EH Blog

Ross Chambless graduated from the Environmental Humanities Program in 2011. He is a writer, creative producer, and communications strategist. He is currently Communications and Community Engagement Manager for the Wilkes Center for Climate Science & Policy at the University of Utah. Previously he was Communications Director for the Democrats in the Utah House of Representatives, and a radio and podcast producer. Before receiving his MA in Environmental Humanities, Ross received his Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2001.

Ayja Bounous grew up at the base of Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, where the rhythmic pulse of the seasons was as much a part of life as breathing. It was not until her adult years, however, that she realized how her whole world revolved around Wasatch snow—from the places she loved, to the activities that she enjoyed doing, to the relationships in her life. She earned a Master's of Arts in Environmental Humanities from the University of Utah in 2017, and went on to publish her master’s thesis, Shaped by Snow: Defending the Future of Winter, with Torrey House Press in 2019.

Alisha Anderson graduated from the Environmental Humanities Program in 2015. During her time in the program, she made art about the Oquirrh Mountains. Since then, she has created with Great Salt Lake, been a Spiritual Ecology Fellow with the Kalliopeia Foundation, and lived at the edge of Bears Ears as an Artist in Residence with Utah Diné Bikéyah. She just defended (and passed!) her thesis to receive her MFA from the Art & Ecology Program at the University of New Mexico. Her project focused on the energy transition in Carbon Country, Utah. Overall, her work focuses on the confluence of identity and Earth, in an attempt to question (and reposition) how humans fit in this world.

How do the land and cultural landscapes of the West Desert, bicycling and the Environmental Humanities intersect? EH alumni Bobby Kennedy has it all figured out.

Through fire, forest, salt, and sky, Morgan lives and works to ground herself in the ecosystems of the American West. As an ORISE USDA Climate Change Communications Fellow, she translates climate science and develops communication materials related to climate change in forestry, agriculture, and rangelands. Prior to working at the Northwest Climate Hub, Morgan worked for four years as a wildland firefighter, and for three years as an environmental educator in Rocky Mountain and Denali National Parks.