Full-Time Faculty:

• Caroline Christian
• Thomas Jacobson
• Stephen Norwick
• Steven Orlick
• Rocky Rohwedder
• Alexandra von Meier
• Laura A. Watt

Part-Time Faculty:

• Robin Burton
• Pat Collins
• Wayne Goldberg
• Bill Higgins
• Erv Peterson
• Ted Tiffany

Staff:

• Armando Navarro
• Jo-Ann Smith

CAROLINE CHRISTIAN, Ph.D.

My research focuses on key issues in conservation and restoration, and the use of applied systems to test fundamental ideas in ecology. Much of my current research evaluates the effectiveness of prescribed fire and livestock grazing as tools for managing and restoring grassland communities that have been invaded heavily by exotic plant species. I have recently completed a large-scale experiment on this topic in northern California and am currently evaluating the impacts of livestock grazing on the endangered giant kangaroo rat and its grassland habitat in central California at Carrizo Plains National Monument . Another focus of my research has been to understand the ways in which exotic species influence the interactions among native species. I also work with non-profit organizations to implement science-based conservation planning and land management. She can be reached by phone at 707/664-3144 or you can send email.
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THOMAS JACOBSON, J.D., MCP, AICP

Tom Jacobson received his B.A. from Sonoma State University, a Masters Degree in City Planning from U.C. Berkeley and a J.D. from Hasting College of Law. He has practiced as a land use and environmental lawyer and as a planner throughout California. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and the California Planning Roundtable and was an adjunct professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law. He is Director of the Institute for Community Planning Assisstance at Sonoma State University. His academic and professional interests include land use and environmental regulation, sustainable development, and environmental justice. He has been a teacher in a one-room elementary school in the Sierras and a cross-country skiing instructor. He can be reached by phone at 707/664-3145 or you can send email.
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STEPHEN NORWICK, Ph.D.

Steve Norwick was raised on the mud flats of the east shore of San Francisco Bay. He studied at Pomona College, Dartmouth College, and the University of Montana, where he took, B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. all in geology. He taught at Central Michigan University for two years where he was conservation chairman for the Sierra Club Chapter. He resigned to become a field geologist for the Chilean Geological Survey but he left after the military revolution. He worked for an engineering firm in Boston, and has taught at SSU since 1974. He spent eight years on the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board. He can be reached by phone at 707/664-2485 or you can send email. Click here if you want to check out STEVE'S HOME PAGE.
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STEVEN C. ORLICK, Ph.D.
** Department Chair **

Professor Orlick has a B.A. in Geography from U.C. Santa Barbara, and a Masters and Ph.D. both in Urban Planning from the University of Washington. He has been a planning commissioner and consultant, and was three term Director of the Northern California Section of the American Planning Association. Steve was Chair of the SSU Faculty and Chair of the Academic Senate in 1998-99. During his Fall 2000 sabbatical, he traveled on the East Coast to photograph many new towns and New Urbanist communities. His interests and expertise are in environmental planning, impact assessment and reporting, comprehensive community planning, planning theory, urban design, and transportation planning. His most recent research and writing is related to the value of a formal education in planning. He is an avid golfer and carries an 8 handicap! He can be reached by phone at 707/664-2414 or you can send email.
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W.J. "ROCKY" ROHWEDDER, Ph.D.

Rocky has a B.A. in Social Ecology (UC Irvine), an M.S. in Resource Policy and Management (The University of Michigan) and a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning (UC Berkeley). He teaches courses in environmental science education, outdoor leadership, environmental technology, and computer-aided communications. He has been an educational consultant for numerous organizations, including the World Resources Institute, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Peace Corps, President’s Council on Sustainable Development, U.S. Agency for International Development, The Energy Foundation, and the California Department of Education. Rocky was a facilitator in the Middle East Peace Process as well as a Visiting Scholar at the George Lucas Educational Foundation. He was a also co-founder of EcoNet (an international computer network), the first Faculty Director of the Fairfield Osborn Preserve, and co-founder of the Environmental Technology Center at Sonoma State University. He is currently a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of Applied Environmental Education and Communication. He can be reached by phone at 707/664-2249 or you can send email. Click here if you want to check out Rocky's home page.
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ALEXANDRA "SASCHA" VON MEIER, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Alexandra "Sascha" von Meier received her Ph.D. in Energy & Resources and her B.A. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley. A former high school teacher and Switzer Environmental Fellow, she also held a U.C. President's Postdoctoral Fellowship in Electrical Engineering. In general, she is interested in cultural issues bearing on the implementation of technology. Her research has focused on diverse aspects of energy technology and policy: photovoltaic systems and their integration in the utility grid; electric power distribution and automation; operational culture of nuclear power plants; perceptions of nuclear materials management and policy issues, such as the disposition of weapons plutonium and the transport of spent reactor fuel; social responses to global climate change; and the adoption of "green building" techniques such as those in Sonoma State University's Environmental Technology Center (ETC), of which she is the Director. Sascha can be reached by phone at 707/664-2430 or you can send email. Click here for Sascha's home page with links to selected publications.
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ROBIN BURTON

Robin Burton received her degree in ENSP from Sonoma State University. She is currently a professional organic grower who has taught at Sonoma State for three years, offering courses in Agroecology and Native Plant Propagation. Prior to farming in Sonoma County, she was an agricultural specialist in Central America for three years and commercially fished for 14 years. Robin keeps the campus organic garden healthy and productive, and shares the bounty with department students.
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ERV PETERSON, Ph.D.

Born and raised in Sonoma County, Erv earned his BA in geography from UC Santa Barbara and his MSc. in environmental education and Ph.D. in natural resources from the University of Michigan. Erv has worked as environmental education co-director for the California Conservation Project-The TreePeople; as assistant director for both the National Parks and US Forest Service International Seminars; and with US Fish & Wildlife as consultant to the Wildlife Institute of India and India Institute of Forest Management. He also established and directed the School for Field Studies Australia Tropical Ecology Research Station in Far North Queensland. Erv plays tournament croquet and has represented the US in international competition since 1990. Currently he is building a strawbale house west of Petaluma with his wife and Italian Greyhounds.
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ARMANDO NAVARRO, Operations Manager, ETC

Armando received his B.A. from Sonoma State in Environmental Studies and Planning, and has worked in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy for over 20 years. His professional experience spans work with large corporations, such as PG&E and Honeywell, and small non-profit energy consulting agencies, like Community Energy Services Corporation. Armando is the Assistant Director of the ENSP Department's Environmental Technology Center (ETC). In his current position he is responsible for the day to day operation of the Center and the development of funding for various educational /community energy projects. When not busy promoting the ETC and environmentally sustainable building design and materials Armando can be found hiking the trails and kayaking the waters of the region with his son, Nick. Armando can be reached by calling the ETC at 707/664-2577 or email.
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JO-ANN SMITH, Administrative Coordinator