Graduate Students

Hasan Ahmed, wearing black glasses and a black raincoat, is pictured in front of a window next to a body of water

Hasan Ahmed (He/Him/His)

Ph.D. Candidate
(Dr. Matthew E. Fagan)

hahmed4@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Remote Sensing, Forest Structure, Forest Degradation, Land Use and Land Cover Change

Zachary Banham, wearing glasses, a puffy black coat and white shirt, is smiling while standing on a street

Zachary Banham (He/Him)

M.S. Student
(Dr. Matthew E. Baker)

zbanham1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Forest Ecology, Phenology, Ecological Response to Urbanization/Urban Environments, Remote Sensing

Anna Mothersole, wearing a black shirt, is smiling and pictured in a living room with a bookshelf behind her

Anna Mothersole (She/Her)

Ph.D. Candidate
(Dr. Christopher Swan)

amother1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Aquatic Ecology, Functional Traits

Laura Torres-Vargas is pictured with a slight smile, wearing a light green shirt and beaded neckless in front of a gray background

Laura Torres-Vargas

Ph.D. Candidate
(Dr. Dena Aufseeser, Dr. Yolanda Valencia)

ltorres2@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Human Geography, Women’s Studies, Women’s Migration, Latin American Studies, and Violence

Valerie Navarro Pasión is pictured with a slight smile with a colorful cloudy sky behind her

Valerie Navarro Pasión (She/Her/Ella)

Ph.D. Candidate
(Dr. Margaret B. Holland)

vpasion1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Human Geography; Anticolonial Feminisms; Land Rights; Conservation

Anisha Jayadevan, wearing a black shirt, is pictured with a tree behind her

Anisha Jayadevan

Ph.D. Student
(Dr. Matthew E. Fagan)

anishaj1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Land-Use Change, Habitat Fragmentation, Forests, Open Natural Ecosystems

Leah Staub, smiling and wearing a red shirt and glasses, is pictured from above with plants in the background

Leah Staub

M.S. Student
(Dr. Matthew E. Fagan)

lestaub1@umbc.edu/

Research Interests:

GIS, Riparian Forest Canopy Gaps and Their Effect on the Health of the Riparian Zone

Tyrah Cobb-Davis, smiling and wearing a red shirt, standing in front of a light grey backdrop

Tyrah Cobb-Davis (She/Her)

M.S. Student,
Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) Trainee
(Dr. Matthew E. Baker, Dr. Andrew J. Miller)

tyrahc1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Stormwater, Urban Forests, Urban Flooding, Social Equity

Tanja Crk, smiling in front of a blurry grey-brown backdrop

Tanja Crk

Ph.D. Student
Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) Graduate Program
(Dr. Margaret B. Holland)

tcrk@umd.edu

Research Interests:

Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Coastal Ecosystems

Michelle Katoski

k119@umbc.edu

Erin Hamner, smiling and wearing a black coat and white shirt, pictured in front of a grey backdrop

Erin Hamner (She/Her)

M.S. Student

Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) Trainee
(Dr. Matthew E. Baker, Dr. Andrew J. Miller)

ehamner1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Stormwater Management, BMP Monitoring, Urban atersheds, urban planning, watershed conservation

Adriana DiSilvestro, smiling and wearing a purple coat and grey hat, is pictured standing inside of a large tree

Adriana DiSilvestro (She/Her)

Ph.D.
(Dr. David Lansing, Dr. Dillon Mahmoudi)

adisilv2@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Political Ecology, Biodiversity Conservation, Geographies of Resource Extraction, Environmental Governance, Science Studies & Politics of Knowledge, Environmental Justice, Critical GIS

Meagan Fairfield-Peak, smiling and wearing a grey collared shirt, sitting at a desk with two computer monitors

Meagan Fairfield-Peak (She/Her)

M.S. Student
(Dr. Matthew E. Fagan)

meaganf1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Landscape Management and Monitoring through GIS and Remote Sensing

Felipe Saad, smiling and wearing a black hooded coat and grey beanie, pictured with mountains and a lake in the background

Felipe Saad

Ph.D. Student
(Dr. Matthew E. Fagan)

fsaad1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Remote Sensing, Preservation and Conservation of the Environment

Gemma Feild, wearing glasses, a black shirt and a necklace with a snake pendant, standing with a tree in the background Gemma Feild

(She/Her)

Ph.D. Student
(Dr. Christopher Swan)

gfeild1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Snake ecology; Herpetology; Urban ecosystems; Community ecology; Conservation

Amy Chance, smiling and wearing glasses, a dark blue shirt, and a necklace with a round pendant, pictured in front of a blurry background of flowers

Amy Chance

Ph.D. Candidate

(Dr. Christopher Swan)

apfarr1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Aquatic Ecology, Community and Meta-Community Ecology, Benthic Macroinvertebrates, Biodiversity, Watershed Conservation

Samantha DiNatale, smiling and wearing a white shirt, standing with a plant in the background

Samantha DiNatale (she/her)

M.S. Student

Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) Trainee

(Dr. Dena Aufseeser)

sdinata1@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Gender, care work, urban historical geography, environmental and social justice, health (in)equality, archival methods

Taylor Garbowski, pictured from the shoulder up, wearing a black shirt with a window and brick building in the background

Taylor Garbowski

M.S. Student

(Dr. Dawn Biehler)

g213@umbc.edu

Research Interests:

Disabled Spatialities, Neuro-Affirmative Pedagogy, Qualitative Research Methods, Geographies of Higher Education, Epistemic Injustice & Academic Undercommons/Counterpublics, Digital Geographies, Multimodal Science Communication, Autoethnography & Storytelling, Library & Information Science

Sarah Beyers, standing, smiling and wearing red pants, a green jacket and white graphic tee, with plants and a greenhouse in the background

Sarah Beyers

(she/they)

sbeyers1@umbc.edu

Research interests:

Political ecology, participatory research, critical GIS, environmental justice, racial capitalism, Black geographies, feminist geographies, community well-being

Sahaadat N. Hammed-Owens, smiling and wearing a striped white and black blouse, with a blurred background of mostly green colors

Sahaadat N. Hammed-Owens

(she/her/hers)

shammed1@umbc.edu

M.S. Student

(Dr. Dawn Biehler and Dr. Ellen Kohl)

Research Interest:

Human Geography, Environmental Justice, and Racial Capitalism

Megan Custiss, pictured with a slight smile and a white wall behind her

Megan Custiss

(she/her)

m278@umbc.edu

M.S. Student

(Dr. Matthew Baker)

Research Interest:

Forest Ecology, Urban & Community Forestry, Urban Ecology, Science Communication