Ph.D., Antioch University, 2025, Antioch New England: Environmental Studies

This study investigated how racial equity trainers envision racially equitable residential environmental education (REE). While addressing racial inequities has been central to environmental scholarship, equity detours undergirded by systemic power structures continue to pose significant barriers in addressing inequities in practice. The research explored the question: “How do racial equity trainers envision racially equitable residential environmental education?” Using constructivist grounded theory and drawing on portraiture's “search for goodness,” the study conducted 1-hour virtual interviews with six racial equity trainers, employing iterative coding through the constant comparative method. A 2-hour virtual focus group and subsequent 30-minute “dissertation reality check” provided additional insights and validation for theory construction. The analysis revealed four key characteristics of racially equitable REE, arranged from most foundational to most implemental. First, as an alternative to Whiteness, equitable REE implements practices that acknowledge and address the harm Whiteness causes to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), recognizing systemic racism and its impacts. Second, being rooted in BIPOC environmental perspectives ensures that BIPOC perspectives drive program development, emphasizing the connection between racism and environmentalism. Third, selecting for BIPOC leadership involves intentional recruitment and long-term support of BIPOC staff, addressing institutional representation. Fourth, creating an environment where BIPOC students belong ensures all students are viewed as assets, with visiting students' identities and experiences shaping the relational and emotional environment. The study identified four key recommendations to avoid equity detours: critically examine Whiteness to avoid pacing-for-privilege, connect Whiteness to REE to avoid celebrating diversity, decenter Whiteness in REE to avoid the poverty of culture, and disemp (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jimmy Karlan Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Gopal Krishnamurthy Ph.D. (Committee Member); Hannah Miller Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Conservation; Education Philosophy; Environmental Education; Environmental Justice; Environmental Philosophy; Environmental Studies; Science Education; Social Research; Social Structure

Bachelor of Arts (BA), Ohio University, 2021, Geography

Cuyahoga Valley National Park (CVNP), located in northeastern Ohio between Cleveland and Akron, attracts more than 2.2 million visitors annually (National Park Service 2020). The typical park visitor is white, highly educated, and older. Like many of the units in the National Park System, CVNP is failing to attract visitors who reflect the diversity of the United States. Drawing from archival data and interviews, this research takes a broad look at CVNP's efforts since the park's inception to attract and welcome diversity, with a focus on African American patrons. While the park's management has dedicated considerable time and resources to diversity, outreach, and inclusion programs, challenges remain.

Committee: Geoffrey Buckley (Advisor); Geoffrey Dabelko (Advisor) Subjects: Environmental Justice; Geography; Natural Resource Management; Sustainability; Urban Planning

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2005, Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics

Contingent valuation (CV) has been used extensively to value non-marketed environmental resources and public policies. Despite its sound theoretical background as a direct measure of welfare change and its ability to measure nonuse values, the validity of CV hypothetical estimates of value is still under immense debate. Of equal importance is the issue of equity or income distribution impacts of environmental change and how to incorporate equity into public policy analysis without sacrificing economic efficiency. This dissertation focuses on studying the theoretical validity of dichotomous choice CV as well as the distributional effects of river contamination and clean up including stated preference evaluation of environmental improvements. The study case is restoring the Lower Mahoning River in Northeast Ohio through dredging of toxics and/or selected dam removal. First, theoretical validity of the CV estimates is examined through the use of split sampling to test for scope, sequence, and context effects. Then, comparisons among different treatments are conducted using both the likelihood ratio test and the difference in median WTP t-Test. Results indicate that WTP is insensitive to the scope of the proposed restoration project in the whole sample. However, scope effects are significant among past users of the river. Additionally, there is mixed evidence of order and context effects. It is concluded that sensitivity to scope in contingent valuation could be dependent on the type of the public good being valued (e.g., scope versus scale valuation) and on the characteristics of the individuals being surveyed especially with respect to familiarity with the resource in question. Second, income distribution impacts of river contamination and clean up are examined through stratification of the sample using income and location of the household as a proxy for race. Results show that poor people and minorities in urban districts along the Mahoning River might have been unju (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Fred Hitzhusen (Advisor) Subjects: