Peace Corps Environment Programs: CFAES Faculty share their Volunteer Experiences Feb. 10, 5 pm

Jan. 27, 2021

Curious about the Peace CorpsEnvironment Volunteers lead grassroots efforts to protect the environment and strengthen understanding of environmental issues. They teach environmental awareness in schools and to local organizations, empowering communities to make their own decisions about how to conserve the local environment, through such programs as agroforestry, soil and water conservation, sustainable agriculture, recycling, alternative energy, and other programs.

Join us on Wednesday, February 10th from 5-6 pm to hear about the Peace Corps experiences of four CFAES faculty.  Register for this Zoom event. 

Featured panelists include: 

Matt Hamilton (Paraguay, 2005-2007) is an assistant professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at OSU, where he is also a faculty member of the Sustainability        Institute. His research and teaching focus on how people work together to solve environmental problems. He is particularly interested in environmental problem-solving in risk-prone landscapes. As a Peace Corps Volunteer he worked as an agricultural extensionist with a special emphasis on honey production.  

Susan Burks (Guatemala 1991-1993) has served SENR undergraduates as an academic advisor since 2001, where she earned dual Master of Science degrees in Environmental Education, Communication and Interpretation, and Agricultural Education/Communication.  She served two and a half years in the Peace Corps in Guatemala as an environmental volunteer, where she trained her agency coworkers in researching, writing and presenting different types of environmental programming.

Scott Demyan (Armenia 2006-2008) joined the SENR faculty in January 2017 as an assistant professor in the area of soil and environmental mineralogy with a focus on carbon permanence. His research interests are in the areas of soil organic matter and mineral stabilization mechanisms and how we can measure and model them more efficiently. He served as an environmental education volunteer in Armenia ('06-'08) working with local NGO's on soil and water research and educational outreach.

Darren Drewry (Mauritania 1996-1998) As an assistant professor in Food Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Darren Drewry's research focuses on understanding the interactions of terrestrial vegetation with climate, and the associated implications for ecological and hydrological resources, land-atmosphere interactions, and biodiversity. During his Peace Corps service, he worked on rural agricultural and water resources projects and developed a strong interest in Africa and its response to climate and land use changes.

Questions?  Contact Laura Joseph, OSU Campus Recruiter, at peacecorps@osu.edu