Master's Student Group Members
Jane Cowan - Data Manager. Jane graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2010 with a BS in Aquatic Biology. As part of a joint research project between UCSB’s Laboratory of Reproductive Biology and The Abalone Farm, a mariculture company based in Cayucos, CA, she conducted experiments focused on improving the economic feasibility of cabezon in culture. After graduating, she traveled independently through Western Europe and Southeast Asia, spending six months in Koh Tao, Thailand, working with local conservation groups and dive companies. With Prince of Songkla University and Eco Koh Tao, she cultivated coral nurseries and installed artificial reefs to aid the ecological functions relied upon by the island’s inhabitants and visitors. In 2012, Jane interned with the South African Shark Conservancy (SASC) in Hermanus, South Africa, where she collaborated with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries to identify the habitat range of the Breede River Bull Shark. At the Bren School, she is pursuing a Master of Environmental Science and Management degree with a specialization in Conservation Planning.
Dustin Pearce - Project Manager. Dustin is a Master’s student in at Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at the University of California Santa Barbara specializing in Economics and Politics of the Environment. He graduated in 2013 from Arizona State University with a Bachelors of Science in Conservation Biology and Ecology. He has undergone extensive fieldwork in Arizona in the fields of Riparian Ecology and Eco-hydrology. Dustin grew up in the San Joaquin Valley with this being a very personal project for him. He hopes to have a lasting impact on the valley and its future through this project. In his time off, Dustin loves riding motorcycles, working on old cars, getting outside, and building nearly anything.
Graham Wesolowski - Editor. Graham Wesolowski is a Master's Candidate at the Bren School specializing in Water Resources Management. He graduated from UCSC with a B.A. in Environmental Studies in the Spring of 2009. Since that time he has worked in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area as a habitat restoration intern. Following that he spent a year as an Americorps with Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco. He completed a second Americorps year as part of the Watershed Stewards Project working at the Resource Conservation District of Santa Cruz County. In his free time he enjoys surfing, diving, building things and spending time with friends and family.
Sam Young - Data Manager. Sam is a student in the Master of Environmental Science and Management program at the University of California Santa Barbara specializing in Conservation Planning. He has previously worked on environmental impact analyses in private and public sectors, primarily on endangered species impacts and conservation. His experience includes field surveys for rare species of plants and meadow restorations for the United States Forest Service, invasive invertebrate monitoring in Northern Australia, remote sensing for wildlife and rare plant habitats, and preparation of environmental impact assessment documents. Outside of his professional life, Sam is an avid backpacker and enjoys exploring the wilderness areas of the western United States. He has had many exhilarating experiences in his travels including close encounters with mountain lions, moose, and black bear. Sam hopes to use his training and passion for wildlife to identify and promote innovative methods for conserving biodiversity on local, regional, and global scales.
Andrew Gwin - Web Manager. Andrew has a BS in Environmental Science from UC Berkeley and a MSPH in environmental health epidemiology from Emory. After being exposed to the environmental health field, he decided that he wanted to do something different. Working in property management and for a sustainable transportation company, Andrew became interested in renewable energy and green building design. My interests currently include toxic chemicals, environmentally linked human disease, green building design, and renewable energy technologies, specifically solar power. In his free time, Andrew enjoys traveling, surfing, and playing the guitar.
Faculty Advisor
Mark Buntaine's research investigates the sources of effective environmental policy in developing countries, with an emphasis on the targeting and impact of foreign aid. Although many of the world's most significant environmental problems occur in developing countries, the implementation of environmental policies is often challenging because of inadequate resources and poor governance. Buntaine leads a range of international projects that deal with the allocation practices of aid donors, the participation of citizens in environmental policy-making, the relationship between public and private financing of environmental technologies, the processes that lead to effective government reform, and the evaluation of environmental projects, among other interests. Prior to arriving at the Bren School in 2013, he served on the faculty in the Government Department at the College of William & Mary. He has done fieldwork in many countries across Asia, Africa, and South America.
External Advisors
Scott Butterfield will assist in data management and support the development of GIS models for least conflict solar siting. Butterfield’s work with the TNC for solar siting in the Mojave and the Western San Joaquin Valley will help us assess areas crucial for conservation and habitat protection when considering solar development.
James Frew, Associate Professor – Environmental Informatics. James Frew's research interests lie in the emerging field of environmental informatics, a synthesis of computer, information, and Earth sciences. He is interested in information architectures that improve the discoverability, usability, and reliability of distributed environmental information. Trained as a geographer, he has worked in remote sensing, image processing, software architecture, massive distributed data systems, and digital libraries. His current research is focused on geospatial information provenance, discovery, and curation, using remote sensing data products generated by his Environmental Information Laboratory as operational test beds. He has affiliate appointments in UCSB's Geography and Computer Science departments.
Project Client Contacts
Stephanie Dashiell. Areas of Expertise: Conservation planning; Mojave and Sonoran desert ecology; Renewable energy.
Anderson Shepard. Areas of expertise: conservation planning; GIS and spatial analysis; landscape ecology.