Alumni Feature: Jonathan Chen, Climate Justice Adviser to the Washington State Environmental Justice Council

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Jonathan Chen
SEFS Alumnus Jonathan Chen

From soil to state policy, SEFS alumnus Jonathan Chen has had a hand in elevating environmental justice concerns for communities in Washington. Chen graduated from UW in June, 2021 with a Master of Science degree. He was working to understand how COVID-19 impacted people’s access to food on UW Seattle’s campus.

Prior to joining SEFS, Chen worked with organic farms and community agriculture programs. After six and a half years, he came to realize that he wanted to make more systemic level changes in our food system policies.

“No matter how many resources I was providing to that community garden, the community I was serving was trapped in a system that created food insecurity. I was addressing the symptom, not the cause,” said Chen.

Chen decided to pursue an interdisciplinary degree in food systems at SEFS, and found an advisor as well as professors in the Nutritional Sciences Program in the School of Public Health and the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health to be on his advisory committee. His committee advised him on courses in the Foster School of Business, the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance, and SEFS.

Initially, Chen set out to study food waste that is generated from the food recovery, or food bank/pantry, network. Tracking the use of donated food could provide insight into how these systems might be scaled up to address initiatives, like the Washington State goal to reduce food waste 50% by 2030. But when COVID-19 hit, the hands-on research required to answer this question was no longer an option and he needed to change course.

Chen pivoted to study how a major shock can impact a university food system universe. “This university has a really unique food system, in that it incorporates both local food sources like the campus farm as well as source some of their eggs and produce from local farms in the Puget Sound area or Washington State. UW also gets a lot of produce and food products nationally and internationally. And then we have a very unique population, with a high percentage of students who are food insecure,” said Chen.

With interdisciplinary knowledge in food systems, environmental policy, and climate justice, Chen graduated and began looking for a role that could allow him to enact real change for communities. Chen started working with the Seattle P-Patch program, which is a municipal community agriculture program, but set his sights on a chance to inform the policies that create such programs. In November 2022, Chen started his current role as a Climate Justice Adviser for the Washington State Environmental Justice Council.

The Council started meeting in 2022 after the Washington State Legislature passed a law called the Healthy Environment for All (HEAL) Act that incorporated the elements of environmental justice into how the government functions. It’s a non-governmental non-regulatory entity made up of community leaders and Tribal representatives. In addition, there are environmental justice practitioners, a youth representative, someone that represents trade unions, and someone that represents business, all working together to elevate the voices of vulnerable populations and overburdened communities and advise the Governor, the state legislature, and state agencies on incorporating environmental justice into their work.

“For the longest time, the government has created laws and policies that affect communities without community voices. This is a new way of creating legislation and budgets through co-governance,” said Chen.

Chen’s position highlights the value of interdisciplinary studies in developing effective environmental advocates.

“There is so much climate policy that’s getting through the State Legislature and the Federal Government that I think it would be beneficial for many students in the environmental sciences to do a dual program, or at least take some classes on policy. There’s a lot of benefit in understanding how policy gets made because there isn’t always a lot of overlap in knowledge between the environmental and policy fields. So if you have both of those knowledge bases, then you have a unique position to make really significant changes,” said Chen.

A message from Dan Brown, SEFS Director: Winter 2023

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Dan brown
UW SEFS Director Dan Brown

Sitting here in Anderson Hall at the end of my sixth Winter quarter at UW, I have an opportunity to reflect with gratitude and humility on the opportunity I’ve been given to serve another term as director of SEFS. I’m thankful to the entire SEFS community for making this job so rewarding. One aspect of that reward comes at this time in the quarter when student work is wrapping up and we see our students completing milestones on their path to completing their degrees. The end of any quarter is a busy and nerve-wracking time, but also a time for celebration of all the hard work that goes into creating new knowledge.

The work by our students, faculty, and staff on creating knowledge is central to what we do in SEFS, in the College, and at the UW. Among the stories in this newsletter and on our website, you can read about our work on human-wildlife interactions, human waste composting, and mitigating toxic waste and flood risk in disproportionately vulnerable communities. These are but three examples that highlight the transdisciplinary and engaged work we do in partnership with numerous agencies, tribes, and communities, partnerships that make our scientific and engineering work more innovative and impactful. These partnerships provide invaluable opportunities for our students to engage with potential employers and partners as they complete their academic work.

Speaking of Anderson Hall, I’m excited to report that renovation of this beautiful gothic building, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary next year, is at the top of the University’s priority list for renovation and is currently being considered for capital funding by the state legislature. The renovation will modernize spaces and technology to support our research directions and collaborations and enhance accessibility, safety, and comfort for our community. You can learn more about this exciting project on our webpage.

Taking a break from faculty hiring this year, we are engaged in planning for future hires with the needs created by recent faculty departures and our commitment to meeting future research and curricular needs in mind. We are planning faculty searches in the areas of sustainable bioresources engineering and ecological restoration and management during the next academic year, while also developing additional future hiring priorities. These positions will contribute to existing programmatic strengths in engaged research and education in both of these areas. The engineering position will contribute to evolving our BSE program toward an updated emphasis on process engineering and sustainability.

With the ability to gather again, we invite you to join us for the events noted in this newsletter, including the Sustaining our World lecture with Jerry Franklin (May 3), UW Danz Lecture with Robin Wall Kimmerer (May 11), and our annual end of the year awards celebration (May 17). As you read the sad news of emeritus Professor Bruce Lippke’s passing, note the opportunity to gather on March 26 at the Washington Park Arboretum to celebrate his life, career, and contributions. A number of us gathered at the Husky Union Building this month to celebrate the nomination of our administrator, Jenn Weiss, for the distinguished staff award, which is a university-wide distinction. The nomination recognized the critical contributions Jenn has made to a collaborative environment in the SEFS staff amid substantial change. Be sure to thank her when you see her!

No matter your connection to SEFS, we are interested in hearing from you. Keep in touch!

Dan Brown
Corkery Family Director’s Chair
Professor and Director

SEFS Assistant Professor Alex McInturff co-authors research on human-wildlife conflicts

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SEFS Assistant Professor Alex McInturff is a co-author on a new study in Nature Climate Change, highlighting increasing human-wildlife conflict in a warming world. Led by the University of Washington’s Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, the paper found that climate shifts can drive conflicts by altering animal habitats across terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems, and involved mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and even invertebrates.

The research was highlight by UW News and covered in The Guardian, NPR, NBC News and Inverse.

SEFS Assistant Professor Brittany Johnson is a Co-Investigator on a $1.2 million EPA grant

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UW was awarded a $1.2 million grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for a community-based effort to improve water and soil testing programs along the Duwamish River, which has suffered decades of industrial contamination. Led by University of Washington Bothell Assistant Professor Melanie Malone, the project will work with nearby communities to support decision-making for future cleanup and stormwater management. SEFS Assistant Professor Brittany Johnson is a Co-Investigator on the project.

SEFS Research Professor Sally Brown talks composting with the Washington Post

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SEFS soil scientist Sally Brown was featured in a Washington Post article for her research on composting and food waste solutions. Brown consulted for at-home composting Mill, which has created a device that grinds up food scraps and then dehydrates them. The dried particles are then sent back to the company and used for chicken feed which avoids methane emissions from landfills and crop production for poultry.

Employee Spotlight: Wendy Gibble, UW Botanic Gardens Associate Director

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This new series will provide an opportunity to find out more about SEFS staff members — what they do in their daily job and how they spend their time outside the office.

Wendy GibbleWhat is your role at SEFS?
I am Associate Director of UW Botanic Gardens. In that role, I manage the public education programs and the Rare Care program.

Tell us about your road to SEFS
I started my career as an environmental engineer, working mostly on water-related projects here in Washington. One of my hobbies was birding, and I participated on many raptor banding projects in Washington, Utah and New Jersey. While on a trip to southern South America to band and collect blood samples from peregrine falcons, I realized that I wanted to switch careers and study ecology. Although I love birds and still do, I was quite interested in studying patterns I was observing in nature, which led me to community ecology and an interest in plants. This led me to apply for the SEFS Masters of Science program in 2003 which was, at the time, the College of Forestry .

Tell us about your college experience
That was a long time ago! Overall I really enjoyed my time as a student and the opportunity to work with talented researchers and like-minded students. The fall field trip to Pack Forest was fun, and I absolutely loved my forest community ecology class with Linda Brubaker. It was a luxury to be back in school after working for many years.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in northern New Jersey. The Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was essentially my backyard and I spent many weekends exploring and playing in the woods and following the paths through the swamp. My family spent two weeks camping every summer in the Adirondacks where we hiked many of the high peaks and took canoe trips on various lakes. I think my love of nature started there.

What are your favorite ways to spend time outside of work?
I love hiking, traveling and exploring. And of course botanizing and birding along the way. Which means sometimes I don’t get very far on my hikes… I also do a little gardening, but my yard is an embarrassment for someone who works at a botanic garden!

What inspires you?
I love nature, it’s that simple. Every day when I go for a walk, whether it is in the local woods, in the mountains, or in the shrub-steppe, I find inspiration in the beauty and complexity of nature. Working with other people who share this love and curiosity for nature, is deeply rewarding. I feel so fortunate to be able to make a meaningful contribution to plant conservation and help inspire the love of plants and nature in other people.

wendy gibble collecting seeds in Okanogan NF Wendy gibble hiking in the olympics 

SEFS remembers Emeritus professor Dr. Bruce Lippke

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Bruce LippkeSEFS Emeritus professor, mentor, and friend Bruce Lippke passed away on Tuesday, February 14th. He left peacefully surrounded by his family at 89 years old.

Bruce was a long-time researcher on the role of wood products in economic and environmental sustainability. He joined the College of Forest Resources faculty in 1990 and retired from SEFS as an Emeritus professor in 2009. He brought to CFR/SEFS over three decades of experience in economic forecasting, environmental assessment, and management consulting to his research on the sustainable management of forests and the uses and lifecycle of wood products and biofuels.

Bruce was one of the founders and went on to serve as president of the Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials (CORRIM), a non-profit consortium of 17 research organizations aimed at quantifying and understanding the environmental performance of wood and the environmental impacts of forests and forest products. Beginning in 2000, served as Director of the Rural Technology Initiative, an award-winning partnership between the University of Washington, Washington State University, and the USDA Forest Service that worked to bring emerging technologies to rural forest resource-based communities and assist small forest owners with managing their lands more productively under complex regulations.

Bruce is remembered for his thoughtful, engaging, and generous demeanor, as well as his ability to build community among his peers, students, and friends. His lasting contributions as a mentor, colleague, friend, and researcher will not be forgotten.

A memorial page was set up to celebrate and honor Bruce’s life and accomplishments. Please visit the page to read and share stories and memories of Bruce.

Colleagues, family, and friends of Bruce Lippke are hosting a celebration of his life, his career, and his contributions to his varied fields of enquiry on Sunday, March 26, 2023, at the University of Washington Botanic Garden’s Wisteria Hall. Wisteria Hall is located in the Washington Park Arboretum. The doors will open about 5 P.M. and the celebratory program will kick off about 6 P.M.. Light appetizers will be offered as will opportunity to mingle with old and new friends, share a story about Bruce, and become (re)inspired by his life’s work.

Dr. Vera Trainer awarded the Seattle Aquarium Conservation Research Award

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As a local and international leader in the field, Dr. Trainer was awarded the Seattle Aquarium Conservation Research Award this month for her work on understanding harmful algal blooms (HABs): proliferations of algae that cause environmental and economic damage. Dr. Trainer joined SEFS last month as research lead for the Olympic Natural Resources Center marine science program and director of the Olympic Region Harmful Algal Bloom (ORHAB) program in Forks, WA.

The Seattle Aquarium Conservation Research Award honors leaders and innovators in marine conservation research, with a particular focus on climate change, plastic pollution, sustainable fisheries and tourism, marine protected areas, and socioeconomics. Fellow honoree Governor Jay Inslee was awarded the Sylvia Earle Medal for his leadership in addressing climate action and ocean health.

SEFS Emeritus Professor and UW team in the news for holistic approach to science education

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SEFS Emeritus Professor Dr. Kristiina Vogt and UW colleagues Dr. Samantha De Abreu and Dr. Maria Blancas are working to understand how using holistic storytelling practices common among Indigenous communities could improve environmental science education. Vogt was featured in a Scientia article and SciPod podcast on her belief that teaching students about the interconnected nature of the many elements of life on Earth would better equip them to address both present and future environmental challenges.

The researchers worked with a team of educators, including an environmental scientist, an environmental scholar and former chairperson of an Indigenous Tribe, an Indigenous storyteller and elder, an environmental scholar and Indigenous community leader, two environmental social scientists, an information scientist, a high-school teacher, and graduate students specializing in environmental science and policy to devise a course offered to upper-level undergraduate students and graduate students of any discipline.

SEFS Associate Professor Laura Prugh talks about the role of cougars in reducing deer-vehicle collisions

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Elusive and efficient ambush hunters, cougars are a natural predator of deer. In fact, research suggests they may be an effective tool in managing deer overpopulation and reducing collisions with wildlife. In a 2016 study recently highlighted in the news, SEFS Associate Professor Dr. Laura Prugh and co-authors found that reintroducing cougar populations across the Eastern US could eliminate 708,600 collisions and $2.13 billion in damages over 30 years.

Dr. Prugh was interviewed by the Philly Voice about what cougar reintroduction could mean for deer overpopulation, animal-vehicle collisions, disease and biodiversity in Pennsylvania.