Paty Fernandez

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Paty Fernandez completed her Ph.D. in Public Policy at OSU in 2020. Her doctoral research explored the policy and institutional implications of the Water-Energy Nexus, specifically regarding transitions from traditional irrigation systems to integrated systems in the rural American West. Prior to coming to OSU, she earned a BA in Political Science and a Master’s degree in Public Administration and Public Policy from the School of Government (EGTP) of the Tecnológico de Monterrey. She also worked as a researcher at the Institute for Regional Development of the Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico), where her main areas of research were water governance and institutional capacity.

Keenan Lindsey

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Megan Davis

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Megan is a fourth year Ph.D. candidate broadly interested in how we protect and manage marine and coastal spaces. She is pursuing a cross-disciplinary approach to her thesis with the Integrative Biology Department and the School of Public Policy. The social science component of her dissertation aims to understand the values underrepresented coastal community members apply to the coast and ocean to inform the development of culturally and contextually relevant opportunities to engage in ocean conservation. She has also developed a strong science-policy skillset, working at the state level on marine and coastal issues as the 2023 Oregon Sea Grant Legislative Fellow and the recipient of the Ecological Society of America’s Graduate Student Policy Award. Prior to joining OSU, she worked as a researcher at the Ocean Collective, Urban Ocean Lab, Oceana, and The All We Can Save Project. She holds a bachelor’s degree with high honors in Environmental Studies from New York University. In my spare time, you’ll either find me running or making something ~whimsical~ out of yarn.

Courtney Flathers

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Courtney Flathers completed her Master of Public Policy at OSU in 2017. Her academic interests include rural policy, natural resources policy and marine policy. A native Oregonian, Courtney earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Sociology from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. After completing her undergraduate education she completed a year of AmeriCorps service working as a literacy tutor in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before pursuing graduate school she also worked in the Oregon State Legislature for three years. At OSU, she conducted research with the support of NOAA and Oregon Sea Grant on demographic changes in the commercial fishing industry and impacts on community resilience. She worked with Hilary on the community reactions to extreme weather project. She went on to work as a field representative for Senator Merkley.

Sadaf Photo

Sadaf Farooq

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Sadaf Farooq hails from Pakistan and did her undergraduate work in Politics & International Relations. She earned her master’s in development studies from the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics. During her master’s, she worked with UNICEF on a project focused on Universal Birth Registration in Pakistan. For her PhD, Sadaf studied local government sustainability programs in rural Cascadia.

Leanne Giordono

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Leanne Giordono completed her PhD student in the School of Public Policy at OSU in 2018. Her graduate studies focused on the policy and governance changes related to employment services and supports for adults with intellectual and developmental disability. She received her MPA from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School (2000) and subsequently spent almost fifteen years conducting program evaluation and applied research for public agencies and non-profit organizations until her return to graduate school in 2014. She was a postdoctoral scholar at OSU, working with Hilary on the Smart & Connected Kids for Sustainable Energy Communities project. She went on to an Assistant Professor (Visiting Faculty) at the School of Planning, Public Policy & Management at the University of Oregon.

Victoria Williams

Victoria Moreno

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Victoria Moreno completed her Master of Public Policy at Oregon State University in 2021. Her graduate research explored Dungeness crabbers’ perceptions of their ability to adapt to ocean acidification (OA) and other environmental stressors in Oregon. Victoria graduated in ’19 from the University of Richmond with her BSc in Environmental Studies and Anthropology, where she explored the intersectionality of environmental change in marine ecosystems and corresponding human effects within the coastal communities. When she is not working on her research, she enjoys cooking, reading, engaging with the community and exploring the Pacific Northwest with her Great Pyrenees puppy. She went on to a position as a Regional Engagement Fellow at COMPASS.

Chad Zanocco

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Chad Zanocco completed his PhD in Public Policy at OSU and has a MS in Agricultural and Resource Economics from University of California, Davis. Prior to completing his master’s, he served as an Americorps volunteer in northern California where he administered a small-business scholarship program for Arcata Economic Development Corporation. At OSU, he has explored alternative futures for coastal change and hazards through the Tillamook County Coastal Futures Project, an effort supported through NOAA’s Coastal and Ocean Climate Change Applications program. For his dissertation, he worked on the NSF-funded VISTAS project to develop visual analytics software to enable scientists to better understand and communicate about large and complex environmental problems spanning spatial and temporal scales. He worked with Hilary on projects related to public perceptions of unconventional oil and gas development, community reactions to extreme weather, and youth energy education programming. Upon graduation, he took a position as a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University in Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Jos Grandolfo

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Jos Grandolfo enrolled in the Master of Public Policy program at OSU shortly after completing his BA in Sociology at SUNY New Paltz in 2012. At OSU, he participated in the International Comparative Rural Policy Studies summer institute in Bologna, Italy, and interned with a number of local agencies, including the City of Corvallis, League of Women Voters, and the Corvallis Environmental Center. His research assistantship on the USDA-funded project exploring renewable energy siting in the Western United States proved especially influential. This experience led to his essay on community response to wind farm siting proposals in Klickitat County, Washington, which he successfully defended in June 2015. His research interests include renewable energy policy, agricultural policy, and sustainable development, particularly in a rural context. Outside of the university, he enjoys gardening, cooking, and road trips.

Maham Furqan

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Maham completed her PhD in Public Policy at Oregon State University in 2023. As a Fulbright scholar, she examined resilience valuation in microgrid development. She completed her master’s degree in economics from the Government College University (Lahore, Pakistan) and has been working in academia and the private sector since 2013.