Our Team

Core Team

Suzanne Pierre, Ph.D.

  • Suzanne Pierre (she/her) is a soil microbial ecologist and biogeochemist, a writer, and transformer of social systems. She is the founder and the lead investigator of the Critical Ecology Lab, a nonprofit organization innovating research at the intersection of global ecological change, social justice and liberation of oppressed peoples.

    She received an interdisciplinary B.A. in Environmental Studies from New York University, a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University, and completed a University of California President's Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley. Her technical expertise is in applying molecular and stable isotope approaches to characterizing the biophysical mechanisms controlling nutrient and carbon cycling in plant and microbial systems experiencing climate change.

    Pierre is a transdisciplinary scientist developing the new field of critical ecology, the study of basic ecological processes through the analytical lens of decoloniality and critical social theory. Her goal is to explain the phenomena of global ecological change as responses to systems of global colonialism and capitalism. She is a 2022 recipient of the National Geographic Society Wayfinder Award and is a National Geographic Explorer.

Em Whalen, Ph.D.

  • Em Whalen (they/she) is a soil biogeochemist, microbial ecologist, and educator, with expertise in soil organic matter formation and carbon storage, and the role of microorganisms in promoting these processes. They received a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Vermont and completed their M.S. and Ph.D. in Earth & Environmental Sciences at the University of New Hampshire before joining CEL as a postdoctoral researcher.

    Em is passionate about critical approaches to environmental science education, pedagogy, and research, and their approach is based on the premise that addressing current environmental and climate crises is inseparable from dismantling white supremacy and (settler) colonialism. Her analysis is informed by the work of scholar-activists in anti-colonial theory, Black feminism, queer ecology, and critical pedagogy, including Eve Tuck, Zoe Todd, Max Liboiron, Farhana Sultana, David Naguib Pellow, bell hooks, Bettina Love, Gholdy Muhammad, Gloria Ladson-Billings, José Esteban Muñoz, and more. Em draws inspiration from queer theory scholarship that engages us in dreaming up the “not-yet-here” and envisioning liberated futures for queer, trans, disabled, and BIPOC folks (under climate change & beyond).

Neeka Salmasi, M.A.

  • Neeka Salmasi is the Education Coordinator at Critical Ecology Lab. She has spent over a decade teaching and organizing around agroecology, environmental justice and collective autonomy. In the past year, Neeka founded the Climate Alliance for Palestine in direct response to Israeli greenwashing and peace-washing efforts at the UN Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai. Her work is deeply rooted in a commitment to cultural revitalization and anti-colonial praxis, which she enacts through her roles as a farmer, writer, and musician. Neeka holds a Master’s degree in Ecology and Environmental Justice from the University of Michigan, where she focused her research on restoration ecology through an Indigenous land rights and sovereignty framework.

Arely Lopez

  • Arely Lopez (she/her) is a first-generation Guatemalteca-American who’s heart and spirit are deeply rooted in Guatemala, nourished by her upbringing in Los Angeles, and blossomed in Oakland, California. Her love for the outdoors is matched by her love for the power of community and connection. Arely graduated from UC Berkeley with her B.S. in Conservation & Resource Studies, focusing on environmental science, education, and public health.


    Throughout her career, Arely has worn many hats—working in community health, outreach, and even sales—but the common thread is her commitment to building relationships grounded in radical love, joy, authenticity, and a drive for action. In addition to her diverse professional experiences, she is passionate about dismantling barriers to the outdoors and creating opportunities for marginalized and historically excluded communities to have the opportunity to enjoy and reclaim their connection to the natural world.


    As the Community Outreach Coordinator at the Critical Ecology Lab, Arely is excited to leverage her unique skill set and passions to strengthen community-driven initiatives and foster spaces where community, environmental science, and social justice intersect.

Collaborators

Michelle Wong, Ph.D.

  • My name is Michelle Wong and I use she/her pronouns. I am currently an Assistant Professor at Yale University in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. I am trained as an ecosystem ecologist and biogeochemist. My work examines how plants overcome nutrient limitation through the use of nutrient acquisition strategies in temperate and tropical forests.

    I come to CEL acknowledging that many scientific findings have been facilitated by colonialism, and how those who wield power in science perpetuate the culture. With CEL, I hope we can build a more equitable, just, and inclusive scientific environment with based on mutual trust, needs, and respect.

Bobby Dellinger

  • Robert Dellinger is a Ph.D. student in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at UCLA, holding an M.S. in Marine Biology, a B.S. in Marine & Coastal Sciences, and a B.A. in International Relations. Their research focuses on the interactive effects of anthropogenic change on marine ecosystems under future climate scenarios, such as ocean acidification and warming. By employing both ecological and biogeochemical techniques, they aim to understand the broader social implications of environmental changes and how shifts in ecological processes will ultimately impact human society. Robert adopts a transdisciplinary research approach, spanning various disciplines to ask critical questions regarding ecological processes, patterns, and outcomes. As a Queer and Latinx student, they believe that historically excluded knowledge systems are essential for averting a planetary crisis and filling in knowledge gaps, ultimately offering us alternative imagined futures. Robert is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, a UCLA Center for Diverse Leadership Fellow, and a Sustainable Oceans NSF National Research Trainee.

Anjum Kaur Gujral, MSc.

  • I am Anjum Kaur Gujral. I use she/her pronouns. I am a doctoral student at the University of California, Davis, on unceded Patwin land. In my masters degree, I studied plant form and function, as well as ecological niche and climate modeling.

    Through the Critical Ecology Lab, I am interested in using plant traits to quantify the impacts of oppressive and extractive land-use histories on plant communities and whole ecosystems more broadly. I am also passionate about challenging restrictive methods of ecological education that further marginalize underrepresented groups and maintain systems of oppression, particularly by centering the unique identities and traditional ecological knowledge of students.

Nautica Jones Harriot

  • Nautica Jones Harriott (She/her) is a graduate student collaborator on the Ecological Scars of Plantation Slavery project and is pursuing a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of California Santa Cruz. As a woman of color with a disability, Nautica uses her personal experiences to inform her work and promote accessibility for researchers of diverse backgrounds. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology with a concentration in ecology and evolution from the University of Louisiana Monroe, where she studied forest change in response to hurricane damage and land use. Presently, Nautica endeavors to challenge narratives that overlook the impacts of black land stewardship and oppressive social systems on climate change by researching the ecological and climate resilience legacies of slavery and maroonage on postbellum forests and soil carbon storage. Her work involves studying the land uses of historic maroons and enslaved peoples, as well as contemporary land stewardship efforts by their descendants. In this aspect of her research, she examines the different outcomes, goals, and strategies of maroon descendant land stewards compared to non-cultural land managers.

Krisztina Mosdossy, Ph.D.

  • My name is Krisztina Mosdossy (she/her). I received a Ph.D. in soil ecology from McGill University . My Ph.D. focused on carbon and nitrogen cycling through nematodes and the micro-food web in cultivated organic soils. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at Cornell University. I want to provide access to healing through a lens of human relationship to the non-human kin in the soil.

    To me, CEL offers actionable ways to dismantle the mainstream narrative that humans are purely a negative influence on the earth. I am excited about the critical ecology lens which creates space for reconnecting humans to their potential to be a positive influence on the earth. Through my work with CEL, I combine my experiences in regenerative agriculture and permaculture design and my research and education skills in soil, entomology, mycology and general ecology with the intention of invigorating the human birth right to connect with our landscapes.

Pa-Shun Hawkins

  • Pa-Shun Hawkins is a PhD student at The Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles. She focuses on developing protocols for extracting environmental DNA from the coral skeletons and mollusk shells. For the Critical Ecology lab, she serves as a graduate assistant supporting the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF) NSF Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) scientists with research activities related to critical ecology. This work quantifies relationships between the social drivers of ecological disturbances and long-term environmental responses measured at the HBEF. Previously, she attended Hampton University in Hampton, VA, where she completed a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Science.                                                                    

Academic Advisory Board

Dr. Rebecca Ryals

Dr. Ryals is an associate professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Merced. She studies how nutrients and carbon cycle in agroecosystems, and how the management of these cycles contributes to the climate change mitigation and resiliency. Her research focuses on the capture, transformation, and beneficial reuse of organic wastes as resources to rebuild soil carbon and fertility and contribute to a more just food system. Previously, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and a postdoctoral fellow at Brown University. She completed a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, M.E.M. at Duke University, and a B.S. at Marywood University.

Dr. Alexis Patterson Williams

Alexis Patterson Williams, PhD, is an associate professor at the University of California, Davis. Dr. Patterson’s research lies at the intersection of equity studies, social psychology, and science education. Her work explores 1) equity issues that arise from social hierarchies when students work together on group projects in science and 2) teacher development of practices that support equitable and robust interactions between students that can deconstruct implicit and explicit language and literacy hierarchies. Her recent project has led to the development of an educational framework, (W)holistic Science Pedagogy, with her colleague and sister scholar, Dr. Salina Gray.

Dr. Stevie Ruiz

Stevie Ruiz is an associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies at California State University, Northridge. He received his PhD in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego. Ruiz’s interdisciplinary research focuses on environmental justice, comparative race and ethnicity, critical science studies, and cultural geography. He is currently working on a book project titled “On Adversarial Grounds: The Racial Origins of Environmental Justice” (under contract with University of North Carolina Press).

Dr. Todd Dawson

Todd Dawson is a professor in the Department of Integrative Biology and the director of the Center for Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry at UC Berkeley. He has been investigating the relationship between plants and water resources in the environment for over 20 years and has worked in deserts and savannas, in the arctic and alpine, and in forests across North America, Australia, Chile, Brazil, and Europe. A great deal of Todd's work has focused on the unique adaptations plants possess in relation to the constraints they face in getting access to adequate water resources for growth and reproduction. Todd received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 1987.