Biography

Originally from Tidewater Virginia, Rebecca's interests were shaped by watching the impact of development, climate change, and environmental policy on the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  Long interested in the relationship between people and their environment, she earned a B.S. in Environmental Sciences and Anthropology from the University of Virginia and an M.S. in Ecology from the University of California, Davis before starting her Ph.D. at the Humphrey School. 

Rebecca's research considers the intersection of housing, equity, and the environment in American cities. Using a racial equity lens, she examines the historic and contemporary housing and environmental policies that have produced and reproduce urban environmental landscapes, asking questions like "how do historic patterns of racial housing segregation shape patterns of urban heat today?" or "what are the implications of green infrastructure policies for housing justice?" 

This research uses critical GIS perspectives and methodologies to interrogate urban landscapes of environmental injustice, the historic policies that produced them, and how sustainability interventions today might challenge or deepen spatial inequalities.  Her research questions and methods are guided by the voices and leadership of environmental justice activists in Minneapolis and beyond.  

Education

M.S. in Ecology (University of California, Davis, 2018)

B.S. in Environmental Sciences & Anthropology (University of Virginia, 2015)