Michele Clark
Michele Clark joined the Urban and Stream Ecology Lab in 2020 and is the Program Manager for Earth Systems Science for the Anthropocene (ESSA) Graduate Scholars Network and the Grimm lab. Michele leads the ESSA network to equitably address environmental challenges and to re-envision a just and inclusive graduate education system. Michele is co-PI and manager of the Racial Equity in STEM award titled “Immersive, Interdisciplinary, Identity-based Team Science Experiences for Indigenous Graduate Scholars” funded by the National Science Foundation.
In her research, she studies the plant-human relationship and uses ethnoecological approaches to explore how people understand and relate to environments undergoing rapid ecological change. Michele brings a strong scientific background working across sectors and within governmental agencies (USDA-ARS, USDA-FS, and USDI-NPS). She is passionate about addressing representation in STEM and leads faculty and student sessions in the Mutually Enriching Mentorship program. Michele facilitates the ESSA graduate level reading and reflection seminar and the IIITSE-scholar preparatory session B course each spring.
Michele holds a PhD in Environmental Life Sciences from ASU and a M.S. in Ecosystem Science and Management from Texas A & M University. Her work has focused on invasive plant ecology, fire ecology, ethnoecology, community-based management, and traditional ecological knowledge. She has undertaken research in South Africa, Chile, Costa Rica, and Nepal.
- Ph.D. Environmental Life Sciences, Arizona State University
- M.S. Ecosystem Science and Management, Texas A&M University
- B.S. Forest and Rangeland Ecology and Management, University of Nevada, Reno
Awards
ASU Graduate College Completion Award (2020)
Lisa Dent Memorial Award in Ecology (2019-2020)
Knowledge Mobilization (2019)
U.S. Fulbright Scholar - Nepal (2017-2018)
Dr. Michael Cichan Award (Plant Ecology and Botany) (2017)
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Student Leader (2016-2017)
Doctoral Enrichment Fellowship (2015-2016)
Gamma Sigma Delta Outstanding Graduating Master’s Student Award (2014)
Outstanding M.S. Student of the Year, Dept. of Ecosystem Science and Management (2014)
Welder Wildlife Fellow, Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation (2013-2014)
Texas A&M University, Graduate Diversity Fellowship (2012-2014)
Certificate of Merit-USDA Forest Service (2011)
My research interests include invasive species management and ecological restoration. I have previously worked in desert and rangeland ecosystems but my current work is concerned with the social and ecological causes and consequences of plant species invasions in forested and tropical systems. More specifically, I focus on assessing the effectiveness of invasive species management techniques in Nepal near the border of Chitwan National Park. This research explores public perceptions of invasive species management and its influence on the adoption of new or modified control techniques, feedbacks between people and the environment, and restoration approaches.
I also have a passion for addressing the lack of diversity within scientific disciplines. I hope to engage undergraduate and high school level students in the ecological sciences and contribute to the diversification of this discipline.
Courses
2024 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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BIO 591 | Seminar |
SOS 591 | Seminar |
2024 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
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BIO 591 | Seminar |
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 591 | Seminar |
ELS 591 | Seminar |
SOS 591 | Seminar |
2023 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 591 | Seminar |
SOS 591 | Seminar |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 591 | Seminar |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 591 | Seminar |
ELS 591 | Seminar |
SOS 591 | Seminar |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 591 | Seminar |
ELS 591 | Seminar |
BIO 591 | Seminar |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 591 | Seminar |
ELS 591 | Seminar |
SOS 591 | Seminar |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
BIO 591 | Seminar |
SOS 591 | Seminar |
ELS 591 | Seminar |