I am excited to be starting a new role with the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, where I’ll hold the position of Senior Research Analyst. I started at the beginning of January and look forward to this role where I’ll be able to combine my experience in local government and social science to contribute to solving critical problems. I am looking forward to enhancing my expertise in energy issues broadly and energy efficiency in particular. The scale of…
We have successfully completed 2 weeks of the Fall 2020 semester, with most classes at the University of Maryland being held virtually. My course, Sociological Social Psychology, is being held online with approximately 130 students. Students are facing a variety of circumstances that make it challenging to juggle virtual learning, but we are collaboratively facing the task head-on. This semester offers several opportunities to connect course material to our current historical context. The national reckoning with racial injustice will provide…
On June 11th, I had the honor of being sworn-in as the next Mayor of Berwyn Heights. As I was appointed to my current position to fill a vacancy, this was my first experience running in a local election. It has been a valuable experience in communicating my priorities and, as always, using my sociological expertise to inform my policy plans and understanding of our community dynamics. COVID-19 has posed some particular challenges. Our election was originally scheduled for May…
The world has changed so much in the span of a month. I am working entirely from home and, like many others, am physically isolated from others with the exception of minimized essential trips to the grocery store. Thousands have lost their lives and many are facing food insecurity and unemployment. Students are learning remotely or being homeschooled and my classes have moved online. Berwyn Heights is adapting quickly to address the crisis, including rescheduling and changing the format of…
Extensive media coverage has recently shared the extent of a severe and catastrophic wildfire season threatening people and wildlife in Australia. Their typical fire season has been made more severe by heat and drought. While it is difficult to tie individual weather events to climate change, we know that climate change has increased the likelihood of extreme weather events and heat and drought. Dozens of people and millions of animals have lost their lives in the current Australian fires alone….
I began my first round of dissertation interviews in late summer and I’m already collecting interesting data on the influence of values on organizational processes and interactions. The local conservation contexts of red wolves and horseshoe crabs provide an interesting contrast to the perspectives of national organizations. I have had the opportunity to travel to Delaware and around DC, while conducting other interviews via Skype. I am interviewing both volunteers and organization leaders, providing multiple perspectives on how values are…
I recently attended the Maryland Municipal League’s annual conference in Ocean City, MD. This conference brings together elected and appointed officials from many of Maryland’s 157 towns and cities. During the four-day conference we explored topics including consensus building, running effective meetings, budgeting and the upcoming 2020 census and many more. It was clear from these sessions that social science and sociology can inform and provide valuable tools for local elected officials. For example, census participation is directly tied to…
Endangered Species Day is celebrated around the world on Friday, May 17th. This event invites folks around the world to consider the plight of imperiled wildlife, the importance of healthy wildlife and healthy ecosystems, and the success of the Endangered Species Act. In addition to their own right to exist and intrinsic value, humans depend upon other species for survival. Over the past several decades, wildlife values have shifted in the United States (Manfredo, Teel, and Henry 2009). Researchers have…
On March 29th I successfully defended my dissertation proposal in front of my dissertation committee. This is the second to last step on my journey to a PhD! Over approximately the next 18 months I will conduct the dissertation research while teaching. I’ll spend the rest of the spring preparing for fieldwork and the remainder of 2019 and early 2020 collecting data. The bulk of 2020 will be spent on writing and data analysis. I am excited that my project…
After some recent experiences with peer review and conversations with colleagues who have had similar experiences, I’ve been reflecting on respect within academic culture. Scholarship is fundamentally dependent upon the critically important peer review process. However, I’ve recently seen several instances of disrespectful and unconstructive review that seems to reflect a focus on ego rather than on improving scholarship and expanding knowledge. To be clear, I am in no way arguing that critical or negative reviews are problematic by definition….