the door to his PhD studies, where Dr. Chavez-Molina studied the intricate governance challenges involved in managing marine resources across local, regional, and international levels.

On Wednesday, Dr. Chavez-Molina defended his dissertation in a presentation titled “In search of solutions for international conservation: Analyzing the governance complexities of managing marine resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction”. The guiding questions: “How can we legally protect marine ecosystems in the areas beyond national jurisdiction? How can we manage natural resources across the fragmented frameworks that make up the high seas? And how can we better govern marine resources within this critical region?” were addressed in Dr. Chavez-Molina's work. Throughout the four-part presentation, Dr. Chavez-Molina shared information about the nuances of agency oversight at the international, regional, and national level; the actors and institutions at play in this area of natural resources conservation and management; and the ways in which global politics and policy play a crucial role in accomplishing this important work and recommendations for the future.

If you are interested in reading more from Dr. Chavez-Molina's portfolio of published works, click the links below: 

1. Chavez-Molina, V., Wagner, D., Nocito, E. S., Benedum, M., Gaymer, C. F., Currie, D., Beam, E. G., & Brooks, C. M. (2023b). . Marine Policy, 152(March), 105594.

2. Chavez-Molina, V., Becker, S. L., Carr, E., Cavanagh, R. D., Dorman, D., Nocito, E., Sylvester, Z., Wallace, B., White, C., & Brooks, C. M. (2023a). . Ocean and Coastal Management, 239 (March), 106580.

3. Brooks, C.M., D.G. Ainley, J. Jacquet, S.L. Chown, L.R. Pertierra, E. Francis, A. Rogers, Chavez-Molina, V., L. Teh, U.R. Sumaila. (2022). . Science, 378: 477-479.

4. Kiffner, C., Baylis, J., Beckwith, C., Brunner, C., Burns, C., Chavez-Molina, V., Cotton, S., Glazik L., Loftis, E., Morgan, M., O’Neill, C., Theisinger, O., Kioko, J. & Kissui B. (2020) . Ecology and Evolution 10: 10000-10016,

We are thrilled to congratulate Dr. Chavez-Molina on his great work and successful defense! Way to go!  

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Graduate students at CU Boulder’s Environmental Studies department are leading research on critical global challenges like species conservation, ecological economics, and food security. Researchers like Christian Suarez, Waverly Eichhorst, and Margaret Hegwood are tackling today’s most pressing environmental issues, shaping the future of food policy and environmental conservation efforts worldwide. 

The Environmental Studies Colloquium Series plays an important role in this process, providing a platform for students to present their work, gain feedback, and collaborate with peers and experts. This exchange of ideas helps refine research and drives real-world impact, ensuring that CU Boulder’s graduate students remain at the forefront of sustainable policy development. 

Christian Suarez: Exploring the Economics of Conservation 

Christian Suarez, a second-year PhD student at CU Boulder, is focusing on the intersection of economics and environmental conservation. With a background in economics and political science, Christian’s academic journey into environmental studies began in 2020. 

Christian’s current research investigates the role of ecological economics in shaping conservation policies. He explores concepts like contingent valuation, willingness to pay, and the economic trade-offs in species reintroduction. One of his first jumping-off points is examining Colorado's grey wolf reintroduction, the first democratically elected species reintroduction in world history. 

As Christian refines his research going forward, one thing that remains vital is understanding how public perception drives conservation policy, and how economic reasoning helps incentivize policymakers to prioritize conservation efforts within a budget-constrained framework. 

Waverly Eichorst: Addressing Food Security through Singapore’s 30 by 30 Initiative 

Waverly, another talented graduate student at CU Boulder, is researching Singapore’s "30 by 30" initiative, which aims to locally produce 30% of the country’s food by 2030. Singapore imports over 90% of its food and has less than 1% of land available for agriculture, making this initiative a crucial case study for global food production/security policies. 

Supported by NIFA and USDA, Waverly is investigating the real-world impacts of Singapore's policies on agricultural productivity. Through on-site farm visits and interviews, she is assessing the technical, financial, and regulatory challenges that Singapore’s agricultural sector faces, such as high production costs and a lack of consumer demand for local produce. Her research aims to uncover strategies for Singapore to overcome these challenges through innovation, R&D, and diversified agricultural products. 

Waverly’s findings could have far-reaching implications, not only for Singapore but for global efforts to enhance food security. 

Margaret Hegwood: U.S. Food System Regulation 

Margaret Hegwood, a fifth-year PhD student in CU Boulder’s Environmental Studies department, is researching food system regulation in the United States. Supported by the USDA and CIRES’ Center for Social and Environmental Futures (C-SEF), part of Margaret’s dissertation is centered on the regulatory frameworks that shape the U.S. food system.  

Margaret delved into the intricacies of the U.S. regulatory system, discussing what regulations are, who enforces them, and the pros and cons of the current framework for food systems. Margaret’s research sheds light on differences in how regulations impact low-emission versus high-emission food industries, offering insights into the effectiveness of environmental policies. 

The insights gained from her work could have significant implications for the future of food system regulation and policy in the U.S.  

Leading the Charge in Environmental Policy 

These graduate students at CU Boulder demonstrate the department's commitment to addressing complex environmental challenges through interdisciplinary research. From the economics of species reintroduction to global food security and U.S. food system regulation, their work is laying the groundwork for sustainable, impactful environmental policies. Stay tuned for updates on their progress and learn how their research is driving change for a more sustainable future. 

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We are thrilled to announce that Emma Galofré García, a PhD student in ENVS, has been selected as a , along with her advisor, Dr. Karen Bailey! The Gilliam Fellows Program financially supports each student-adviser pair for up to three years of the student’s dissertation research. For Emma, the fellowship will support her ongoing research in ecology.

This year's cohort of 50 exceptional student-adviser pairs were selected from a field of over 700 applications, the most in the program’s history! Hailing from a record 43 institutions – ten of which are receiving a Gilliam Fellowship for the first time – these students and faculty reflect the incredible breadth of scientific talent that exists throughout our country.

Congratulations Emma and Karen!

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Dr. Joanna Lambert and current PhD Student, Alma "Rosie" Sanchez have been working for years on the Colorado wolf reintroduction initiative. Now, a film series tells the success story of this initiaitve, which is the first time a federally protected endangered species has been reintroduced via a democratic vote/ballot initiative. The first film of the series features both Dr. Lambert and Rosie! It premiered on July 18, and was followed by a speaker panel in which Dr. Lambert participated (as shown in image). 

See the film trailer below and learn more about this incredible iniative .

[video:https://vimeo.com/979366728] 

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Current ENVS PhD student, Hilary Brumberg, co-authored a paper that was just published in 'Remote Sensing'.

The paper explores the relationship between forest management initiatives—specifically Protected Areass, the 1996 Forest Law, and Payment for Ecosystem Services —and forest cover and landscape metrics in the Osa Conservation Area (ACOSA).

While protected areas (PAs) are an important conservation strategy to protect vulnerable ecosystems and species, recent analyses question their effectiveness in curbing deforestation and maintaining landscape connectivity. The spatial arrangement of forests inside and outside of PAs may affect ecosystem functioning and wildlife movement. The Osa Peninsula—and Costa Rica in general—are unique conservation case studies due to their high biodiversity, extensive PA network, environmental policies, and payment for ecosystem services (PES) programs.

Read Hilary and team's excellent

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ENVS PhD students, Natalie Bennett and Emma Galofre Garcia, were named the 2023 recipients of the Radford Byerly, Jr. Award in Science and Technology Policy. The award now supports CU Boulder graduate students with a demonstrated commitment to making a significant contribution to science and technology policy. Read more about the award and past recipients here. 

(Award winners pictured to the right. Natalie Bennett on the left, and Emma Galofre Garcia on the right)

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Join us in welcome Dr. Naomi Oreskes as this year's Patricia Sheffels Visiting Scholar! We are thrilled to hear from Dr. Oreskes on her talk, Epistemic Privilege and the Gender of Climate Change Denial. 

About Naomi:

Naomi Oreskes is Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. A world-renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker, she is the author of the best-selling book, Merchants of Doubt (2010) and a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action. You can learn more .

Event Details:

On Thursday April 4, ENVS will host a social hour, including lunch, with Dr. Oreskes at 2:00pm in the SEEC Atrium. Following this, Dr. Oreskes will present on her work at 3:00pm in SEEC C120. 

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This spring, we're thrilled to welcome ENVS alumni and community partners back on campus! Join us for a reception and cash bar, followed by brief remarks organized by university affiliates. The event will take place at CU's University Memorial Center (UMC) room 235 on April 19, 2024, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm MT.

To read the full event details and RSVP, please visit our .

As part of the celebration, we'll also be saying goodbye to long-time ENVS faculty member, Dale Miller, who is retiring this year. Dale has witnessed ENVS from almost day 1 and has made a major impact on the department, including championing for Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in environmental studies. In this short video below, Dale tells the story of ENVS from its beginning and the legacy he intends to leave behind by establishing the new Rocky Mountain Community Bridge Scholarship, which supports students currently underrepresented in ENVS and environmental sciences at large.

You can read more about the scholarship here. If you are interested in providing support for this scholarship, please visit our and include "Rocky Mountain Community Bridge (RMCB)" in the giving comments.

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We are thrilled to welcome Samuel Assefa as our speaker at this year's ENVS graduation in May! As the Director of CA's Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, Assefa champions for improving climate resilience and Environmental Justice.

Prior to being appointed OPR Director, Assefa was Director of the City of Seattle Office of Planning and Community Development since 2016. He was Senior Urban Designer for the Department of Community Planning and Sustainability for City of Boulder from 2010 to 2016, Director of Land Use and Planning Policy for the Department of Planning and Development and Deputy Chief of Staff for Economic and Physical Development for the City of Chicago Mayor’s Office from 2004 to 2010 and Senior Urban Designer for the SmithGroup JJR from 2002 to 2004. Assefa was Director of Special Projects for the City and County of San Francisco Department of Planning and Development from 1999 to 2002 and Senior Urban Designer for SMWM Architecture and Planning from 1993 to 1999. Assefa earned a Master of City Planning degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Graduation will be held on Fridaym, May 10th in Macky Auditorim at 6:00pm; doors open at 5:00pm.

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