Department Welcomes New Faculty Members

We have some exciting news to announce. The GES department would like to welcome Dr. Hoover, Dr. Idziorek and Dr. Zuniga to the university starting this fall.

Dr. Fushcia-Ann Hoover is an interdisciplinary researcher specializing in environmental justice, urban planning and green infrastructure. Her questions engage the social processes that drive relationships between people, place and the environment. She holds a doctorate in agricultural and biological engineering with a concentration in ecological sciences from Purdue University and joins us from the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC).

Dr. Katherine Idziorek, AICP, is a community-engaged researcher who examines the role of social networks and social infrastructure in community-scale resilience and disaster preparedness. With a background in professional urban planning and urban design, Katherine seeks opportunities to bridge urban planning research and practice to support more equitable access to resources and improved community well-being.

Dr. Michelle Zuniga is an urban and community planner whose research focuses on resident perspectives of neighborhood change occurring in areas undergoing increased investment towards sustainable urban development. She is most interested in learning how low-income communities and communities of color experience the benefits and disruptions of neighborhood change and their implications for environmental, social, and economic justice and equity in the planning process. She employs qualitative methods to elevate resident’s stories of neighborhood transformation that often shed light on the underlying tensions of race and class as communities historically divested, undergo increased investment.