Faculty Profiles
Administration | Faculty Bios | Affiliated Faculty Bios
Martin Schoonen
Director, Sustainability Studies Program
Martin Schoonen is a Professor of Geochemistry for Stony Brook's Center for Environmental Molecular Sciences. He received his Ph.D. at Pennsylvania State University and joined Stony Brook in 1989. His academic interests include environmental chemistry, groundwater chemistry, geochemistry and astrobiology. Dr. Schoonen's research group is currently working on three major projects: heterogeneous catalysis involving mineral surfaces; surface chemistry of iron sulfides; and the hydrogeochemistry of Long Island. He has also been the lead author of numerous articles in respected academic journals. Along with his studies in the Central Pine Barrens of Eastern Long Island, Schoonen has supervised a number of research projects of the Long Island aquifer system.
Martin.Schoonen@stonybrook.edu
Ginny Clancy
Program Coordinator
Ginny Clancy has 25 years of experience at Stony Brook University, including 10 years of administrative support in the Office of the President before joining the Sustainability Program. She was part of the administrative team which launched the programs at the Southampton campus and was the operations manager for the Center for Wine, Food & Culture at Stony Brook. Ginny received her Bachelors degree in Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, as well as her Masters degree in Liberal Studies at Stony Brook University.
Katherine Aubrecht
Assistant Professor
Katherine Aubrecht is an organic chemist in the Department of Chemistry. She earned a B.A. in Chemistry from Reed College and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Cornell University. Before coming to Stony Brook, she held faculty positions at Saint Anselm College and the College of the Holy Cross. Her research interests include: biodegradable and biorenewable polymers, environmentally benign synthetic methodology, studies of the effectiveness of "in context" approaches to chemical education, and development of sustainability curricula for chemistry students.
Katherine.Aubrecht@stonybrook.edu
Arlene Kons Cassidy
Lecturer
Arlene Kons Cassidy received her bachelor's degree in Applied and Theoretical Mathematics and a master's degree in Economics from Stony Brook. She completed her Ph.D. in Administration/Management with a concentration in Economics and Mathematics at Walden University. Dr. Cassidy has several years experience teaching a variety of economics, mathematics and business courses for undergraduate as well as graduate students. She has mentored Ph.D. students and has worked as a consultant in varied research design and statistical analysis projects. She has also served on several committees involving academic evaluation and program development, organized and chaired student activities and worked with student advisement. Through her years in education, she has received several awards from students, educational institutions and the community.
Marc Fasanella
Visting Professor
Dr. Marc Fasanella has been a professor and curator of Art and Design for more than two decades. A Visiting Professor of Environmental Art, Architecture and Design in the Sustainability Studies Program at Stony Brook University his current work focuses on urban environmental initiatives and the advent of an ecological aesthetic. As a Full professor at Long Island University, he was a recipient of the Trustees Award for Scholarly Achievement for his writing and design in the spirit of 19th century luminary William Morris. Dr. Fasanella holds a PhD in Art & Art Education from New York University. His dissertation, The Environmental Design of Jones Beach State Park, delved into the geology, politics, environmental impact and aesthetics of the park’s construction. His Masters degree in Post Secondary Technology and Industrial Education focused on teaching students to industrial skills for socially responsible design. His concentrated MA studies were in passive solar architecture and the British Craft, Design & Technology course of education.
Son of the self taught social realist painter Ralph Fasanella, Dr. Fasanella has curated widely reviewed exhibits that have featured the work of notable artists such as George Rickey, Moses Soyer, Robert Gwathmey, David Burliuk, Jim McMullan, Richard Mayhew and Milton Glaser. His most recent curatorial efforts feature environmental installations made in collaboration with students, colleagues and working artists.
Dr. Fasanella resides on the East End of Long Island with his two children Mia and Michael.
Donovan Finn
Visiting Assistant Professor
Donovan Finn teaches courses in urban planning, urban policy and environmental design. He earned his Ph.D. and master’s degrees in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has been an adjunct professor at Hunter College (CUNY), Milano: The New School for Management and Urban Policy, and Parsons: The New School for Design. He has been a community planner in East St. Louis, IL; worked extensively on growth management and sustainable development policy in the Chicago region, and is currently engaged in a number of community-based planning projects in Queens, NY. His current research focuses on the intersections of urban sustainability, local environmental policy and community-based planning.
James Hoffmann
Lecturer
Jim Hoffmann teaches Ecology and Systems Modeling, having received a Ph.D. in Botany from the University of Wisconsin, and a B.Sc. in Marine Biology from Cornell University. He previously served as Director of the Integrated Biological Sciences Program at the University of Vermont, where he also taught. His research has included evolutionary computation applied to modeling complex biological systems.
Heidi Hutner
Associate Professor
Heidi Hutner teaches and writes about environmental literature and film, environmental justice, ecofeminism, ecocriticism, and media. Her courses are interdisciplinary and, in addition to traditional academic study, often include hands-on experiential work such as hiking, environmental activism, gardening, and creative writing. Dr. Hutner's journey into environmentalism and sustainability began through the study of the links between toxic pollution and disease in the writing of Rachel Carson and Sandra Steingraber. This lead to her teaching courses and writing about toxics and cancer in literature and film. More recently, Hutner's work expanded to include a larger range of environmental issues as they are represented in literature, film and other media, such as global warming and climate change, radioactive nuclear pollution, food/agricultural and animal rights, and general sustainability/energy issues. Hutner writes regularly for magazines and academic publications on environmentalism, and her book, Polluting Mama: An Ecofeminist and Cultural Memoir, Demeter Press, is forthcoming in 2013.
Hutner is a poet as well, and she keeps the blog:Ecofeminist and Mothering Ruminations
Elizabeth Terese Newman
Assistant Professor
Ms. Newman teaches environmental humanities, anthropology and archaeology. Previously, she taught for the University of the Americas in Puebla, Mexico and Connecticut College. She has also worked for the National Park Service and the Boston Museum of Science. She received a BA in History and Archaeology from the University of Massachusetts-Boston and a PhD in Anthropology from Yale University. Dr. Newman's research interests include Environmental Archaeology with a specialty in Zooarchaeology and Mesoamerican Historical Archaeology. Currently, she is directing an interdisciplinary research project that examines the social and cultural origins of revolution in Puebla, Mexico.
Elizabeth.Newman@stonybrook.edu
H. James Quigley Jr.
Lecturer
Jim Quigley's professional and academic disciplines combine urban and regional planning, environmental policy and energy management. He is the faculty Director for the Environmental Design, Policy and Planning (EDP) major. Before joining Stony Brook, Quigley served as Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy at Bronx Community College, CUNY from 2003 to 2007, and Director of the New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability from 1998 to 2002. He also taught environmental studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey and Portland State University in Oregon. From 1987 through 1994 he worked as a researcher at the Center for the Biology of Natural Systems headed by the ecologist Barry Commoner at Queens College, CUNY. Quigley earned his BA in social service at Cleveland State University, 1974; an MA in international relations at Ohio University, 1983; an MS in appropriate technology and a Ph.D. in city and regional planning at the University of Pennsylvania, 1990 and 1993 respectively. He was a VISTA Volunteer 1974-75 and a volunteer in the Peace Corps in Micronesia 1977-80.
Harold.QuigleyJr@stonybrook.edu
Sharon Pochron
Lecturer
Sharon Pochron teaches topics in conservation genetics, demography, epidemiology and ecology. In her earthworm lab, she and her students investigate the role of acid rain, soil pH and soil calcium on earthworm biomass. They also study the role of environmental toxins (like Roundup) on earthworm mortality and fertility.
She received her Bachelors from Franklin and Marshall College in both anthropology and biology. She received her Doctorate from University of New Mexico in anthropology and biology, after following baboons around the savannah for two years, collecting data on their foraging behavior.
As a post-doc for Patricia Wright, Pochron published more than 20 peer-reviewed papers about the behavioral ecology of lemurs, tarsiers and baboons. She also studied the levels of heavy metal concentrations in local sea life with Jeffrey Levinton. In her increasingly rare spare time, Dr. Pochron writes about science and animals for Highlights, Science New for Kids, and Muse Magazine.
Michael Sperazza
Assistant Professor
Michael Sperazza is a sedimentary geologist in the Department of Geosciences and the Faculty Director for the Coastal Environmental Studies major and minor. Additionally, he is the Director of the Geospatial Center at Stony Brook and the advisor for the students in the Geospatial Science programs. He earned a Ph.D. in Geology and a Master's in Physical Anthropology from the University of Montana. His teaching experience prior to coming to Stony Brook includes the University of Montana and MCC-Maple Woods in Kansas City, where he was the department chair.
His current research interests focus on paleoclimatic reconstructions, understanding the driving forces of past climate change, and the analytical evaluation of the methods used to measure these data. This research has field work based at Flathead Lake, Montana. Additionally, he is using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to exam climate change in the Turkana Basin, Kenya and role climate has played on evolutionary adaptations of early hominids. On Long Island, Dr. Sperazza is examining the glacial processes that built Long Island and how climate change is impacting the stability of the sediments.
Michael.Sperazza@stonybrook.edu
Affiliated Faculty Bios
William P. Bowman
Lecturer
William Bowman is a plant ecologist specializing in the restoration of degraded ecosytems, particularly tidal and freshwater wetlands. Dr. Bowman received his PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Columbia University. He has recently contributed to several large wetland restoration projects within Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge and New York City Parks (including the Elders West, Gerritsen Creek, and Soundview Park wetland restorations). His major current projects include quantifying rates of tidal wetland loss in Nassau and Suffolk Counties since the mid-1970s and evaluating habitat restoration alternatives for the Peconic Estuary Program. Other current projects are related to management of Phragmites and other invasive plants, soft erosion control and shoreline stabilization practices, and alewife and migratory fish passage restoration.
Tara Rider
Lecturer
Ms. Rider is completing her Ph.D. in History at Stony Brook University and is a graduate of Southampton College, where she studied Marine Science. She has taught Long Island History and Maritime History. With a subspecialty in Women and the Seas, she has written about the role of female pirates in history.
Dr. Nicholas Scalzo
Lecturer
Nicholas Scalzo teaches leadership and career skill courses. He received a Ed.D. from George Washington University, Washington, DC, an MBA from New York Institute of Technology, and a BA from St. John's University. He has extensive experience in Training and Organizational Development. He has held a range of positions in the corporate world and currently teaches at NYIT, University of Maryland, George Washington University, and the College of Business at Stony Brook University.
Emily Fogarty
Lecturer
Emily A. Fogarty teaches courses in demography, geospatial analysis, geographical information systems (GIS) and geography. She earned her Ph.D., master’s and BS degrees in Geography (with minors in statistics and urban/regional planning) from the Florida State University.
Dr. Fogarty has several years experience teaching spatial data analysis and world regional geography courses at the undergraduate level. She has been an adjunct professor at Florida State University, Tallahassee Community College, Dowling College and Suffolk County Community College. She has also worked for the Peconic Estuary Program as the Environmental Analyst working on various projects related to climate change, sea level rise, green infrastructure, coastal resiliency, agricultural inputs into drinking water, water quality related to public health, and issues surrounding valuation of ecosystem services. She is particularly interested in investigating how well public institutions that focus on mediating human/environment relationships are communicating. Her past research focused on spatial and temporal variation in tropical cyclone activity related to large scale climate variability, and she published a book chapter entitled “Network analysis of U.S. hurricanes", in Hurricanes and Climate Change.
Maria Brown
Lecturer
Maria Brown received a Master of Science in Environmental Science from Long Island University. She received a BS in Geology and a BA in Biology from CUNY Queens College. She worked as an Environmental Scientist and Certified Professional Wetland Scientist for 10 years in local engineering and consulting firms before becoming a science teacher at Sayville High School in 1999. She is certified in general science, biology and Earth science (7-12), and taught Advanced Placement Environmental Science for 7 years.
She has been the full time Science Research teacher at Sayville for the past 4 years. She engages high school students in an Enrichment course in Costa Rica each February where the main focus of the course is sustainability. Maria has received numerous teaching awards including: Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction (2010), Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Outstanding Teacher Award (OSSP, 2010), Noyce Scholars Teaching Award (2010), Leadership, Research, Service Award (Phi Delta Kappa, 2010), Stewardship & Action Award (South Shore Estuary Reserve, 2008), Fran File Educator Award (Great South Bay Audubon Society, 2007) Environmental Science Teaching Award (US EPA, 2006), News 12/Dowling College Educator of the Month Award (2006), and the High School Science Teacher of the Year Award (Suffolk County Science Teachers Association (2004). Maria is a voting member (Legislative Appointment) on the Suffolk County Wetland Stewardship Committee and the Vice President of the Coastal Research & Education Society of Long Island. She will be completing a 3-year summer fellowship at Brookhaven National Laboratory this summer where she conducts molecular ecology research on dragonflies and southern flying squirrel populations in the Town of Brookhaven.
Trina Weilert
Lecturer
Trina Weilert teaches classes in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Trina Weilert received her bachelor’s degree in Geography and a Masters of Liberal Studies in Mathematics and Natural Sciences from Fort Hays State University. She is completing an Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Geosciences and Social Sciences at the University of Missouri Kansas City. She has over ten years of experience serving as a GIS consultant within private industry as well as the government sector. She has been an adjunct professor at Fort Hays State University, Maple Woods Community College, and Longview Community College. She is currently working on a flood inundation mapping study at the USGS in Kansas City, Missouri as well as performing research on urban riparian area landscape change within the Kansas City area.
tewhf7@mail.umkc.edu
