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.

Eric Robertson is the writing instructor for the Environmental Humanities Program in Spring 2022. He is also on the faculty of the Honors College at the University of Utah. He teaches the writing courses and helps develop the curriculum for the Ecology and Legacy minors. His research and published works are in queer ecology, exploring how nonprocreative bodies find themselves within social narratives and to what socio-biological ends queer bodies might become integral participants in human ecology. Eric is also an alumni of the Environmental Humanities Program!

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.

We are so excited to welcome Alastair Lee Bitsóí as our Spring ‘22 Practitioner-in-Residence! Alastair is from the Navajo Nation community of Naschitti, below the Chooshgai Mountains on the New Mexico–Arizona state line. He is currently the Southern Utah reporter for the Salt Lake Tribune. He has been an award-winning news reporter for the Navajo Times and communications director for the Indigenous-led land conservation nonprofit Utah Diné Bikéyah. His consulting business, Near the Water Communications and Media Group, trains media, nonprofits, businesses, and governments in cultural sensitivity.