Meet our Staff

CJ (she/her/hers) is a senior at Gonzaga majoring in Environmental Studies with minors in History and Spanish. She is from Waukesha, Wisconsin, and loves reading, cooking, thrifting, and spending time outdoors. She is passionate about the environment and building resilience to the impacts of climate change. Her previous experience includes working at Dishman Hills Conservancy, and she is excited to continue her environmental work in the Spokane community with the Climate Resilience Project.   

Kimberly (she/her/hers) is a Spokane native and has lived there most of her life except for five years in Bellingham. After moving back home in 2014, she has primarily worked in the healthcare field and, most recently, with Avista on their Transportation Electrification team.  As a student at Gonzaga, she is pursuing a BA in Computer Science and Computational Thinking, with an emphasis in both Data Science and English Literature.  Having personally dealt with the effects of Spokane extreme heat and wildfire seasons, she is excited to join the Climate Resilience Project to help improve the lives of those in her community and positively contribute to her hometown. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband, walking around Manito Park, gardening, baking, and volunteering in animal rescue. 

Ellen (she/her/hers) is a senior at Gonzaga majoring in Sociology and Environmental Studies. She is from Seattle, Washington, where her love for the outdoors and urban nature began, and often visited Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho throughout childhood. Her interests include the social and community impacts of climate change and how Spokane can build its communal resilience. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, and playing the piano.  

Jordan (she/her/hers) is a senior studying Environmental Science with a minor in History. Originally from Encinitas, California, she loves to study the ocean and coastal ecosystems. Any free time of hers is spent at the beach or curled up with a good book. This is her third year working for the Climate Institute, and she is passionate about understanding and sharing the effects of climate change on communities and making climate science accessible to all!

Joe (he/him/his) is a junior studying environmental studies with a minor in journalism. He is from Chicago, Illinois and enjoys mountain bike racing, rock climbing, backpacking, hockey and storm chasing. Joe's love for the environment began in scouting, where he earned Eagle Scout! He is passionate about studying how climate change influences weather patterns. 

John (he/him/his) is a junior at Gonzaga majoring in Environmental Studies and Sociology. It was time spent in nature around his hometown of Reno, Nevada where John's passion for environmental studies began. During his time at Gonzaga, he has come to focus on a more community-oriented approach to environmental studies. John loves working in education and is excited to become more involved in the Spokane community through the Fellows program and all the classrooms it gets to visit. 

Henry (he/him/his) is a senior at Gonzaga, studying biology and education with hopes to become a school principal someday just like his mother was! He is from Rocklin, California (near Sacramento), and likes to spend his time watching and playing sports, drawing, and playing video games. He is very passionate about teaching and climate change and has experience in the classroom co-teaching middle school life science and coaching basketball!

Holly (she/her/hers) is a senior studying Environmental Science with a minor in Biology. She is from Linden, Michigan and likes to spend her time hiking, picnicking, and playing with her dogs. Holly is passionate about studying the effects of climate change on ecological communities, specifically in aquatic systems. 

Leah (she/her/hers) is a sophomore majoring in Environmental Science with minors in Biology and Leadership studies. She's from Portland, Oregon and loves hiking, yoga, running, and writing. She aims to work in conservation, finding purpose in reworking human impact on the environment. 

Marion (she/her/hers) is a senior studying computer engineering from Grand Rapids, Michigan. In her free time, she enjoys playing card games, reading, and playing pickleball. She is excited about teaching the importance of local ecology and hopes to work on sustainable energy systems in the future. 

Georgia (she/her/hers) is a junior majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in Leadership Studies. She is from Fort Collins, Colorado, and enjoys skiing, camping, concert-going, and exploring new places. She's enthusiastic about environmental protection, wants to take her passion to the next level in the future, and is dedicated to making a difference.   

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 received his B.A. from the University of Washington in Political Science, went on to receive his Masters in Teaching in Secondary Social Studies from Seattle University, and finally received his PhD in Culture Studies and Social Thought in Education from Washington State University. Prior to coming to Gonzaga, John taught for nine years as a high school social studies teacher. 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.

John is a key contributor to the Institute's Climate Literacy Project

Dr. Baumgardner (he/him/his) is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington, where he joined the faculty in the fall of 2015. He received dual B.S. degrees in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from the University of West Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology, respectively in 2005. After his undergraduate studies he worked for UOP, a Honeywell Company (a petrochemical technology firm) as a Process Specialist and Technical Expert in Gasoline Refining Technology. In 2014 he received his Ph.D. from Colorado State University specializing in the thermal sciences with a focus on renewable fuels and advanced internal combustion engines. He teaches courses in Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics, and Heat Transfer. Current research interests include fundamental combustion studies, internal combustion engines, advanced engine strategies, chemical kinetics, fuel reactivity metrics, alternative/renewable fuels, biofuels, CFD and modeling of combustion systems, and biomass cookstoves.

Marc is a key contributor to the Institute's Climate Resilience Project 

Dr. Crandall (he/him/his) was previously a clinical associate professor and research professor at Washington State University. His primary research focuses on technologies to support healthy aging in place for our community’s older adults. Dr. Crandall’s academic efforts include researching artificial intelligence to model behavior of people in smart environments as well as addressing user needs with senior care focused technologies. His other research projects include evaluating board game complexity and developing novel CPU management algorithms. Dr. Crandall's undergraduate work has included founding Cougs in Space for developing a NASA-backed cubesat project, Palouse and Gonzaga Robosub clubs working on autonomous underwater vehicles, and rocketry projects building sensors and control systems. He is active in student activities such as hackathons, coding competitions, and senior design projects.

Aaron is a key contributor to the Institute's Climate Resilience Project