Doctorate (Ph.D.)
Jason “Jake” Hawes
Ph.D. Pre-Candidate, 2019-Present
Research interests: Food-Energy-Water networks, Social-physical infrastructures, Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable Urban Development.
Ph.D. Pre-Candidate, 2019-Present
Research interests: Food-Energy-Water networks, Social-physical infrastructures, Climate Change Adaptation, Sustainable Urban Development.
Jason “Jake” Hawes is a 4th year PhD student working with USRG to study adaptation in food-energy-water systems. Specifically, his dissertation couples geography-grounded lenses like political ecology with tools from engineering and spatial sciences to study the role of urban agriculture in future cities. He is interested in understanding how we can assess and design for more sustainable, resilient, just infrastructure systems, and his dissertation seeks to lay out political-industrial ecology as a framework for assessing tradeoffs and synergies between complex infrastructure, using urban ag as a case study. In addition to his dissertation, Hawes’ previous work has assessed agricultural adaptation, engineered-system resilience, and sustainability pedagogy. Prior to joining the University of Michigan, Jake received a BS in Environmental and Ecological Engineering and an MS in Natural Resources Social Science, both from Purdue University. Outside UM, Jake is an avid outdoorsmen and sports fan, spending his time hiking, running, and watching soccer or college basketball. Read more about Jake’s work and interests at his website.
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Charlotte Sedlock
Ph.D. Pre-Candidate, 2023-Present
Research interests: Supply Chains, Decarbonization Regulation, Smallholder Farmers, Sustainability Certifications, Just Transitions, Avoidance Emissions.
Ph.D. Pre-Candidate, 2023-Present
Research interests: Supply Chains, Decarbonization Regulation, Smallholder Farmers, Sustainability Certifications, Just Transitions, Avoidance Emissions.
Charlotte is a first-year Ph.D. student working with USRG to study the unintended consequences of decarbonization regulation on global value chains. Charlotte’s research interests include mapping smallholder farmers into global value chains, investigating the exclusion/consolidation of small suppliers and smallholder farmers in global value chains, and the relationship between sustainability governance and agricultural just transitions. Charlotte’s research topics stem from my past sustainability experiences. Her sustainability journey started during her undergraduate studies in the Honors College at the University of California, Santa Barbara, double-majoring in Environmental Studies and Communication. While attending university, Charlotte joined a mission-driven start-up, Apeel Sciences. She spent seven years at Apeel helping create the company’s Sustainability Team and ESG Strategy, participating in the Produce Marketing Association’s Sustainability Committee and the International Fresh Produce Association’s Sustainability Council, and participating in the Food Waste and Sustainable Packaging Task Forces. When Charlotte is not at my desk, you can find her paddling on the water, gleaning with the local Food Bank, browsing other people’s bookshelves, or fruitlessly trying to tire out her dog Olive. Read more about Charlotte’s work and interests at her website.
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Chander Sachs
Ph.D. Pre-Candidate, 2023-Present
Research interests: Transboundary flows of natural resources, climate change and natural hazard impacts on critical infrastructure, complex systems, and security and social vulnerabilities related to coupled human-environment systems.
Ph.D. Pre-Candidate, 2023-Present
Research interests: Transboundary flows of natural resources, climate change and natural hazard impacts on critical infrastructure, complex systems, and security and social vulnerabilities related to coupled human-environment systems.
Chandler Sachs is a first year PhD student in the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS). His research interests include transboundary flows of natural resources, climate change and natural hazard impacts on critical infrastructure, complex systems, and security and social vulnerabilities related to coupled human-environment systems. Prior to the University of Michigan, he received his M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge, Christ’s College. Before Cambridge, he worked for the RAND Corporation in DC. He did his undergraduate studies at Cornell University, where he was a Meinig Scholar.
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Masters (M.S.)
Undergraduate
Natalie Dwortz (she/her)
Undergraduate student with majors in the Environment and in Biology, Health, and Society
Research interests: Urban Agriculture, Environmental justice, Urban green spaces, Food systems.
Natalie is a second year undergraduate student at the University of Michigan. As her introduction to research, she is currently investigating the role of urban agriculture in cities along with other undergraduate researchers. Outside of research, she works for the Student Sustainability Coalition at UM and is the activism chair of a professional sustainability fraternity called Theta Alpha Psi. She is also an avid runner and enjoys spending time outdoors or baking in her free time.
Kate Jarecke
Undergraduate student majoring in Economics and minoring in Food and the Environment
Kate is an undergraduate student from Seattle, Washington, majoring in Economics and minoring in Food and the Environment at the University of Michigan. She has participated in research mapping and analyzing urban gardens in Detroit and New York City. She is interested in the intersection of economics and environmental studies and plans to work in sustainable agriculture in the future.
Ella is an undergraduate student in the Program in the Environment (PITE) at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Her research within the lab has been focused on compiling a map of urban gardens in metro Detroit and New York City and examining their functions and implications in said communities. She hopes to explore urban gardens’ role in food sovereignty and community building. In her free time, she plays soccer, hangs out with friends, and loves to travel.
Xinyi Zhang
Undergraduate student majoring in Economics
Research interests: Urban agriculture, Urban garden functions, Green infrastructure
Xinyi is a senior undergraduate student at the University of Michigan from Shandong, China. She collaborated with other undergraduate students to participate in mapping urban gardens in Detroit and New York City and collected more detailed garden features to benefit future research. She wants to keep exploring the impact of urban gardens on community engagement and cohesiveness. Besides research, she enjoys traditional Chinese painting, travel and photography.
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