The AESS Early Career Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and promising future potential for research, policy, or activism in any field of environmental science and studies.  Through this award, AESS honors individuals who are early in their careers, but have made significant contributions to knowledge, community and diversity in environmental studies and science. Nominees may or may not be working in academia. Age is not a factor in the award; recipients may be on a first or second career. Nominees should be within ten years of full-time employment. People from traditionally marginalized groups are encouraged to apply.

Award Recipients

used with permission from L. Delina

2024 EARLY CAREER AWARD RECIPIENT

Laurence Delina

Dr. Delina has a PhD in Environmental Policy and Management and over 10 years of interdisciplinary experience. He is an Assistant Professor of Environment and Sustainability at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and passionate about advancing rapid climate mitigation, accelerating energy transitions, and mobilizing for climate action.

Dr. Delina’s research focuses on low-carbon development, renewable energy, climate justice, social movements, and policy innovation. He has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and books and received multiple grants and awards from prestigious institutions and organizations. He also engages in public debate and knowledge dissemination through media outlets, consultancy projects, and professional networks.

used with permission from L. Powell

2023 EARLY CAREER AWARD RECIPIENT

Lisa Powell

Dr. Powell is an interdisciplinary scholar of environments and food systems, whose research, teaching, and program development work weaves together her training in the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities, as well as her life-long involvement in her family’s farm. In her role as Director of Sweet Briar’s Center for Human and Environmental Sustainability, Professor Powell collaborates with students, faculty, staff, and surrounding communities on sustainability initiatives. She leads the academic and community-focused aspects of SBC’s agricultural areas, including the greenhouse, apiary, vineyard, garden, and forests. She also supervises the amazing teams of students who work in the greenhouse, apiary, and garden both during the school year and as Willits Summer Food Systems Fellows.

2022 EARLY CAREER AWARD RECIPIENTS

Dr. Stacy-ann Robinson and Dr. Elyzabeth (Elly) W. Engle have been awarded the AESS Early Career Award. This Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and promising future potential for teaching, research, policy, or activism in any field of environmental science and studies. Through this award, AESS honors individuals who are early in their careers, but have made significant contributions to knowledge, community, and diversity in environmental studies and science, and have a career plan and trajectory that promise to continue and bolster such contributions.

Dr. Robinson is an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at Colby College. She earned her PhD in Global Environmental Change from The Australian National University in 2017. At Colby, she teaches International Environmental Policy and Global Climate Policy. Dr. Robinson engages students in projects that integrate social justice and environmental problem solving, primarily in the global south. Dr. Robinson also served on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Small Islands Working Group on its Sixth Assessment Report. Her work has been published in a number of academic journals. She is also an active AESS member.

Dr. Engle is an assistant professor of Environmental Studies at McDaniel College. Dr. Engle has merged her research in agriculture with experiential student learning and community engagement. She mentors numerous undergraduates, equipping them with the resources needed to make change locally and globally. Dr. Engle is also an involved AESS member, founding and co-chairing the Diversity Committee as well as other activities.

We congratulate these scholars both on what they have achieved to date, as well as their tremendous potential moving forward.

Dr. Stacy-Ann Robinson

Twitter: @islandscholar

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/island-scholar

Dr. Elyzabeth (Elly) Engle

Twitter: @EllyEngle

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellyengle/

 

 

2021 EARLY CAREER AWARD RECIPIENTS

Dr. Chelsie Romulo and Dr. Cassandra Brooks have been awarded the 2021 Early Career Award. This Award recognizes outstanding accomplishments and promising future potential for teaching, research, policy, or activism in any field of environmental science and studies.  Through this award, AESS honors individuals who are early in their careers, but have made significant contributions to knowledge, community and diversity in environmental studies and science, and have a career plan and trajectory that promise to continue and bolster such contributions.

Dr. Romulo has produced outstanding applied scholarship with massive potential for impact. Her research at the University of Northern Colorado, where she is an assistant professor in Geography, GIS, and Sustainability focuses on conservation and natural resource management using a combination of remote sensing and economic analyses to understand impacts and options for natural resource use.

Dr. Cassandra Brooks is driven to understand and contribute to environmental governance. She embraces interdisciplinary studies drawing on marine science, environmental policy, and science communication. Dr. Brooks is an assistant professor in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Professors Romulo and Brooks exemplify the spirit of AESS in terms of scholarly and participatory approaches to ESS.

 

used with permission from C. Brooks

 

CASSANDRA BROOKS

Twitter: @cassandrafish

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cassandrabrooks/

Instagram: cassandrabrooks222

Facebook: cassandrabrooks222

 

used with permission from C. Romulo

 

CHELSIE ROMULO

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChelsieRomulo

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cromulo/

 

used with permission from S. Caplow

2020 EARLY CAREER AWARD RECIPIENT

SUSAN CAPLOW

Dr. Caplow combines a profound emphasis on each of the areas of teaching, research, and community engagement.  She founded one of only a handful of ESS programs in higher education in Alabama, and also developed an environmental education program that serves K-12 as part of her work as Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Montevallo, in Montevallo, Alabama.  She has made tremendous efforts to engage the community in sustainability events/projects, and also to institutionalize sustainability in the municipal government of Montevallo, Alabama. Meanwhile, Dr. Caplow has established an impressive publication record, with articles in environmental education, how engagement influences environmental values, and conservation evaluation. For several consecutive years, Dr. Caplow has shared her ESS Program development skills with other faculty at a “Lone Wolves” workshop at the annual AESS Conference, co-organized with colleagues.  Professor Caplow exemplifies the spirit of AESS in terms of her pedagogical, scholarly, and participatory approaches to ESS and has already proven herself a leader in the AESS community.

2019 EARLY CAREER AWARD RECIPIENT

RYAN GUNDERSON

Dr. Gunderson is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Social Justice Studies in the Department of Sociology and Gerontology and Affiliate of the Institute for the Environment and Sustainability at Miami University. His research interests include environmental sociology, the sociology of technology, social theory, political economy, and animal studies. Current research projects concern the potential effectiveness and political-economic dimensions of proposed solutions to environmental problems, especially responses to climate change; the social and environmental impacts of technology; and the renewal of classical and mid-twentieth century sociological theory.  Click here for a free article that is representative of his research program.

Dr. Gunderson has published around 40 articles featured in Journal of Cleaner ProductionOrganization & Environment, and other journals.

Click here to view a list of Dr. Gunderson’s publications. 

2018 EARLY CAREER AWARD RECIPIENT

TERESA LLORO-BIDART

Dr. Teresa Lloro-Bidart earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from the University of Redlands (Summa cum laude), followed by her Master’s of Science in Environmental Studies from California State University, Fullerton in 2009 and her PhD in Education, Society, and Culture from the University of California, Riverside in 2014. Her research is focused on the intersections of critical animal studies, critical food studies, and environmental education. In all of her projects, she uses a variety of qualitative research methods to understand how educational spaces and processes are inherently political and produce human-animal and human-nature relations within these political frameworks. She enjoys teaching Liberal Studies courses because they are interdisciplinary in scope and provide students with opportunities to understand the interconnectedness of social, ecological, and environmental issues, particularly as they relate to questions about equity and justice. The Animals & Society Institute and the Council on Anthropology and Education of the American Anthropological Association both recently selected her as an Early Career Fellow. Her forthcoming sole-authored book, Animal Edutainment in a Neoliberal Era, examines the politics of teaching and learning in aquariums and zoos. Her forthcoming co-edited book, Animals in Environmental Education: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Curriculum and Pedagogy, explores new curricular and pedagogical approaches in animal-focused education. Click here to view a list of Dr. Lloro-Bidart’s selected publications.