LIBBY LUNSTRUM

Lawland Kubi
Graduate Research Assistant
lawlandkubi@boisestate.edu

Thesis:  The Poverty-Biodiversity Nexus in Protected Areas: Investigating Relationships Between Community Welfare and Resource Conservation Outcomes.

Bio:  Lawland is a PhD student in the Public Policy and Administration program at Boise State University, focusing on social and environmental policy. He was born and raised in Kwahu, located in the Eastern Region of Ghana. His PhD research investigates the intersections of poverty and conservation. Currently, he is examining the poverty-biodiversity nexus on conservation outcomes and community welfare. Lawland aspires to build a career as a faculty member, researcher, and policy analyst. He also has an academic background in Political Science, Economics, and Public Administration. Within the broader fields of Public Administration, he has a strong interest in Governance, Health Administration, and Green Public Procurement. He is passionate about Public Policy.

Sara Jackson Shumate, Ph.D.
Director, Center for Individualized Learning, Metropolitan State University of Denver
sjacks62@msudenver.edu

Dissertation: Building a Mineral Nation? The Oyu Tolgoi Copper-Gold Mine and Contested Infrastructure Development in Mongolia

Sara Jackson Shumate Ph.D. (she/her/hers) is the Director for the Center for Individualized Learning at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver). She was previously a Geography Lecturer in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at MSU Denver, teaching a range of classes on political geography, economic geography, sustainability and environmental studies, and Geographic Information Science (GIS). She earned her Ph.D. in Geography from York University, Toronto, her M.A. in Geography from the University of British Columbia, and her B.A. in International Studies from the University of Washington. Sara’s research examines perceptions of infrastructure development, both in Mongolia and in Denver. She has published in a variety of journals including The Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Geoforum, The Journal of Transport Geography, Water Alternatives, and the Eurasian Journal of Geographic and Economics. 

Shoukia van Beek
Ph.D. Candidate and Graduate Fellow in the BIG Lab, University of Victoria
shoukiav@yahoo.ca

Thesis: Beyond the Border: Buffalo and Blackfoot Tenure on Traditional Territories.

Shoukia van Beek (she/her) is a settler-scholar and graduate student at the University of Victoria, on W̱SÁNEĆ & Lək̓ʷəŋən territories. Shoukia was named after her late grandmother, a Frisian-Dutch immigrant, whose ferocity, compassion, and caring ways shaped Shoukia’s sense of self and community. Her lessons and love continue to inform Shoukia’s interests, worldview, and ultimately, her work. Shoukia’s research examines how borders, and their associated practices, function as a mechanism of settler-colonialism. Her work is rooted in, and takes place at the intersection of, literatures and theories of political ecology, border studies, and Indigenous sovereignty—actively centring an anti-colonial, anti-capitalist, and abolitionist legal-geographic analysis and epistemological commitment.

Devin Holterman, Ph.D.
Specialist, Mining at WWF-Canada (LinkedIn)
devin.holterman@gmail.com

Thesis: Unlikely Allies? The Intersections of Conservation and Extraction in Tanzania

Devin is a member of the Wildlife & Industry team at WWF-Canada. Based in Montreal, Quebec, he works to reduce and eliminate the negative impacts from mining on wildlife, habitat and community wellbeing in WWF-Canada’s priority regions. Devin conducts research, analysis and outreach that advocates for improved industry practices and government regulations, reduces the impacts of operating mines, and supports the priorities of Indigenous communities. He holds a PhD in Human Geography from York University.