FACULTY AND STAFF

Dan Childers
Faculty, Ph.D.

Dan Childers is a Professor in the School of Sustainability and member of the Executive Committee of the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research Program (CAP LTER) at Arizona State University.  His research focuses on systems ecology (primarily in wetland, aquatic, and urban ecosystems) and sustainability science.  His ecosystems ecology research has recently expanded to include urban wetlands and “ciénega” systems of arid southwestern streams—and in many different freshwater and estuarine systems around the world.   Prior to his arrival and starting the WEEL lab at ASU in August 2008, Dan spent nearly 15 years at Florida International University in Miami where he was Director of the Florida Coastal Everglades Long-Term Ecological Research (FCE LTER) Program. Dan has published more than 80 peer-reviewed articles, won grants that have totaled over $15 million, and advised more than two dozen Ph.D. and M.S. students.

To learn more about Dr. Dan Childers, please visit his School of Sustainability faculty website and read his CV: Dan Childers CV

Julia Hernandez
​Lab Manager

Julia Hernandez is a dual-major graduate of Environmental Science (B.S.) and Spanish (B.A.) from Northern Arizona University. She conducted her undergraduate research in Ushuaia, Argentina, where she investigated the importance of native fish species within the ecological food web along with the linguistical and cultural characteristics that define Argentinian culture. Since then, she has worked for the United States Forest Service and Liberty Wildlife Rehabilitation Center to educate the public about the importance of wildlife conservation and cultural inclusion.

GRADUATE STUDENTS

Luke Ramsey
​Master's Student

Luke Ramsey is an MS student in the School of Sustainability, studying biodiversity in urban wetlands along the Salt River, focusing in particular on changing plant community composition in response to management (or the lack thereof).  Luke is from Memphis, TN and has a background in art and environmental education, which they use to examine and communicate long term ecological data.  Luke also works as an herbarium assistant in ASU's Natural History Collections.

Kayla Tarr
Ph.D. Student

Kayla is a current PhD student in the School of Sustainability at ASU. She came to ASU after receiving a BS in civil engineering from George Washington University in 2019. Her research focuses on the use of urban ecological infrastructure for stormwater management in the Phoenix area. She enjoys volunteering at Tres Rios, but the majority of her work in WEEL focuses on continued monitoring of the Orange Mall study site on ASU Tempe's campus. When not in class, teaching, or conducting research, Kayla enjoys spending time with her dog, exploring Phoenix, and traveling. 

Nicholas Weller
Ph.D. Candidate

I am interested in policy, science, and democracy, particularly around sustainability and environmental issues. More specifically, I study ways the general public contributes to science and policy and what decision makers do with such input. With a group of practitioners and researchers from the Institute for the Future of Innovation in Society, I examine large-scale public forums exploring what people think cities should do to respond to hazards like droughts or floods.
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As an undergraduate research assistant in WEEL, I studied plant mediated nitrogen uptake at Tres Rios and urban stormwater dynamics. More recently, I worked with the School of Sustainability's Sustainability Science for Sustainable Schools program to develop and implement sustainability curriculum and programming for local K-12 schools. 

Eric Vahid
Ph.D. Student

Eric Vahid is a Ph.D. student in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. His focus is on Urban Ecology/Ecosystems and Sustainability Science. His current research focuses on nutrient cycling in urban environments. He received his Master's Degree in Sustainable Solutions through the School of Sustainability at ASU. He completed his B.S. in Earth System Science at the University of California, Irvine, where he worked in a wetland ecology lab focusing on underground water flow and soil analysis, specifically phytolith analysis. 

Chris Sanchez
M.S. Student

I am a Research Specialist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability at Arizona State University who has been working with WEEL since 2011, initially as an NSF-funded undergraduate student researcher and now as the lab's research manager. My own research has focused on understanding Urban Ecological Infrastructure (UEI) as a space for collaboration and convergence between urban research and urban design, planning, and management.

Before assuming my current position at ASU, I worked for 3 years as an interpretive program leader and coordinator for the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Opens Spaces department while earning a double-B.A. from the University of Miami. I studied wetland ecology for many years in the Florida Everglades at the Florida Coastal Everglades (FCE) LTER site, where my work was focused on reconstructing historic hydrology patterns and understanding carbon dynamics in coastal mangrove forests.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS

Garrett Storey
B.S. Chemistry

Background: I am a proud student in the School of Molecular Sciences earning my undergraduate degree in Chemistry with minors in Sustainability and Data Science. 

Research: I am a NSF-funded undergraduate student researcher in CAP LTER researching the ultimate fate of anthropogenic organic contaminants in the Tres Rios wetlands in an effort to help understand where harmful chemicals accumulate when they pass through our urban hydrologic system.

Interests: I love the outdoors and bimonthly field work at Tres Rios. I love helping new volunteer researchers and working with my colleagues in the field. In sharp contrast, I am also a self-taught full-stack web developer that loves coding in a coffee shop. If you wish to meet me, contact me and we can meet up at my favorite shop!

Contact Info: [email protected]

Sawyer Treese
B.S.

Sawyer is an undergrad at the School of Sustainability researching water quality in the WEEL lab for his honors thesis.  His interests include urban ecology, sustainable solutions, civic engagement, and equity.  In his free time, Sawyer enjoys riding his bike, helping maintain Escalante Community Garden, and volunteering for local sustainability initiatives.  Sawyer’s vision is simple: a future of sustainable and equitable communities!

Austin Crane
B.S.

I am a junior at ASU, majoring in sustainability and minoring in biology.  My interests include wetland ecology and ecosystems in general.  I joined WEEL in 2017, and I am currently researching the nutrient budgets of Tres Rios.  After college, I hope to go to graduate school and continue researching ecology.

Brad Niska
B.S.

I am a junior at Arizona State University working towards a BS in Sustainability with an emphasis on sustainable ecosystems. My involvement with the WEEL project began through the SURE program via the School of Sustainability, and I am currently working to create allometric biomass models based on data collected at the Tres Rios Constructed Treatment Wetland.

Jessica Bristow
B.A.

Currently I am an undergraduate student at ASU's School of Sustainability studying policy and governance pertaining to natural environments, natural resources, and social and economical issues. Besides my studies, I have found a love for ecology research. Researching nutrient levels of root cores from Tres Rios has been an amazing experience so far and I hope I can continue research through WEEL.

VISITING SCHOLARS

The WEEL is not currently hosting any visiting international scholars. Please see the Past WEEL Members page for more information on our past visiting scholars and collaborations.