Sally Kitch is a University and Regent’s Professor of Women and Gender Studies in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. She is also a Distinguished Sustainability Scientist in ASU’s Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory and founding Director of both the Institute for Humanities Research (IHR) and the Humanities Lab at ASU. Beginning in 2008, she co-directed a team of humanities center directors to develop an international project, entitled Humanities for the Environment (HfE), through the Consortium of Humanities Centers and Institutes. After receiving funding from the A.W. Mellon Foundation (2013-15), for which Kitch was co-PI, that project led to today’s HfE international consortium. Kitch now serves as a North American Observatory Convener for that consortium. Her environmental humanities (EH) research projects include developing ways to enhance the role of the humanities in the sustainability sciences and in transforming human behavior, as well as expanding eco-feminist theory and articulating the interconnection between socio-cultural and planetary hazards in the Anthropocene. Recent EH articles include “What’s Really Toxic in the Anthropocene?,” “Cautionary Notes on Sustainability Principles,“ “Experimental Humanities and Humanities for the Environment,” “How Can Humanities Interventions Promote Progress in the Environmental Sciences?” and “Eco-sin: A Proposal for Environmental Action.”

Rebecca Tsosie is a Regents Professor at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona, and she serves as a Faculty Co-Chair for the Indigenous Peoples’ Law and Policy Program at the University of Arizona. Professor Tsosie, who is of Yaqui descent, is widely known for her work in the fields of Federal Indian law and indigenous peoples’ human rights. Prior to joining the U of A faculty, Professor Tsosie was a Regent’s Professor and Vice Provost for Inclusion and Community Engagement at Arizona State University. Professor Tsosie was the first faculty Executive Director for ASU’s Indian Legal Program and served in that position for 15 years. Professor Tsosie has published widely on sovereignty, self-determination, cultural pluralism, environmental policy and cultural rights. She teaches in the areas of Federal Indian Law, Property, Constitutional Law, Critical Race Theory, and Cultural Resources Law. Professor Tsosie is a member of the Arizona Bar Association and the California Bar Association. Professor Tsosie serves as a Supreme Court Justice for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and as an Associate Judge on the San Carlos Tribal Court of Appeals. She received her B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles.

One of the significant aspects I bring to this group of academics is providing artistic methodologies & processes to complement & represent the research findings to a mass multi-cultural audience. The goal and vision of my art is to elicit participation and deliver a philosophy of collaboration and cooperation. Themes include repurposing, beauty, resilience, biodiversity, sharing, composting, water harvesting, LFE (local food economy),urban gardening, social justice & reciprocity. This practice of socially engaged art, awakens our senses to the possible. It invites right brain thinking. It supports the necessary shift in how we think about and engage with the natural world. It is an art practice that empowers people. Change for the better happens when we tap into human emotion.  We become excited when we experience what the Earth produces and how delicious “homegrown” foods taste! AND, we become inspired, find a sense of purpose & reverence through our multi-sensory experiences with Art.

Currently, Joan is facilitating The Heritage Grain Trials at Clark Park Community Gardens in Tempe, AZ…a program  developed by the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, whose co-founders (Bill McDorman & Belle Starr) are based in Cornville, Az. This program  introduces  ancient grains, to be included as part of a comprehensive farming system that focuses on growing the highest  source of  caloric intake.  In addition, Joan’s “FoodintheAlley” recently added the LEHR Garden methodology. This food production system is regenerative;  using compostable materials to produce rich soil from the ground up. It grows food faster, seeking to provide a much needed solution to food deserts.

Rimjhim Aggarwal is an Associate Professor in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University (ASU). Her research and teaching interests lie at the interface between sustainability science and international development. A central focus of her research has been on examining the links between globalization, resilience of social-ecological systems, and human well-being. Her most recent project on Activating Global Citizenship through the UN Sustainable Development Goals is funded through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. She is also currently working on a multidisciplinary project funded by the National Science Foundation on Innovations in Food, Energy and Water Nexus. Together with Joni Adamson, Aggarwal co-led a PLuS Alliance collaborative project on “Humanities for the Anthropocene: Developing New Approaches to Knowledge, Engagement and Impact.” In past research, Aggarwal has examined the emerging conflicts in the framing of water as a human right as well as an economic, ecological and social good in rapidly urbanizing regions, with focus on Delhi, São Paulo and Johannesburg. Aggarwal has previously worked as a consultant for the World Bank and the United Nations University’s World Institute for Development Economics Research on various projects related to sustainability, globalization and the world’s poor. In recognition of her efforts in “use-inspired research” and “community outreach,” she was awarded the ASU President’s Award for Sustainability. She is also a recipient of the Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award.

Alycia de Mesa is a mixed race American of Apache and Indigenous of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Durango, Mexico, Japanese, and British-German descent. She is a Senior Sustainability Scholar with ASU Global Institute of Sustainability & Innovation and a faculty instructor for the School of Sustainability teaching undergraduates in core sustainability topics and graduate students in sustainability leadership. Before teaching at ASU, she spent over 20 years in brand, marketing, storytelling and communications for start-ups, non-profits, and Fortune 500 companies and authored two brand books for business audiences through McGraw-Hill (New York) and Palgrave Macmillan (London). She is currently pursuing her doctoral degree in Human and Social Dimensions in Science and Technology at ASU School for the Future of Innovation in Society. Her research interests include Indigenous and people of color futures and emerging technologies effects on POC communities.

Sreya Ann Oommen is a Postdoctoral Environmental Humanities scholar and UNESCO BRIDGES Flagship Hub coordinator. Her research focuses on Island Literary Studies, Critical Ocean Studies, Decolonial Studies, and Sustainability Studies. Oommen’s current research problematizes the perception of islands within pre-established frameworks that restrict the authentic representation of the historical, social, and cultural realities of island communities. Her research examines the definitions of islands, islandness, and placeness to conceptualize the analyses of literary texts. Oommen’s current research also addresses futures literacy, energy humanities, environmental justice, and community benefits planning. She has published articles on Anglo-Indian Studies, Human Rights Literature, and Ecocriticism.