Faculty, Staff and Graduate Students

Patti Caton

Administrative Manager

Box 1943
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Patti_Caton@Brown.edu

Patti came to Brown in 1989 as a Resumed Undergraduate Education Student. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Environmental Studies in 1992 and her Master's Degree in Environmental Studies in 2002.
When not at CES, she can be found at her sewing machine, quilting.

AB Environmental Studies
Center for Environmental Studies
Brown University
1992

Thesis: "The Consumption of the Colorado River: Water Supply Management in the Southwestern United States"

MA Environmental Studies
Center for Environmental Studies
Brown University
2002

Thesis: Developing an Effluent Trading Program to Address Nutrient Pollution in the Providence and Seekonk Rivers

Lynn Carlson

GIS/Systems Manager
Lynn_Carlson@Brown.edu
Box 1846
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912

Environmental and Remote Technologies Lab
Office: MacMillan Hall Room 111
Phone: (401) 863-9917

Lynn Carlson came to Brown in October of 1998 to manage the Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System lab in MacMillan Hall and to provide technical support, instruction through courses and workshops, project management, and GIS-related services to the Brown University community.

Prior to taking this position, she was employed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management for ten years, first as staff in the Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Program, and for the last six years, as the Department's GIS Coordinator. Lynn has served on the Executive Board of the Northeast Arc User's Group, and as Chair of the Rhode Island Geographic Information System Executive Committee. Her goals here at Brown are to integrate the use of GIS technology throughout the campus, and provide students, faculty, and staff with assistance in utilizing the technology in their courses and research.

Lynn holds an undergraduate degree in Biology from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon; her graduate degree is in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. She is a native of the State of Colorado and is a die-hard Broncos fan.

EARTH Lab Homepage

Oscar Tennille

Department Computer Coordinator
UEL, BioMed

Naira Aslanyan

Naira Aslanyan’s is an Edmund S. Muskie Scholar from the Republic of Armenia. She completed her bachelor’s degree at Yerevan State University in 1999 and worked for several United Nations environmental programs since 2003. She served the longest with the National Capacity Self-Assessment for Global Environmental Management (NCSA) Project. The first of its kind in the region, the NCSA worked in close cooperation with the Ministry of Nature Protection in Armenia to identify and prioritize the most critical national environmental issues. Naira’s many interests focus primarily on climate change, sustainable development, and environmental policy. Naira_Aslanyan@Brown.edu

Nora Buckman

After studying English and environmental science at Plattsburgh State University, Nora  moved to New York City where she worked in insurance and counseled  patients at a crisis center in Chelsea before and after they received HIV tests. Nora has also volunteered at area hospitals and worked for Habitat for Humanity. She grew up in Mountaindale, New York State. Nora_Buckman@Brown.edu

Michael Clark

Michael graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a BS in Environmental Design. He has interned as an environmental planner for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, served as program associate at the Environmental Leadership Program, a non-profit that supports up and coming environmental leaders, and worked as an environmental consultant. Michael is most interested in investigating the impacts of land use planning on water quality and the social and policy changes that can improve water conservation management. Michael_Clark@Brown.edu

Marie-Laure Couet

Marie-Laure completed her undergraduate studies in government and environmental science & policy at Smith College in 2006. Afterwards, she joined the Student Conservation Association to intern in their Desert Restoration Corps, working in the Mojave Desert restoring degraded desert tortoise habitat.Marie-Laure is interested in aligning sustainable living with economic profitability and understanding the drivers of environmental values. She also loves cheese and hence studied cheese making in Switzerland, focusing on its environmental impact on the local landscape. Marie-Laure_Couet@Brown.edu

Tara Gancos

Tara graduated from the University of Georgia in 2006 with a BS in Ecology. Afterwards she joined the Peace Corps and served as the Programmes Coordinator for a parish-based environmental NGO in St. Thomas, Jamaica. While there my activities focused on raising community awareness of environmental issues, organizing environmental events and advocacy activities, and liaising with various officials and organizations regarding related topics. She is personally and professionally interested in integrating goals of conservation with those of development and incorporating environmental stewardship into all levels and aspects of society.

Tim Huth

Tim graduated from Cornell University in May 2008, receiving a BA in Science of Earth Systems with a concentration in biogeochemistry.  His undergraduate research investigated silica weathering budgets in streams and subsurface waters on the Big Island of Hawaii.  While he is interested in exploring perspectives from other fields of study like sociology and ecology, his main interests are geology and biogeochemistry.  As a former oarsman for Cornell's heavyweight crews, the Norfolk, Massachusetts native devotes the majority of his spare time to training for rowing, but remains a passionate fan of the Patriots and Red Sox.

Ellie Leonard

Ellie Leonard completed her undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies at Vassar College in 2006.  Her senior theses focused on environmental justice issues in relation to the Hurricane Katrina disaster, beginning with a volunteer trip to the area and culminating in a multi-media photography installation.  After graduation, she further pursued her photography, in addition to completing an Student Conservation Association Americorps term teaching ecology of the Hudson River.  Most recently, she worked as a Project Manager at Ecosystem Strategies, an environmental consulting firm based out of the Hudson Valley.   Her primary interests lie in the intersection between environmental and social issues.

Heidi Nutters

Heidi hails from San Francisco, CA where she has worked as Botanist, traveling throughout the state of California assisting on ecological restoration, land management and research projects for different agencies. In 2006, she completed an internship in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area working in a watershed-based native plant nursery, conducting environmental education programs and learning about ecological restoration. Heidi earned a BA in Environmental Studies from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH, where she studied ecology and land management internationally through study abroad and internships opportunities in the Bahamas, Ecuador and Brazil. Her interests are in plant ecology, climate change, land management, and their intersections.

Laura Mattison

Laura grew up near Thoreau's Walden Pond and studied ethics at the University of Vermont in Burlington. She later joined the Peace Corps and lived in the Fiji Islands for 2.5 years to work on marine resource management and environmental education.  She is currently conducting her thesis on two models of gender equality and community-based management of marine resources; one in southern New England and the other in Kerala, India. Laura_Mattison@Brown.edu

Andrew Posner

Andy studied Spanish Language and Cultureat California State University—Northridge and currently works on a project to bring low-cost solar water heaters to poor Cairenes by training them make the systems out of recycled materials such as plastic bottles and PVC.Andy has also posted a mini-documentary about a 1 megawatt fuel cell power plant constructed at California State that will be used in promotional materials by Fuel Cell Energy, Inc.Andy is interested in cradle-to-cradle design, wind and solar power, living machines, grey water recycling, and technologies that empower the poor. Andrew_Posner@Brown.edu

Celia Riechel

Celia’a research seeks to link land use change and ownership transition of rural forests to understand why owners decide to subdivide and develop their land. Celia is currently analyzing trends in Campton, New Hampshire and Vida, Oregon. She expects this research will aide planners and conservation organizations and improve our understanding of the factors that facilitate urban-to-rural migration and second-home construction. Prior to coming to Brown, she was a wildland firefighter for the US Forest Service. Celia holds a BA in Anthropology from Princeton University. Celia_Riechel@Brown.edu

Will Yandik

Will is interested in translating recent ecological research to the parties best equipped to use such knowledge – be they policymakers, landowners, or the general public. With a professional background in both field ecology and journalism, Will is interested in how the media presents science to the public, particularly issues of biodiversity and global climate change. In New Hampshire, Will is modeling the interrelated effects of past land use, exurban growth, and climate change on birds. He has earned separate undergraduate degrees in English (Princeton) and biology (University of Wisconsin) and works as a freelance writer for a variety of national magazines and newspapers. William_Yandik@Brown.edu