People

Dr. Keith Tibdall

1252_13_011.CR2Dr. Keith G. Tidball leads SPEAR4  efforts and is an anthro-ecologist working in the Department of Natural Resources at Cornell University, where he serves as a Senior Extension Associate member of the faculty. He also serves as Assistant Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension and heads up the Environment and Natural Resources Program Area. He focuses on the dynamics of natural resource management in the context of crisis, disaster and war. Experiences in the military and in the field of  international disaster response and relief inform his unique brand of applied scholarship, including stints throughout Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and the Americas.

Tidball’s doctoral work focused on the role of community based natural resource management in Post-Katrina resilience of New Orleans, and he continues to work in post-disaster contexts, as well as in disaster readiness, resilience, and response. Current work includes documentation and investigation of community based natural resource management in so-called “Red Zones.” Another focal area is how outdoor recreation contributes to and enhances resilience and recovery for veterans, military families, and others who have experienced trauma. Tidball provides leadership for national extension programs dealing with  veterans and military families, and with disaster education for communities. CV here.

Dr. Tidball’s work is informed by his avocation as a hunter, angler, and part-time licensed guide. He has been appointed to serve on the Biden Administration’s Hunting and Wildlife Conservation Council. The Federal Advisory Council, chartered in February 2022 and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is a federal advisory committee of subject matter experts that will provide recommendations to the federal government regarding policies that benefit wildlife and habitat conservation; expand fair-chase hunting, safe recreational shooting sports, and wildlife-associated recreation opportunities; and policies that benefit national and local economies. Dr. Tidball also serves as a member of the IUCN CEESP/SSC Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group.

Currently, Dr. Tidball is focused on better understanding how to amplify recruitment of citizen conservationists and the development of a 21st century land ethic. His work features efforts to locate and explore portals and pathways into conservation behaviors, particularly hunting and angling.

Personal Links: 

Samples of Work: 

Affiliations:

  • Cornell University Department of Natural Resources and the Environment Faculty Member
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension Assistant Director
  • Arizona State University Adjunct Professor
  • New York Guard Senior Staff Officer

PHD STUDENTS

Ms. Francine Barchett

Francine Barchett is an applied social sciences researcher, science communicator, and teacher. Based out of Cornell University’s Center for Conservation Social Sciences and the African Wildlife Economy Institute, her PhD research probes the intersections of conservation, community wellbeing, and sustainable enterprise across Southern Africa. She also is founder and director of the International Hunting Discussion Forum and sits on the steering committee of the African Wildlife Economy Working Group at African Leadership University.

Ms. Barchett’s interest in the hunting industry began with disgust. She found a picture online of obnoxious-looking old men posing with an endangered rhino they had just shot! This disgust turned to curiosity, then to learning how to hunt for herself, and now meeting a diverse cast of conservation stakeholders: the “human dimensions” of her PhD.

Prior to her hunting work, Ms. Barchett’s funded short-term projects had led her across 25 countries, from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Kenya to Asian Development Bank (ADB) in the Philippines, to the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India. Equally enthralled with Southeast Asia as Southern Africa, she has received numerous fellowships to study and translate Indonesian, Malay, and Vietnamese and has represented the US at official government functions across the Indonesian archipelago. However, she most enjoys teaching undergraduates and mentoring high schoolers through the World Prize Foundation’s programs. She holds a B.S. in International Agriculture and M.P.S.in Global Development.

Personal Links:

Samples of Work:

Affiliations:

  • PhD Candidate at Cornell University’s Department of Natural Resources & Environment
  • Research Fellow at Stellenbosch University’s African Wildlife Economy Institute 

MASTERS STUDENTS

Ms. Jessie Hughes

Ms. Jessie Hughes is a social sciences researcher and human ecologist fascinated by human relationships with the environment. Her M.S. research frames ecological identity as a social mechanism of resilience, and examines the role of humans in enhancing resilience within social-ecological systems undergoing rapid change.

Trained as a designer of the built environment with a love for the natural world, Ms. Hughes integrates her diverse experiences with her growing academic wheelhouse in the natural sciences. While undertaking a 2,200 mile thru hike of the Appalachian Trail, she was inspired to join the Peace Corps and work in community-based natural resource management, fostering ecological knowledge development and dialogue amongst diverse groups of people. While serving stints in Burkina Faso and Nepal, she witnessed how a changing climate affects natural resource-based people and livelihoods, and was motivated to pursue graduate study towards enhancing resilience of peoples and places.

Ms. Hughes’ work portfolio includes the American Red Cross and several NGOs focused on refugee and immigrant services. She has earned the Alpha Rho Chi Medal, Department of State Critical Language Scholarship in Hindi, and is a three-time recipient of the Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship in Nepali. In her free time, Ms. Hughes can be found foraging, hunting, and teaching knitting classes in her native Finger Lakes, NY. She holds a B.S. in Architecture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and M.P.S. in Global Development from Cornell University. View CV here.

Personal Links: 

Samples of Work:

Affiliations:

  • Masters of Science Candidate at Cornell University Department of Natural Resources and the Environment
  • Foreign Languages & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellow, US Department of Education

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Jenna Alland

Jenna Alland is an undergraduate student at Cornell University majoring in Industrial and Labor Relations. In 2022, Ms. Alland was selected for the Cornell Institute of African Development Undergraduate Research Internship. Her research, guided by Cornell Law Professor Muna Ndulo, examined Zambia’s Institutional and Legal Framework for Animal Rights and Wildlife Conservation. Specifically, she researched the lack of interagency cooperation on cases of wildlife crime and bribery, and the constitutional feasibility of the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s proposed Room to Roam Plan (a Southern African wildlife connectivity corridor).

It was through this research that she met PhD student Francine Barchett and learned of Francine’s research on hunting and conservation. Ms. Alland joined Francine and Dr. Keith Tiball’s lab in the Spring Semester of 2023. As a Texas native, she hopes to further her knowledge of sustainable hunting as it applies to long-term sustainable growth and international development.

Personal Links: 

Affiliations:

  • Junior Majoring in Industrial & Labor Relations at Cornell University 
  • Cornell in Washington Scholar 

 

Trisha Bhujle

Trisha Bhujle is an undergraduate student majoring in Environment & Sustainability at Cornell University. Her blog, The Sentimental Environmental(ist), features recycled art pieces, interview reports, children’s poetry, open letters, and academic writing on environmental issues such as food waste minimization and climate change mitigation. Additionally, as a Laidlaw Scholar, Ms. Bhujle will be researching contested forms of wildlife conservation such as trophy hunting and disseminating information to the public and to policymakers to encourage more informed decision-making.

Ms. Bhujle’s interest in the intersection of hunting and wildlife conservation grew during her first semester at Cornell, and since then she has attended the Dallas Safari Club Convention to learn more about both industries. While working with Dr. Keith Tidball’s lab and with PhD student Francine Barchett, she hopes to further her knowledge of sustainable hunting and encourage the collaboration of diverse disciplines for the betterment of wildlife.

Personal Links:

Samples of Work:

Affiliations:

  • Sophomore Majoring in Environment and Sustainability at Cornell University
  • Laidlaw Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholar

 

Elizabeth Guzman

Elizabeth Guzman is an undergraduate student studying Environmental & Sustainability at Cornell University. In 2023, Ms. Guzman was selected as a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar to study conservation management methods in Seattle over a 2-summer period. From these experiences, she has learned about how native tribes such as the Quinault nation manage forestry and fishery habitat for both cultural and economic benefits. She has also focused on the multidisciplinary approach to conservation and storytelling methods tied to certain land and animals. 

To continue her research in wildlife conservation, Elizabeth wants to expand on the social ecological aspects of environmentalism by working with Dr. Keith and PhD student Francine on trophy hunting. Through survey analysis and communicating with individuals that are involved in trophy hunting, she can better understand the relationship between data collection and outreach. Her goal is to learn more about sustainable hunting and applying it to better the state of wildlife conservation.

Affiliations: 

  • Sophomore Majoring in Environment and Sustainability at Cornell University
  • Doris Duke Conservation Scholar at University of Washington 

 

William Remoundos

William Remoundos is a fourth year undergraduate student double majoring in Government as well as Environment and Sustainability within the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University. William is from San Francisco, California. His experiences range from building trails for ecotourism in rural Greece to advising a circularity non-profit combating overfishing in their expansion to the US. William is a Program Assistant for the Dr. Keith Tidball Lab, working with PhD candidate Francine Barchett on the humanitarian and ecological implications of hunting in the US and Sub-Saharan Africa. He engages in data collection and analysis with private and public stakeholders around hunting and wildlife conservation in these regions.

William was previously a Carbon Neutrality Analyst on the Ithaca Carbon Neutral 2030 project team for Cornell University Sustainable Design. His role included helping grocers to communicate environmental information to consumers as well as bolstering circularity with local and regional organizations in Ithaca, NY. William was also a Teaching Assistant for the DEA 1500 Environmental Psychology at Cornell.

 

Personal Links:

Affiliations: 

  • Environment & Sustainability + Government at Cornell University