The CivicFutures Team

Kirk Jalbert

Faculty, Lab Director

I am an Assistant Professor at Arizona State University (ASU) in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society with a joint appointment in the School of Computing, Informatics, and Decision Systems Engineering. I am also a senior sustainability scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. I am furthermore a JPB Environmental Health Fellow with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. I direct efforts in the Civic Science for Environmental Futures Lab, a space exploring participatory action research projects driven by communities working to create more equitable environment futures. My personal research in this space explores public engagements with environmental science and governance that emerge from energy justice movements and how these are shaped by data mobilizations, information technologies, and grassroots scientific research efforts. This work additionally seeks to understand the social, political, and technical dynamics that make for effective academic, nonprofit, and community-based research partnerships. More information about my research can also be found at www.kirkjalbert.com.

Jennifer Richter

Faculty Affiliate

I am an assistant professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. I am also a senior sustainability scientist with the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. My research interests are at the intersections of science, environment, and society, and she teaches courses on environmental justice, science and society. I am especially interested in how federal policies are created and then taken up by local populations, specifically in the American West. I focus on energy justice, specifically in relation to the cultural, political, and environmental issues that come with larger energy transitions, including the environmental and social issues related to nuclear waste storage, renewable energy production, and how policies are developed to address issues of production of natural resources. Within CivicFutures, I am a collaborator on the helium extraction research project, helping to contextualize helium as a critical mineral relative to past waves of extraction in Northeast Arizona, such as coal and uranium.

Matthew Cutler

Research Affiliate, NOAA Fisheries

I am a a Social Scientist working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. I am also an Agency Fellow with the JPB Environmental Health Fellowship Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. My research has focused on public perceptions of climate change and other environmental issues, such as extreme weather events, urban development and sprawl, and commercial fisheries management. More broadly, I specialize in environmental and community sociology and has interests in environmental justice, natural resources, and public attitudes towards environmental policies. I received his PhD in Sociology from the University of New Hampshire in 2015 and completed postdoctoral training at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies as a member of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication from 2016 to 2018.

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Natalie Florence

Graduate Student Researcher

I am a doctoral student in the Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology studies PhD program at ASU’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society. I have previous degrees and work experience in architecture. I research how designers think about and produce material solutions for housing in places like refugee camps and shelters for people experiencing homelessness. I joined the Civic Futures Lab because I am specifically interested in the material, social, and political ways that communities engage with institutions of power, and to better understand how designed material infrastructures are a part of larger systems that have impact on people’s daily life. I also currently teach architecture at ASU and try to incorporate reflexive design practices in my teaching style and curriculum to try and be a part of the change I want to see, in respect to who gets to design and who is considered in the design process. I am passionate about being a mother to my three children, and spending time outside in New Mexico where I live.

Sean McAllister

Graduate Student Researcher

I am a PhD student in the Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology at Arizona State University’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society. My research interests include the human effects of innovation, especially in regard to governance and social outcomes. By examining tensions in the energy transition from fossil fuel based electricity systems to renewables, I seek to dispel myths of binaries such as centralized versus decentralized, concentrated versus distributed, political and economic power versus the destructive and transformational nature of innovation using methods as yet to be determined. I assist CivicFutures in projects examining the hydrogen fuel economy.

Katherine Ball

Graduate Student Researcher

I am a doctoral student in the Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology program at Arizona State University. I study how the U.S. federal government implements environmental policies and engages with local communities. I joined CivicFutures to work on the Helium Extraction project while completing my Master’s in Science and Technology Policy, which led to my leading the development of the “Helium Futures” board game with community partners. I also worked to help launch a stakeholder analysis project with NOAA Northeast Fisheries. My personal research focuses on the implementation of federal ocean policies in Alaska and how the voices of Alaska residents are involved in decision-making processes.

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Civic Futures Alumni

Noa Bruhis

Graduate Student Researcher

I received my PhD in the Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology program at Arizona State University. I come from a background in engineering, having spent several years in industry designing environmental sensors. My broad research at ASU explored perceptions and relationships that humans have to their water resources. My work with the Lab yields film products in an effort to document and widely share current perceptions surrounding helium extraction, including its potential impacts on water resources. I also assisted with a CivicFutures study of sustainable fisheries debates in partnership with researchers at NOAA Northeast Fisheries.

Sherri Wasserman

Graduate Student Researcher

Sherri Wasserman constructs experiences at the intersections of physical, multimedia, and informational landscapes. She makes things for print, digital, and architectural/environmental spaces, creating content-rich exhibitions, installations, books, websites, and mobile apps for wide-ranging audiences. Her clients have included the National 9/11 Memorial Museum, the MIT Museum, the American Folk Art Museum, the Gapminder Foundation, Biosphere 2, Todo Mundo/David Byrne, NYU Abu Dhabi, and the Smithsonian. She was a member of the inaugural Experimental Research Design Lab team at Autodesk’s Pier 9, an artist-in-residence at the Prelinger Library, and a Santa Fe Art Institute resident artist; she maintains an ongoing affiliation with the metaLAB at Harvard University. Wasserman received a Bachelor of Arts in visual arts and history from Oberlin College and a master’s degree from the Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She recently completed a PhD within ASU’s Human and Social Dimensions of Science and Technology program.

Morgan Leon Guerrero

Graduate Student Researcher

I completed a master’s of Sustainability Solutions at the School of Sustainability. My background includes international studies focusing on climate change and its effects on islands in the Pacific. Currently, I am interested in researching the policies, infrastructure, and technologies needed for a just energy transition for island nations. Through enrolling in Next-Generation Sustainable Governance Design, taught by Dr. Kirk Jalbert, I gained an interest in researching how best to ensure energy justice within marginalized communities through participation systems.

Farah Najar Arevalo

Graduate Student Researcher

I am doctoral student in the Innovation in Global Development PhD program at ASU’s School for the Future of Innovation in Society, where I also earned a MSc in Global Technology and Development. I am interested in the study of smart cities, and urban infrastructures through feminist critiques, in order to understand how these technologies impact the lives of women and non-normative users of urban technologies. At CivicFutures, I study public engagements with oil and gas pipeline projects, as well as civic group involvements and decisions in these infrastructures. Previous to joining CivicFutures, I worked as Research Assistant at ASU’s Center for Smart Cities and Regions. In addition, I have experience in the nonprofit sector, local government, and academia in Mexico, Brazil, and Middle East.

Sakshi Hegde

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I completed a masters degree at Arizona State University majoring in Sustainability and Geography. My research interests include climate change, public policy, and renewable energy. During the second semester of my freshman year at college, I interned with Defend Our Future Arizona where I had the opportunity to canvass and advocate for issues such as funding for the EPA and removing Scott Pruitt from office. This augmented my interest in public policy and I gained valuable experience in how to influence policy decisions. I was a research fellow with the School for Future Innovation and Society, focused on the various stakeholders involved in issues surrounding helium extraction in Arizona.

Elizabeth Keyes

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I completed undergraduate degrees in Justice Studies and Film and Media Studies with a Socio-Legal Studies certificate. The broad scope of my research interest is to further recognize how the mutually reflexive relationship between historical socio-legal matters and cinema-television has been, is, and can be leveraged. I am particularly interested in non-narrative filmmaking strategies as a central avenue to explore topics within this scope. My past projects include researching the relationships between education policy and policing as well as creating a short film documenting the history and trajectory of the Maya land rights movement in Belize from various stakeholder perspectives. I was a research fellow with the School for the Future of Innovation where my work assisted in the creation of collaborative film products documenting perceptions of helium extraction in Arizona. 

Alex Garza Navarro

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I recently graduated from Arizona State University majoring in geography and minoring in geographic information sciences, history, and urban planning. I come from a background of political advocacy and have technical experience working with geographic information systems. I am guided by a mission to democratize geospatial data and help better society by fueling evidence based solutions. I was a research fellow at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society researching the critical technical practices of environmental advocacy groups in relation to oil and gas pipeline advocacy. I assisted with GIS mapping and data analysis.

Caitlyn Hendricks-Costello

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I received a degree in Economics (BS), with a particular focus on international political economy and public policy. I have gained professional and research experience at the U.S. Commerce Department and as a Research Fellow with Barrett Honors College at ASU, and worked as research and strategy intern at the Greater Phoenix Economic Council as well as an experimental economics research assistant with ASU College of Health Solutions. In my capacity as Research Fellow in the School of Innovation and Future Design, I examined the helium market specifically, how economic issue impact the local Arizona community. I looked at a holistic view of supply and demand side factors in juxtaposition to government intervention, to understand the trends that we are observing globally, nationally, and in Arizona.

Pratik Nyaupane

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I received an honors degree in Informatics (BS) with a minor in Political Science. My interests focused on the significance of data regarding social issues and policy. My research involvement stemmed from experience as a student in the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) Program at the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and as a research assistant with the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences. I was also a Barrett Research Fellow with the Intercultural Communication and Global Engagement Interest Group (ICGlobal) at the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication as well as a Junior Fellow with the School of Politics and Global Studies. My research in CivicFutures focused on the Public engagements with oil and gas pipelines projects. My role consisted of researching advocacy coalitions against pipelines and their use of critical technical practices.

Bailey Reynolds

Undergraduate Student Researcher

I received an honors degree in Conservation Biology and Ecology with minors in Sustainability and Business. I have gained research experience as an undergraduate research assistant with the Acoustic Ecology Lab at ASU, and professional experience in the public sector as a sustainability intern with the Arizona Department of Administration. I also researched the different effects that urban and desert, sonic environments have on the acoustic properties of mockingbird calls; although, my other research interests include the intersection of environmental justice, water resource management, public perceptions and community development. As a Research Fellow with the School for the Future of Innovation in Society, I studied public perceptions, surveying and examining public perceptions of the benefits and risks associated with helium extraction in Arizona so as to better understand the attitudes and knowledge gaps that influence behavior, politics, and decision making in the state.