Betsy Bancroft, Ph.D.
Betsy Bancroft is an ecologist who specializes in understanding the effects of anthropogenic stressors, including climate change, on freshwater organisms like frogs, insects, and fish. I teach in both the Biology and Environmental Studies departments at Gonzaga and run an active undergraduate-driven research program.
Heather Crandall, Ph.D.
Heather Crandall is an Associate Professor and Department Chair of Communication Studies. She teaches courses on Rhetoric in Civic Life, Analyzing Public Texts and Discourse, and Rhetoric of Social Change. She co-authored The Climate Girl Effect: Fridays, Flint, and Fire (2022), and in the process learned a great deal about gender, technology, and activism. She is interested in the many ways scholarly expertise can help in the global fight for environmental justice.
Jonas Cox, Ph.D.
Jonas Cox Is a faculty member in the School of Education. He teaches Learning Theory and Epistemology to elementary and secondary teacher candidates. He has been active in environmental education in the state of Washington for years, serving on various boards and he is certified as a trainer in various national environmental education curriculum models.
Carolyn Cunningham, Ph.D.
Carolyn Cunningham is a Professor in the Communication and Leadership Studies Department where she teaches courses in social media, digital storytelling, and women and leadership. She is the director of the Northwest Alliance for Media Literacy. Her research examines the intersections of gender and technology and she is the co-author (with Heather Crandall) of The Climate Girl Effect: Fridays, Flint, and Fire (Lexington, 2022).
Whitney Franklin
Whitney Franklin is currently serving as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Gonzaga University. She brings over a decade of experience in event management, media relations, philanthropy, and fundraising. With a Master's degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and a Certificate in Women's Leadership, Whitney has served the university in several previous roles, including Director of Donor Engagement and Assistant Director of Stewardship.
Melinda Howard, Ph.D.
Melinda Howard is a faculty member in the Biology Department. She is interested in how human relationships with the natural world affect scientific literacy, knowledge systems, and values, and how these dynamics play a role in the education of diverse learners. Mindy teaches courses including Human Ecology and Indigenous Science.
Jonathan Isacoff, Ph.D.
Jonathan Isacoff is Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies at Gonzaga University. Dr. Isacoff was the founding chair of the Environmental Studies Department at Gonzaga and served in that role from 2006 till 2015. He received his B.A. and M.P.A. from Cornell University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. He co-teaches a class, “Climate Change Science and Politics,” with Dr. Hugh Lefcort of the Biology Department.
Erica Johnson, Ph.D.
Professor Johnson enjoys teaching economics and exploring what economic models can tell us about real life situations and human behavior. Her research is in the areas of environmental and health economics.
Vivek Patil, Ph.D.
Vivek H. Patil, Ph.D., is a Professor of Marketing at Gonzaga University and a Research Fellow in the Opportunity Northeast place-based initiative of the University. His background in measurement theory and statistics has advanced research on research methodology and data analysis issues. Additionally, he utilizes theoretical frameworks from economics, social psychology, and cognitive psychology to study the behaviors of people in different domains. His most recent scholarship has explored the relationships between redlining practices of the 1930s and different social, economic, health, and environmental outcomes across neighborhoods in Spokane County.
Martin Schiavenato, Ph.D., R.N.
Martin Schiavenato is a former newborn intensive care unit nurse with expertise in pain measurement in non-verbal populations. His work lies at the junction of technology and its application to improve healthcare. He teaches on the social determinants of health, including the environment, and their impact.
Joshua Schultz, Ph.D., P.E., LEED A.P.
Joshua Schultz is a consulting structural engineer and assistant professor at Gonzaga University. He specializes in façade design and composite material analysis (laminated glass, cross-laminated timber etc.) – with an eye toward energy efficiency and sustainability. Joshua maintains an active engineering consultancy as a licensed professional engineer and LEED accredited professional.
John Traynor, Ph.D.
Dr. John Traynor (he/him/his) is Associate Professor at Gonzaga University in the Department of Teacher Education where he specializes in the Foundations of Education, Teaching in the Middle School, and Community and Place-Based Education. John's current work involves partnership efforts with local K-12 schools throughout the region. John is an avid outdoorsman with passions for skiing, biking and fly fishing.
Luis Inaraja Vera, J.D., LL.M.
Luis Inaraja Vera is an assistant professor of law whose research focuses on the use of voluntary regulatory tools to attain environmental goals and on the role that property law plays in shaping policies to address water scarcity.
Rhonda Young, Ph.D., P.E.
Rhonda Young is a civil engineering professor specializing in transportation. Her interest areas include transportation sustainability and addressing resiliency in the transportation system against changing climate.
Bi Zhao, Ph.D.
Bi Zhao, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Political Science specializing in International Relations, with a substantive focus on global climate change governance, transnational climate activism and climate justice. Her research has been published in Environmental Policy and Governance and the Journal of Human Rights. Her forthcoming book “Who tells your story? Ecology of NGOs at the UN climate change conferences.” will be published by Cambridge University Press.