Staff
The Center for Humans and Nature staff is multidisciplinary, spanning the disciplines of philosophy, biology, ecology, environmental ethics, law, and political science. Experienced and productive as researchers, writers, and educators, they bring a high degree of dedication, knowledge and flexibility to their work.
Brooke Hecht, Ph.D.
President
Brooke received her Ph.D. in ecosystem ecology from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where her work addressed how human land use can alter ecosystem resilience. Her interests are as wide-ranging as the Center’s, ranging from ecology, evolutionary biology, psychology and theology to philosophy, history, ethics, and economics. Brooke earned her B.A. in biology from Dartmouth College, where her focus was on plant molecular genetics. She received her Master of Science degree at the University of Melbourne. In Australia, her research assessed the adequacy of buffer zones protecting rainforests adjacent to logged eucalyptus forests. READ MORE
Curt Meine, Ph.D.
Director of Conservation Biology and History
Curt Meine, Ph.D., is a conservation biologist, historian, and writer. He received his bachelor’s degree in English and History from DePaul University in Chicago and his graduate degrees in Land Resources from the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During his conservation career over the last twenty years, Meine has worked on projects involving topics ranging from biodiversity conservation planning, sustainable agriculture, and international development, to crane and wetland conservation, prairie restoration, and development of community-based conservation programs. READ MORE
Kathryn Kintzele, J.D.
Director of North American Global Responsibilities
Kathryn Kintzele, J.D. leads the Center for Humans and Nature's role in international environmental law development. As Director of CHN's Global Responsibilities Program, she explores our local and regional responsibilities to the land and peoples outside our borders. She is Co-Chair of the the Biosphere Ethics Initiative, an international soft law program that highlights ethical principles of biodiversity conservation and seeks to implement them into law and policy. Kathryn is also the Deputy Chair of the Ethics Specialist Group of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law. Her main body of research is comparative law, or ethical principles as found in constitutions, statutes and judicial opinions from around the world. READ MORE
Gavin Van Horn, Ph.D.
Director of Midwest Cultures of Conservation
As the Midwest Director, Gavin is developing and directing a series of interdisciplinary projects relevant to the sustainability, resilience, and restoration of human and natural communities in the Chicago and Midwest region. His work focuses particularly on how place-based values are developed and strengthened in dialogue with local landscapes. Gavin received a B.A. from Pepperdine University, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his doctorate from the University of Florida, with a specialization in Religion and Nature. His dissertation research examined the religious, cultural, and ethical values involved in the reintroduction of wolves to the southwestern United States. READ MORE
Anja Claus, B.S.
Program Associate
As Program Associate for the Center, Anja is implementing the Center's 'Ideas of Humans and Nature' and 'Cultures of Conservation' programs. Anja is also pursuing her Master of Arts degree in Geography and Environmental Studies at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU), Chicago. Her research interests focus on progressive planning methods grounded in an ecological ethic. Her central research question is “How can we plan our spaces to be sensitive and respectful to place in all its cultural and natural complexity?” The focus of her master’s thesis is on illustrating how community-based models of conservation facilitate an ethics of place; how they also facilitate the emergence of a democratic ecological citizen; and the ability to replicate these models in other places. Her research case study is based on the regional Chicago Wilderness consortium. READ MORE
Bruce Jennings, M.A.
Director of Bioethics
A political scientist by training (Yale University B.A. 1971 and Princeton University M.A. 1973), Mr. Jennings has written and edited twenty books and has published over one hundred fifty articles on bioethics and public policy issues. He is also Senior Consultant and an elected Fellow at The Hastings Center, where from 1991 through 1999 he served as Executive Director. He holds faculty appointments at the Yale University School of Public Health, the Weill Cornell College of Medicine, and New York Medical College and has been a leader in ethics education in the field of public health. He is the chair of the bioethics advisory committee of the March of Dimes. READ MORE
Christopher Sherman
Consultant, Strategic Initiatives
Christopher Sherman helps communities develop solutions to development and growth that better consider and realize a resurgent land ethic. Raised in Idaho, Chris is particularly interested in ecology, theology, politics, and law. Chris received a J.D. from Yale Law School, where his research focused on creating inclusive models for executive decision making in environmental and natural resources law that might better account for local communities' sense of dignity and place. Chris also received a B.A. from the College of Idaho, where he concentrated in History, Religion, French, and Music. READ MORE
Kate Cummings
Intern, Chicago Regional Cultures of Conservation
Kate Cummings joins the Center after completing an internship with the Human Relations Area Files at Yale University. She received her B.A. in anthropology with minors in Environmental Studies and Global Health, Culture and Society from Emory University in 2010. She is currently involved in cross-cultural research on the relationship between resource scarcity and community ideologies of collectivism/individualism. Kate’s interests include medical anthropology, global environmental public health, ecology, and conservation biology. READ MORE
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