Post Docs and Students

Current Post-Doctoral Researchers

  • Dr. Paula Tomaz (Ph.D., Federal University of Ceara, Fortaleza, Brazil).
    • Dr. Tomaz leads Brazilian-based research on household water insecurity in Northeast Brazil. She currently collaborates with me on data collected from the NSF project and will lead all field work for our collaboration with Dr. Leila Harris on non-material dimensions of household water insecurity in traditional fishing communities on the Cearense coastline.

Former Post-Doctoral Researchers

  • Dr. Amanda Fencl (Ph.D., University of California-Davis, Geography, 2019)
    • Dr. Fencl led research for our research activities in San Diego/Orange County California and Australia for the TAMU Presidential X-Grant. In addition, she draws on deep research experience from her work on drinking water governance and climate change in California to advance our projects work on water governance. She is currently as AAAS Science and Technology Fellow in Washington DC with the Millennium Development Corporation.
  • Dr. Gretchen Sneegas (Ph.D. University of Georgia, Geography, 2019)
    • Dr. Sneegas led research for our multi-sited Q-Method study and our Israel case study site for the TAMU Presidential X-Grant. She leverages long-standing experience in Q-Method and political ecology to develop and execute the comparative research elements of our project. She is currently a researcher at the University of Washington.
  • Dr. Kyungsun Lee (Ph.D. SUNY-Environmental Science and Forestry, 2018)
    • Dr. Lee led researcher on the sectoral analysis of the global water desalination and water reuse (GDWR) for the TAMU Presidential X-Grant. She leverages her expertise in sustainable transitions and industrial ecology to develop a comparative framework for our case study analysis. She is currently a teaching professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Current Graduate Students

  • Anna Vandergrift, ABD, Geography (start August 2017)
  • Matt Stellbauer, ABD, Water Management and Hydrological Sciences (start Aug 2019)
  • Victoria Harrington, Ph.D. Student, Geography (start August 2021)
  • Ben Fincher, Geography, Ph.D. Student (start August 2021)

Former Graduate Students

  • Cindy Figueroa (M.S. Geography, 2022), State of California, Water Board
  • Grace Harmon, (M.S. Geography, 2022)
  • Nichole Melhalff-Hamilton, (M.S. Geography, non-thesis, 2022)
  • Victoria Harrington, (M.S. Geography, 2021), current Ph.D. student
  • Anais Roque, Ph.D., Co-Chair (with Amber Wutich), ASU (2021), Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University
  • Kelli Condina, M.S., Chair, Geography (2020)
  • Amy Truong, M.S., Chair, Water Management and Hydrological Sciences Program
    • Booz Allen, Washington DC
  • Sydney Beckner, M.S., 2018, Chair, Geography
    • Research Topics: Groundwater governance and Vista Ridge Inter-aquifer Pipeline in Central Texas
    • Water Program Manager, Texas Hill Country Alliance
    • Co-authored paper in Society and Natural Resources, Ecological Economics, Urban Water Journal
  • Heather Lee, Ph.D. 2016, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Project: “Where does the “soft path” lead?: Irrigation technologies and water conservation in Central Mexico”
    • Notable Achievements: NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (2014);  CONACYT Fellow (TAMU); NSF PASI Trainee; Glasscock Graduate Fellowship (2013-2014); Texas A&M Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2015)
    • Coauthored paper in Environment and Planning A (with Jepson);
  • Swetha Peteru, Ph.D. 2016, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation Project: Linking Management Practices to Plant Species and Genetic Diversity in Agroforestry Systems”
    • Notable Achievements: Applied Biodiversity Science Associate; Whole Systems Genomics Initiative Catalyst Grant (With Cairns); Graduate Diversity Fellowship; Applied Biodiversity Science Amazon Field School Grant; Glasscock Graduate Fellowship (2013-2014); Society of Women Geographers Pruitt Fellowship (2014-2015); Texas A&M Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2016)
    • Currently CIFOR Indonesia
  • Tianna Bruno, M.S. 2016, Chair, “Market-Based Environmental Justice: A Study of EPA Showcase Communities”
    • Notable Achievements: Society of Women Geographers National Minority Pruitt Fellowship (2015); Fellow, AGEP (Advancing Interdisciplinary STEM Graduate Education in Energy and Sustainability Disciplines)
    • Co-Authored thesis research in Local Environment
    • Currently Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Texas at Austin (Ph.D. Oregon)
  • Audrey Joslin, Ph.D. 2015, Geography, Chair, Doctoral Dissertation: “Labor and Territory in Environmental Governance Regimes for Biodiversity Conservation in Ecuador’s Paramo”
    • Notable Achievements: IGERT Trainee; NSF Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant (2013); Texas A&M Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2014-2015)
    • Currently Associate Professor, Geography, Kansas State University 
  • Emily Vandewalle, MS Geography, 2014, Chair; Master’s Thesis: “From Emergency to Fix: Point-of-use Water FiltrationTechnology in Colonias along the United States-Mexico Border”
    • Notable Achievements: published two papers with Jepson from graduate work. Emily, who has worked in the Texas Water Research Institute since graduating, will be begin a year working with a water NGO in the Philippine
    • Co-authored two papers with Jepson (The Professional Geographer; GEO)
  • Abhineety Goel, Ph.D., Geography, 2013, Chair
    • Doctoral Dissertation: “Institutional Change and Resource Security in the Omkareshwar National Park Complex, India.