Graduate Students

Current Graduate Students
Former Graduate Students & Theses

Congratulations

Congratulations to Dr. Alex Martin & his academic supervisor Dr. Greg Halseth on the successful defence of his PhD dissertation in Natural Resources & Environmental Studies (Geography) on June 20, 2012:

"Community-Company Relationships in Forest-Dependent Communities in Northern BC: Assessing the Local, Sectoral, and Theoretical Implications"

Congratulations to

Christina Tennant and her

supervisor Dr. Brian Menounos on her successful thesis defence on Friday, April 13th, 2012 in the MSc Natural Resources & Environmental Studies (Geography) graduate program. Christina's thesis is titled:

"Nine Decades of Glacier Change in the

Canadian Rocky Mountains"

Graduate Defences Online Alexandra Pedersen's defence

Alexandra Pedersen successfully defended her MA International Studies (International Development) thesis on April 15, 2011. Her thesis is titled: "Amplifying Voices of Development: Insights from Indigenous Maya Leaders in El Quiche, Guatemala." Part I of the video of Alexandra's 20 min. presentation and the questions/answer component of the defence. For Part II.

Nathan Einbinder successfully defended his MA NRES (Geography) thesis on August 3, 2010. The thesis is titled: "Dams, Displacement and Perceptions of Development: A Case Study from Rio Negro, Guatemala." Access the introductions, 20 minute presentation & the first questions and answers.

Current Graduate Students

These graduate students are working toward various graduate degrees& are supervised by faculty members in the Geography Program. Watch for graduate student updates on the What's New page.

* NRES = Natural Resources and Environmental Studies

* IDIS = Interdisciplinary Studies

* INTS = International Studies

Matt Beedle, PhD NRES (Geography) candidate BSc (Earth Science) Montana State University; MA (Geography) University of Colorado Co-Supervisors: Drs. Brian Menounos & Roger Wheate Topic: Glacier change and relations to climate variability in northern British Columbia Email: beedlem@unbc.ca Website: http://web.unbc.ca/~beedlem Matt's research is featured in the June/July '09 issue of Northword magazine. Click HERE for Matt's Spring/Summer 2009 fieldwork update
Jessica Blewett, MA NRES (Geography) candidate, January 2011 - present BA Geography (minor in Women's Studies) '10, UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon Topic: Mapping Barriers to Access in the Built Environment for Persons with Physical Limitations Email: blewettj@unbc.ca
Nick Ehlers, MA NRES (Geography) candidate, September 2010 - present BSc (Biology, opt. Marine Biology) Oregon State University Supervisor: Dr. Zoë Meletis Topic: Investigate local concerns, questions, and degrees of satisfaction with regards to tourism-related use of motorboats in the lagoon and canal system linked to Tortuguero National Park and Tortuguero Village, Costa Rica. Email: ehlersn@unbc.ca “Just show up and listen.”
Brooke Eschuk (nee Frykas), MA NRES (Geography) candidate, January 2008 - present BA Geography '07 Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon Topic: Access to organised sports, public green space for unstructured play, & family income in Prince George, BC Email: frykas@unbc.ca Click HERE for more details
Leana Garraway, MA Interdisciplinary Studies candidate, September 2010 - present BA Anthropology, UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon Thesis topic: Knowledge to Action: First Nations Engagement with Research for Community Empowerment Email: garraway@unbc.ca
Melanie Grubb, MSc NRES candidate, September 2006 - present BSc Geography '06, UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Brian Menounos Topic: Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Sedimentation in Proglacial Kitsumkalum Lake, Terrace, BC Email: grubbm@unbc.ca
Erica Henderson, MA Interdisciplinary Studies candidate, September 2011 - present BA General '11, UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Working Title: Kingdom of Impunity": Analyzing the maintaining factors of impunity in Guatemala Email: hender4@unbc.ca
Jocelyn Joe-Strack, MSc NRES candidate,May 2009 - present BSc (Biochemistry) '06, University of Victoria Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Petticrew Topic: Use of LH-PCR as a DNA fingerprint technique to monitor sediment-associated microbial communities from various land uses Email: joestra@unbc.ca
Alexander Koiter, PhD NRES candidate, September 2010 - present M.Sc. (Soil Science) University of Manitoba B.Sc. (Environmental Science) University of Guelph Co-Supervisors: Dr. Phil Owens and Dr. Ellen Petticrew Topic: Development of Sediment Fingerprinting Techniques For Use in Canadian Watersheds Email: akoiter@gmail.com
Eric Kopetski, MA (Geography) candidate, September 2009 - present BA (Geography) University of Victoria Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Topic: The potential of agro-forestry to increase resilience in forest dependent communities affected by the Mountain Pine Beetle Email: kopets0@unbc.ca Photo: Eric, middle, receiving the Best Student Paper Award at the 2010 WDCAG conference
Phillip Krauskopf, MSc NRES candidate BSc Geography '06 UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Petticrew Topic: Landscape scale analysis of riparian zone sensitivity to forest harvest disturbance Email: krauskop@unbc.ca
Titi Kunkel, PhD NRES (Geography) candidate September 2008 to present B.Sc. (Computer Sciences) University of Lagos; MBA (Business Admin) Thames Valley University; MNRES, UNBC Co-Supervisors: Drs. Bob Ellis & Ellen Petticrew Working Topic: Assessing the compatibility of Aboriginal values and geothermal resource development Email: kunkel@unbc.ca
JP Laplante, MA NRES (Geography) candidate September 2009 - present BSc Biological Sciences, University of Guelph Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Tentative Title: Maya consultas and socially responsible investing: A case study examining perspectives on the indigenous right to free, prior and informed consent Email: laplan0@unbc.ca
Courtney (Wood) LeBourdais, MA NRES (Geography) candidate, September 2008 - present BA English '08 (Psych & Human Geog double minor), UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Topic: Marriage Migration in Northern BC: How do foreign brides establish place & identity Email: cwood0@unbc.ca Click HERE for more details and click HERE for Courtney's summer 2009 fieldwork update
Joe LeBourdais, MA NRES (Geography) candidate, September 2007 - present BA Geography '07 (First Nations Studies minor), UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon Topic: Community development & implications on access to health care and health service, Peace River Regional District, BC Email: lebourdj@unbc.ca Click HERE for Joe's summer 2009 fieldwork update
Malyssa Maurer, MSc NRES (Geography) candidate, January 2010 - present BSc Geography '09, UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Brian Menounos Topic: Terrestrial and Lacustrine Evidence of Holocene Glacier Fluctuations in Southernmost Patagonia Email: maurer@unbc.ca
Theo Mlynowski, MSc NRES(Geography) candidate, September 2010 - present BSc (Geography), UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Brian Menounos Topic: Relating glacier activity to sedimentation yield in the proglacial Peyto Lake email: mlynows@unbc.ca
Lorraine Naziel, MA IDIS student, September 2008 - present BA Geography '08, (First Nations Studies & Political Science minors), UNBC Diploma in Public Sector Managenment, UVic On leave, May 2011-September 2012 Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Topic: Witsuwit’en Women: Empowering the Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit through Community Development Email: naziell1@unbc.ca Click HERE for more details and click HERE for Lorraine's summer 2009 fieldwork update
Som B. Pun, MNRES (Geography) candidate, January 2011 - present Proficiency Teaching Certificate (I.Ed) Tribhuvan University, Nepal '88; Diploma–Forestry, Northwest Community College '99; BSc Forestry (minor, Env. Planning), UNBC '04; Registered Professional Forester (RPF), ABCFP '07 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Working title: The Opportunities and Limitations of First Nations’ Forest Tenures in British Columbia: The Key Issues, Challenges and Future Recommendations for Community Management of Forests in Tl’azt’en Nation Email: puns@unbc.ca
Trevor Shaw, MA International Studies student, (International Development Stream) BA Economics/Political Science '09, UNBC Certificate in Management - General Management Specialization '00, SFU Certificate in Management - Marketing Specialization '01, SFU Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Topic: Indigenous Development in Latin America On academic leave, May 2012 to May 2013 Email: shawt1@unbc.ca
Giulliana Tamblyn, MA International Studies student, (International Development Stream) September 2011 - present BA Economics, National University of Piura, Peru (1996) Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Topic: Is Resource Extraction A Curse Or A Bonanza For Local Communities? Mining Case Study: Peru And Canada Email: tamblyn@unbc.ca
Chris Turner, PhD NRES (Geography/POLS) candidate, September 2011 - present MA NRES (Geography) '11 UNBC Co-supervisors: Drs. Gail Fondahl and Michael Murphy Tentative Title: An Evaluation of Commission of Inquiry-Style Institutions for Addressing Overlapping and Contested Indigenous Territorial Claims in British Columbia, Australia, and New Zealand. Email: cturner0@unbc.ca
Leah Vanden Busch, MSc NRES (Environmental Science) candidate, September 2010 – present BSc (Biology) ’08, University of Wisconsin Co-supervisors: Drs. Ellen Petticrew and John Rex Topic: Hyporheic nutrient exchanges in salmon bearing interior streams Email: vandenbl@unbc.ca
Kirk Walker, MA IDIS student, May 2012 - present Diploma - Broadcast Communications (Television) '04 - BCIT BA Anthropology '12 - UNBC Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Tentative Topic: Exploring identity and landscape in the shadow of Peru's internal conflict Email: kirkaw@gmail.com
Lynn Wilson, MA INTS student Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Topic: Grassroots organizations and the empowerment of indigenous women in post-conflict Guatemala Email: Lynn_Wilson@telus.net Click HERE for more details

Former Graduate Students & Theses

2012
Alex Martin, amartin1@unbc.ca PhD NRES (Geography) '12 BA (Geography), M.A. (Rural Dev.) Brandon University Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: "Community-Company Relationships in Forest-Dependent Communities in Northern BC: Assessing the Local, Sectoral, and Theoretical Implications"
Christina Tennant, teen10ant@hotmail.com MSc NRES (Geography) '12 Supervisor: Dr. Brian Menounos Thesis: "Nine Decades of Glacier Change in the Canadian Rocky Mountains" Website: http://web.unbc.ca/~menounos/www/Grad_Students.html
2011
Hyae-Rim Roncin, hyaerim@gmail.com MA International Studies (International Development) '11 Co-supervisors: Drs. Catherine Nolin & Fiona MacPhail Thesis: The Meaning of Reconciliation and Development in Post-Genocide Rwanda
Jamie Pepper, pepperc@unbc.ca MNRES (Geography) '11 Supervisor: Dr. Gail Fondahl Thesis: From a Different Perspective: A First Nations Approach to Marine Near-Shore Natural Resource Management on Coastal British Columbia
Cristian Silva, silvac@unbc.ca MA IDIS '11 Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Thesis: Exhuming Guatemala's Gender-Based Violence: Justice, Truth-Telling, and Rebuilding in a Post-Conflict Society Handout at thesis defence International Coordinator, Peruvian Forensic Anthropology Foundation, 2011-present Click HERE for Cristian's 2009 & 2010 fieldwork updates
Chris Turner, cturner0@unbc.ca MA NRES (Geography) '11 Supervisor: Dr. Gail Fondahl Thesis: ‘Overlap’: Causes and Implications of Contested Indigenous Claims to Territory in the Context of the BC Treaty Process.
Courtney Jermyn, MSc NRES (Geography) '11 Supervisor: Dr. Brian Menounos Thesis:"An Approach for Remote Landslide Mapping, South Nahanni Watershed, Northwest Territories, Canada."
Jiwon Slotwinski, MSc Community Health Sciences '11 Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon Thesis: 'People Need to Listen to Us': The Role of Empowerment in Positive Prevention Helps People Living with HIV/AIDS t o Improve their Health and Quality of Life.
Christine Creyke, creykec@unbc.ca MA NRES (Geography) ‘11, BA Geography '06, UNBC Co-supervisors: Drs. Gail Fondahl & Greg Halseth Thesis: The Tahltan Nation and Our Consultation Process with Mining Industry: How a Land Use Plan Might Improve the Process
Alexandra Pedersen, peders8@unbc.ca MA International Studies (International Development) '11, BA International Development ’09, U Guelph Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Thesis: Amplifying Voices of Development: Insights from Indigenous Maya Leaders of El Quiché, Guatemala (Defence Video: Part I and Part II) President, UNBC's International Development Society (IDS), 2010-2011
Kara Przeczek, Email: przeczek@unbc.ca MSc NRES (Geography) '11, BSc Ecology '05 (hons.), Earth Sciences (minor), University of Calgary Co-Supervisors: Drs. Brian Menounos & Stephen Dery Thesis: Assessment of Optimum Snowmelt Model Complexity, Cariboo Highlands, British Columbia, Canada
2010
Sam Albers, Email: sam.albers@gmail.com MSc NRES (Biology) '10, BSc (Biology) University of Victoria Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Petticrew Thesis: The Salmon Disturbance Regime: The Effects on Biofilm, Sediment and Water Handout at Thesis Defence
Nathan Einbinder, nathaneinbinder@gmail.com MA NRES (Geography) '10, BSc Environmental Studies '02 Evergreen State College Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Thesis: Dams, Displacement, and Perceptions of Development: A Case Study from Rio Negro, Guatemala Defence Video: Click here Handout at Thesis Defence Click HERE for more details and links to Nate's published news articles & HERE for Nate's spring/summer 2009 fieldwork update
Chelan (Hoffman) Zirul, hoffmanc@unbc.ca MA NRES (Geography) '10 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: The Changing Governance of Rural Regional Development: A Case Study of the Cariboo-Chilcotin Beetle Action Coalition Handout at Thesis Defence
Marc Steynen, steynenm@unbc.ca MSc NRES (Geography) '10 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: The Consequences of Forest-Dependence for the Economic Growth and Socioeconomic Development of Houston, BC Handout at Thesis Defence
2009
Jennifer Herkes, herkes@unbc.ca MA NRES (Geography) '09 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: Planning for Resilience: A Case Study of Kimitat, BC Handout at Thesis Defence
Domenico Santomauro, dominic_sto@yahoo.co.uk MNRES (Geography) '09 Co-Supervisors: Drs. Gail Fondahl & Chris Johnson Thesis: The Distribution of Woodland Caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) and Moose (Alces alces) in the Fort St. James Region of Northern British Columbia, 1800-1950
Dr. John Rex, rex@unbc.ca PhD NRES (Geography) '09 Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Petticrew Thesis: The Flocculation Feedback Loop: Delivery of Marine Derived Nutrients in Pacific Salmon Streams
Caroline von Schilling, vonsch0@unbc.ca MNRES (Geography) '09 Supervisor: Dr. Darwyn Coxson (NRES Graduate Program) Thesis: Entropy Debt: A Link to Sustainability?
Anne Hogan, hogana@unbc.ca MA NRES (Geography) '09 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: Housing, Health, and Social Inclusion of Older People in Prince George, BC
Kyle Kusch, kuschk@unbc.ca MA NRES (Geography) '09 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: Historical Migration Patterns in the Upper Fraser Region, British Columbia
2007
Rachael Clasby MA NRES (Geography) '07 Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon http://web.unbc.ca/geography/faculty/neil/grads.shtml Thesis: Networks and partnerships in a resource town: A case study of adapting to an aging population in Mackenzie, B.C.
Karen Heikkila, MA NRES (Geography) '07 Supervisor: Dr. Gail Fondahl Thesis: Teaching through Toponomy: Using Indigenous Place Names in Outdoor Science Camps
Sarah (Parsons) Quinn, MA NRES (Geography) '07 Supervisor: Dr. Gail Fondahl Thesis: Locally based measures of successful forest co-management: A case study of Tl’azt’en Nation and the John Prince Research Forest
Jessica (McGregor) Place MA NRES (Geography) '07 Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon Thesis:Expanding the mine, killing a lake: A case study of First Nations' environmental values, perceptions of risk and health
Pamela (Prior) Tobin MA Interdisciplinary Studies '07 Supervisor: Dr. Neil Hanlon Thesis: The social and cultural experience of food security in the Takla Lake First Nation: Informing Public Health
2006
Arian Spiteri, MNRES '06 Co-supervisors: Drs. Gail Fondahl & Sanjay Nepal (Texas A&M University) Thesis: Evaluating community incentives for biodiversity conservation in protected areas in Nepal

2005
Melissa Baxter, MA NRES (Geography) '05 Supervisor: Dr. Gail Fondahl Thesis: Devolution and post-secondary education: Challenging First Nations geo-legal spatiality
Roberta (Bobbi Jo) Lay, MNRES '05 Supervisor: Dr. Roger Wheate Thesis: Use of LandSat TM and ETM+ to describe intra-season change in vegetation, with consideration for wildlife management
Jennifer Reade MA Interdisciplinary Studies '05 Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Thesis: Mujeres Autorizadas: Women’s empowerment programs as a form of community development in Guatemala
Jacqui Stephens MA Interdisciplinary Studies, UNBC '05 Supervisor: Dr. Catherine Nolin Thesis: Conflicting perspectives: Neoliberal resource development, indigenous communities, and modern Canadian imperialism in Guatemala

2004
Jenny Lo, MSc NRES (Geography) '04 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: Three Cs for CED: Concepts, case studies, and consequences: Building capacity for community economic development

2003
Kelly Giesbrecht, MA NRES (Geography) '03 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: Public participation in resource management: The Bulkley Valley Community Resources Board

2002
Laura Ryser, MNRES (Geography) '02 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: Institutional barriers to climate responsive design in commercial redevelopment in Prince George, BC
Lana Sullivan, MA NRES (Geography) ' 02 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: The geography of community crisis: A case of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia

2001
Brian Stauffer, MA NRES (Geography) ' 01 Supervisor: Dr. Greg Halseth Thesis: Resource development patterns of the British Columbia salmon canning industry, 1870-1970

1999
Philip Morris, MA NRES (Geography) '99 Supervisor: Dr. Gail Fondahl Thesis: Negotiating the production of space in Tl'azt'en territory, 1969-1984