Benjamin Hale, Project Lead

BENJAMIN HALE is Associate Professor in the Philosophy Department and the Environmental Studies Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. From 2006-2008 he was Director of the Philosophy Department's Center for Values and Social Policy. He continues active engagement with the Center, and is particularly instrumental in co-coordinating the annual Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress with Alastair Norcross. He is also a faculty affiliate of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, which is associated with CIRES, the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences. His primary area of research interest is environmental ethics, though he maintains active interest in a wide range of concerns in applied ethics, normative ethics, and even metaethics. Much of his recent work centers on ethical and environmental concerns presented by emerging technologies. 

For more information, see Professor Hale's personal website, his CV, and his personal photo album: prettygoodpics.

Alexander Lee, Senior Principal

ALEXANDER LEE is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Alaska Pacific University. As a faculty member at the Institute of Culture and Environment, he teaches courses in environmental philosophy, the philosophy of science, ethics, and environmental policy.  Alex is also the former Secretary for the International Society for Environmental Ethics (ISEE).

Before joining the faculty at APU, Alex was a Lecturer at the University of Colorado, Boulder, were he taught classes in the Environmental Studies Program, Department of Philosophy, and at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research. Alex completed his Ph.D. in the 'Theory and Values' track of the Environmental Studies Program at CU Boulder and also holds a Master's degree from Boulder in environmental studies and a Bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College in Philosophy and Earth Science. His research focuses on applied environmental philosophy and conservation policy; he is specifically interested in the ethics of environmental change, obligations to conserve nature, and ecological restoration. Alex has published work on normative environmental ethics, restoring nature, climate change, and environmental conservation. 

When not philosophizing, Alex can be found playing outside! Check out some of his pictures and stories here. 

A little bit of public philosophy:

Kenneth Shockley, Senior Principal

KENNETH SHOCKLEY is Professor of Philosophy and the Holmes Rolston III Endowed Chair in Environmental Ethics in Philosophy at Colorado State University. He directs CSU’s Mountain Campus Program in Environmental Humanities, serves as faculty in the School of Global Environmental Sustainability and in the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, and works extensively with the Center for Human Carnivore Coexistence, and The Climate Adaptation Partnership. From 2003-2016 he was Assistant then Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University at Buffalo where he also served in various roles in the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy in the Buffalo Law School, collaborated extensively with a number of programs in environmental engineering and environmental studies, and served as the Inaugural Academic Director of the Sustainability Academy. His research interests are in ethical theory, the expression of environmental values in public policy, and the intersection between climate change, sustainable development, and environmental ethics. He has published widely in these areas.

For more information, see Professor Shockley’s departmental and personal websites.

Dayton Martindale

DAYTON MARTINDALE is a PhD student in environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. He has an A.B. in astrophysical sciences from Princeton University and works as a freelance journalist. His writing on animals, climate, and other issues has been published in Vox, Sierra, In These Times, Boston Review, Earth Island Journal, Harbinger: A Journal of Social Ecology, and elsewhere. He is the former associate editor of In These Times magazine, the former editor-at-large for Barn Raiser, and the host of Storytelling Animals podcast. 

Dayton's primary research interests include animal ethics; the relationship between individuals, species, and ecosystems; the place of animal liberation within left and environmental politics; and degrowth. He has also written extensively on aviation, climate justice, and the need for transportation modal shift.

In his spare time he reads fiction, bikes, hikes, and watches the Lakers.

Lana Garcia

LANA GARCIA is an Environmental Studies Ph.D. student at the University of Colorado Boulder. She received her B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Colorado Colorado Springs and a Masters of Humanities from the University of Colorado Denver. Lana’s research is centered at the intersection of social and environmental justice. She explores how urban public greenspaces can be places where individuals connect to embodied contact with non-human nature and where social solidarity can be produced. Her current research interrogates how the experience of awe in greenspaces might contribute to the cultivation of paying attention to one’s environment and to others. It also investigates what role experiences of awe can play in deliberative and ecological democracy.

Lana has extensive collegiate teaching experience across the humanities, including in the areas of environmental studies, social justice, philosophy, ethnic studies, and English composition. Lana loves teaching, and is also utilizing her research to contribute to urban planning and public policy.

To balance her academic and professional work, Lana hikes mountain peaks, runs, reads classic and contemporary literature, and, obviously, Netflix and chills.

Sebastian Dueñas-Ocampo

SEBASTIEN DUEÑAS-OCAMPO is Professor at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Colombia. He received his Ph.D. from the Environmental Studies program at the University of Colorado-Boulder. He received his M.S. in Environment and Sustainable Development from University College London. He holds a M.A. and a B.A. in Philosophy as well as a B.A. in Business from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogota, Colombia.

He has been working with business and academia for many years trying to achieve practical solutions to socio-environmental problems. Currently, he is exploring how socio-technical transitions happen in the Global South and how to achieve more sustainable value chains in Food Systems.

He is really interested in the systemic interdependences between human organizations and the environment, business ethics and particularly the complexity and different ethical aspects of our interrelations with food and its evolution.

Sebastian enjoys rock climbing, trail running, to watch movies and literature.

For more information see Sebastian´s CV and some of his work.

Michael Pellegrino

MIKE PELLEGRINO is a PhD student in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.  He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a BS in Mathematics and a Juris Doctor degree.  He also graduated from Yale University with a Master of Environmental Management degree.  Mike is a licensed attorney in Illinois and is admitted to practice law before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Mike's research focuses on applied environmental ethics.  He is particularly interested in analyzing the ethics of climate geoengineering projects and other potential, large-scale, human interventions.  Mike maintains a strong interest in normative and meta-ethical issues, particularly those related to the environment.  He also enjoys drawing connections among ethics, law, and policy.

Mike jokes that he may have missed his calling as a professional gamer, Twitch streamer, or number theorist.  He collects video game music and is a die-hard fan of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago White Sox.



Past Members

Adam Pérou Hermans Amir

ADAM PÉROU HERMANS AMIR is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Florida State University. He completed his PhD in the Environmental Studies program at the University of Colorado, Boulder and is a graduate of Colgate University in New York. His work seeks to describe, address, and remedy conflicts between international wildlife conservation and social justice. 

Adam also holds a Masters Degree in Natural History filmmaking and Science Communication from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. His films span six continents and have screened in thirteen festivals across nine countries. When not filming or studying, Adam enjoys wandering, foraging, and exploring.

For more information and the films, see Adam's personal website.

Lee Brann

LEE BRANN is a ComET Research Associate and recent graduate of the Environmental Studies Master’s Program at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He works on issues of conservation, endangered species, and wildlife, specializing in environmental policy. Lee’s work has aimed to shed light on the manner in which science, values, and thought inform decisions and policy concerning endangered species, wildlife, and conservation more broadly. His graduate research examined the scientific, normative, and practical merits of recent policy changes concerning implementation of the US Endangered Species Act. Completing a curriculum focused on the complex interactions between science, values, and environmental policy, Lee earned a Graduate Certificate in Science and Technology Policy from CU-Boulder’s Center for Science and Technology Policy Research. In his spare time, Lee enjoys exploring Colorado’s breathtaking wilderness and engaging in all varieties of Colorado’s inexhaustible outdoor fun. 

Alex Hamilton

ALEX HAMILTON is a joint Ph.D./JD student in the Environmental Studies Program and the Law School at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is in interested in federal public lands policy, environmental law, land use planning, and normative resistance to public lands in the American West. He holds a BA in Environmental Studies (concentration in ethics) from Bates College. Alex previously researched the how various metaphysics inform value theory in environmental ethics.

Alex has worked in citizen science, volunteer management, conservation, and environmental education in Montana, Colorado, California and Uruguay. A former NCAA Division I collegiate cross-country skier, Alex is likely recreating in the mountains right now.

Jordan M. Kincaid

JORDAN M. KINCAID completed his PhD in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2019 with a focus on environmental philosophy and policy. He received his M.S. in Environmental Policy from Bard CEP in New York and his B.A. in Philosophy (Special & Departmental Honors) and Government from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a former Visiting Fellow at the University of North Texas' Center for the Study of Interdisciplinarity involved with the Future of Energy Project.

His prospective dissertation research examines the role of modern secular mythology as a vehicle for socio-environmental values, ethics, and politics, specifically focusing on the idea of progress and the idea of sustainability. He also works on the ideology and politics of risk, the philosophy of energy, the ethics and politics of fracking, and the ethics and politics of climate change-related sea level rise.

Beyond the academy, he enjoys being outdoors and with friends, entert(r)aining the dog, shreddin' the gnar, playing music, exploring wilderness, and the eternal quest for yet unknown delicious and healthy foods. 

For more, please visit his personal website: www.tothesungod.com

Alexandra Laird

Ali Laird is an M.A. student in the Philosophy Department at the University of Colorado Boulder. She holds a B.A. in Humanities from Villanova University. Ali’s research focuses on the ontology and values central to conservation biology. She is particularly interested in species concepts and the practical implications of the species problem on environmental laws and protections. She is also interested in wildlife reintroduction ethics and land use planning.  

Ali has worked in western Montana for the Forest Service, the University of Montana, and various conservation collaboratives on a number of applied forest ecology and resource management projects, including invasive weed control, monitoring logging impacts, and documenting the effects of repeat wildfires on ecosystem structure.

In her free time she likes to paint and trail run, and is always trying to get better at plant ID.

Lydia Lawhon

LYDIA LAWHON is a faculty instructor in the Masters of the Environment professional program at the University of Colorado Boulder. She teaches courses in environmental and public lands policy and management as well as oversees the academic components of students’ Capstone projects. Lydia earned her PhD at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2016. Her research broadly investigates the drivers of practical conflicts between people and large carnivores and the political conflicts between people over large carnivore management. She is interested in finding ways to improve policy at the local and regional scales for the benefit of large carnivore populations as well as rural communities. Her dissertation focused on understanding how different stakeholder groups contributed to the policy-making process for wolf management in the state of Wyoming, as well as the implications of this management policy on the ground. She uses several methods of inquiry in her work, including interviews, surveys, and participatory mapping. Lydia holds a Masters of Environmental Management (MEM) from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and an A.B. in environmental studies from Dartmouth College. She is also a research associate with the Northern Rockies Conservation Cooperative (NRCC) in Jackson, WY.

Contact: Lydia.lawhon@colorado.edu

Lucy McAllister

LUCY MCALLISTER is a 2017-2018 Visiting Assistant Professor and Core Renewal Fellow in the Environmental Studies Program at Boston College. She holds a Ph.D. and a M.Sc. in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and German Studies from Connecticut College. 

Dr. McAllister’s research focuses on the relationship between corporations and the natural environment. As part of her dissertation and related work she has examined topics such as the human and environmental harms of the electronics commodity chain, the social and environmental messaging of lead multinational corporations, and the impacts of technological solutions to climate change on women and children in informal and emerging markets. Her dissertation work was selected for a University of Colorado Dissertation Completion Fellowship and she has also received a Fulbright Teaching Assistant Award.


Dr. McAllister has taught introductory and advanced courses on Climate Change Politics and Policy, and while pursuing her doctoral studies she concurrently taught an Environmental Justice course in New Delhi, India as part of a study abroad program at Babson College.

In her free time, Lucy enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband, Sid and their dogu, Rexu.