Board of Directors for the International Environmental Communication Association

2011 Candidate List (FINAL) 23 candidates

Dr. Lee Ahern, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Communications; Senior Research
Fellow, Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, Penn State University
(USA) http://comm.psu.edu/people/laa182

Dr. Jose Reuben Q. Alagaran II, PhD, President, Philippines Communication Society;
Consultant, Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCBio)
Project; Head, Research and Publications Management Office & Associate Professor,
Department of Communication, Miriam College (Philippines)

Dr. I. Arul Aram, Director, Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC), Anna
University (India)http://www.annauniv.edu/MediaScience/arularam.html

Dr John Blewitt PhD, FRSA, Director of Lifelong Learning, Aston University, Birmingham
(UK) http://www1.aston.ac.uk/ids/llc/about/director-of-life-long-learning-centre/

Dr. Anabela Carvalho, Ph.D.; Department of Communication Sciences, University of Minho,

Braga (Portugal); Co-founder and Vice-Chair, Science and Environment Communication
Section, ECREA (European Communication Research and Education Association
http://www.scienv-com.eu)http://intranet.uminho.pt/carvalho.page

Richard Doherty, Doctoral Student, Institute of Communications Research, University of

Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (USA) http://tigger.uic.edu/~rdoherty/Site/CV.html

Dr Julie Doyle, Ph.D., Principal Lecturer in Media and Communication Studies, School of
Arts and Media, University of Brighton (UK); Co-founder and Vice-Chair of the Science and
Environment Communication Section, European Communication Research and Education
Association (ECREA) : http://artsresearch.brighton.ac.uk/research/academic/doyle

Dr. Neil Gavin, Department of Politics, University of Liverpool (UK); Convener-Climate

Change, Environment and Sustainability Network, Media, Communication, and Cultural
Studies Association(MECCSA) http://www.liv.ac.uk/politics/staff-pages/n_gavin.htm

Anders Hansen, Senior Lecturer, Department of Media and Communication, University of

Leicester (UK); Founding Chair, Environment, Science and Risk Communication Group,
IAMCR http://www.le.ac.uk/mc/staff/ash.html

Kathleen P. Hunt, Doctoral Student, University of

Utah(USA) http://faculty.utah.edu/u0647544-Katie_Hunt/biography/index.hml

Sangita Iyer, Founding Executive Director, Bermuda Environmental Alliance

(Bermuda) www.bermuda-bea.org

Libby Lester, Ph.D., Associate Professor; Journalism, Media and Communications, School
of English, Journalism and European Languages, University of Tasmania
(Australia) http://www.utas.edu.au/journalism/staff_profiles/lester/lester.htm

Soenke Lorenzen, Media Analyst, Greenpeace International

(Netherlands) http://www.cestagi.com/view.php?Soenke_Lorenzen
Amanda Katili Niode, Ph.D., Coordinator, Division of Communication, Information,
Education, Indonesian National Council on Climate Change; Manager, The Climate Project
Indonesia (Indonesia) http://www.tcpindonesia.org/

Dr. Manoj K. Patairiya, M. Sc. (Environmental Biology), Visiting Professor, Global

Communication, Chungnam National University, South Korea, Director, National Council for
Science & Technology Communication (South Korea) www.dst.gov.in
http://dst.gov.in/scientific-programme/s-t_ncstc-bio-off.htm

Mark Pedelty, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass
Communication, Resident Fellow at the Institute on the Environment, University of
Minnesota (USA)http://environment.umn.edu/about/ione_bios/mark_pedelty.html

Emily Plec, Ph. D., Associate Professor, Communication Studies, Western Oregon
University (USA) http://wou.academia.edu/EmilyPlec

Raul Reis, Ph.D.,Professor & Chair, Department of Journalism & Mass Communication,
California State University, Long Beach (USA) http://www.csulb.edu/~rreis

Stacey K. Sowards, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Research Fellow, Department of

Communication, Sam Donaldson Center for Communication, University of Texas at El Paso
(USA) http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=67102

Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, PhD, Professor of Environmental Communication, Dept of

Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences , Uppsala
(Sweden) http://www.sol.slu.se/environ/

Miguel Vicente-Mariño, PhD, Senior Lecturer, Vice-Dean of the School of Legal, Social and
Communication Sciences, University of Valladolid – Segovia Campus (Spain)

http://uva-es.academia.edu/MiguelVicenteMarino

Barb Willard, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Joint Appointment – College of Communication &
Department of Environmental Science & Studies, DePaul University (USA)
http://communication.depaul.edu/Faculty%20and%20Staff/Full%20Time
%20Faculty/willard.asp

Ruben Zondervan, Executive Director, Earth System Governance Project, International

Project Office, Lund University, Lund (Sweden) www.earthsystemgovernance.org
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Dr. Lee Ahern, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, College of Communications
Senior Research Fellow, Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication
Penn State University, University Park, PA
www.psu.edu

Statement of Interest

I believe my combination of academic and professional experience make me uniquely

qualified to contribute to the founding of the International Environmental Communications
Association as a member of the Board of Directors. As an academic, my research, teaching
and service focus in the area of environmental communication. As a professional
communications manager with 20 years of experience, I worked extensively in association
management and marketing.

My research focuses on the roles of environmental strategic communicators (advocacy

organizations, marketers and governments) in shaping public perceptions of environmental
issues. This includes an interest in the ethical and moral implications of strategic
environmental messages, advertisements in particular. In terms of national service, I am
currently in the leadership of the Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk
(ComSHER) Division of the Association of Educators in Journalism and Mass
Communication (AEJMC).

Prior to completing a Ph.D. and joining Penn State, I was Marketing and New Media
Manager for an international custom publishing company that specializes in association
promotion and communications. In this capacity, I worked closely with hundreds of different
associations in the US and Canada, from dozens of different industries, to develop print and
on-line communications vehicles to deliver essential member benefits. I also gained in-depth
knowledge of association organizational structure, management systems, and dynamics. In
particular I found ways to deliver enhanced benefits to members while generating non-dues
revenue.

Profile: http://comm.psu.edu/people/laa182
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Jose Reuben Q. Alagaran II, PhD

President, Philippines Communication Society,
Consultant, Adaptation to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCBio)
Project,
Head, Research and Publications Management Office & Associate Professor, Department of
Communication, Miriam College, Philippines
jralagaran@gmail.com

Statement of Interest

I am interested to aerve as a member of Board of Directors of the International

Environmental Communication Association. I am the President of Philippines
Communication Society, a professional organization of media practitioners and
communication professionals who promote communication as a social science discipline. I
am also Consultant for the Development of Communication Framework Plan for Adaptation
to Climate Change and Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCBio) Project funded by Deutsche
Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH for the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Philippines. I also handled advocacy
seminars for the National Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) Phaseout Plan of the DENR. I am
presently Head of Research and Publications Management Office and Associate Professor
of Department of Communication in Miriam College, Philippines.
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Dr. I. ARUL ARAM

Director
Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC)
Anna University, Chennai-600025
www.annauniv.edu/emmrc
arulram@yahoo.com

Statement of Interest

I wish to run for office as a member of the Board of Directors of the International
Environmental Communication Association (IECA). I am an Associate Professor in the
Department of Media Sciences, Anna University, Chennai, India. I hold additional charge as
Director of the Educational Multimedia Research Centre. I am also the Coordinator of M.Sc.
(Science and Technology Communication) in the university, which has papers on Media and
Environment, and Communicating Climate Change. I specialize in Environmental
Communication. I was a post-doctoral fellow of the London School of Economics. I am also a
Fellow of International Congress of Environmental Research. I engage with the mass media
and do grassroots activism with respect to climate change. I have published four books and
62 research papers.

Profile: http://www.annauniv.edu/MediaScience/arularam.html
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Dr John Blewitt PhD, FRSA.

Director of Lifelong Learning
Aston University
Birmingham, UK
J.D.BLEWITT@aston.ac.uk

Statement of Interest

Having been a graduate student in Film and Television at the University of Westminster
(London) and receiving a doctorate in cultural sociology from the University of Wales (UK) I
have spent twenty five years working in adult, further, international and higher education. I
have a profound interest and commitment to lifelong learning of which film, television and
new media has formed a prominent part. I have designed and delivered many
undergraduate and postgraduate courses in media and sustainability and currently teach
Masters level modules on Sustainability Communications and New Media Affordances at
Aston where I am co-director of the new MSc Social Responsibility and Sustainability and
leader of the Sustainable Communities Consortium. My involvement in education for
sustainability and media education has straddled both academe and the industry having
worked closely with public, private and third sector bodies on communications issues
organising conferences, advising on projects and publishing widely for academic and
professional audiences as well as the general reader. I recently completed a two year study
on the media and wildlife/environmental filmmaking with the Wildscreen organisation and
have just started a new research and development project exploring the digitisation of
cultural urban heritage and environmental sustainability. I see the formation of the new
Association as a most exciting, timely and important development and hope I will have the
opportunity to harness my experience, commitment and enthusiasm to help make the
Association the success it needs to be.

Profile: http://www1.aston.ac.uk/ids/llc/about/director-of-life-long-learning-centre/
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Anabela Carvalho, Ph.D.

Department of Communication Sciences
University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar
4715-057 Braga, Portugal
carvalho@ics.uminho.pt

Statement of Interest

I envision the International Environmental Communication Association as a key contributor to

further developing the field of environmental communication, setting up connections
between the different communities that research or act in multiple capacities in this area, and
empowering those different professionals with insights from academia and from practice.

I am Associate Professor at the University of Minho, in Portugal, and have conducted

research on environmental communication for nearly 15 years. I have mainly focused on
communication on climate change in its scientific, political and economic facets and have
analysed media and policy discourses in various countries. I am editor or co-editor of three
books and two special issues of academic journals. My work has also been published in
multiple journals such as Public Understanding of Science, Risk Analysis and WIREs
Climate Change.

As co-founder, ex-Chair and present Vice-Chair of the Science and Environment

Communication Section of the European Communication Research and Education
Association (ECREA), I have been involved in expanding the field of environmental
communication and in developing bridges between researchers of different European
countries and beyond. As Associate Editor of Environmental Communication: A Journal of
Culture and Nature, I am honoured to be able contribute to the consolidation of the field.

I have been involved in the formation of IECA since 2008 and contributed to mobilizing
interest within ECREA and IAMCR (International Association for Media and Communication
Research). More recently, I have served as co-chair of the Membership/Outreach Working
Group and set up connections with a wide number of organizations and individuals around
the world. I would like to self nominate to IECA’s Board of Directors so that I can continue
giving a contribution towards making IECA a strong, influential and truly international
association.

I am Associate Professor at the Department of Communication Sciences of the University of

Minho where I teach International Communication, Media Sociology and Public Opinion, and
Information Society, amongst other courses. My research focuses on various forms of
environment, science and political communication with a particular emphasis on mediations
of climate change. I received my PhD from University College London (Department of
Geography). I am currently Vice-Chair of the Science and Environment Communication
Section of the European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA:
www.ecrea.eu). Since January 2010, I am Associate Editor of Environmental
Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture. I have held visiting research and/or
teaching appointments at the Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, University of
Aalborg, Denmark, University of Bergen, Norway and University of Hamburg, Germany.

Profile: http://intranet.uminho.pt/carvalho.page

Science and Environment Communication Section, ECREA (European Communication

Research and Education Association): http://www.scienv-com.eu
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Richard Doherty
PhD Student
Institute of Communications Research
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
rdoherty@illinois.edu

Statement of Interest

I'm interested in being on the board for a number of reasons: (1) is to promote a diverse
membership for the Association, one that is international in scope, and inclusive for
academics, organizations, and individuals; (2) is to encourage activities in the Association
that are sustainable, that build community, and push for environmental change on the
systemic and individual levels: (3) is to engage members in action and research to reveal
positive communication about the environment, because most of what we hear about is
environmental degradation and crises. My life experience has been diverse, from living in
other countries, to playing in rock bands, so I'll bring a wealth of skills and knowledge to the
board. I have more than five years of experience in teambuilding and leadership training,
and 2 years in outdoor retail sales and product training. My current job in information
technology has given me many practical and useful skills for an organization's
communication needs. I have a Master's degree in environmental education that included
media production. I am currently working on my PhD in environmental communication. I will
use all of these experiences to serve the members of the Association.

Profile: http://tigger.uic.edu/~rdoherty/Site/CV.html
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Dr Julie Doyle

Principal Lecturer in Media and Communication Studies, School of Arts and Media,
University of Brighton, UK

Co-founder and Vice-Chair of the Science and Environment Communication Section,

European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA)

j.doyle@BRIGHTON.AC.UK

Statement of Interest

My initial interest in environmental communication came from an activist rather than

academic perspective. Volunteering for Greenpeace in the mid 1990s taught me the
difficulties of communicating the environment, and particularly climate change, to the public.
These experiences have significantly shaped my academic work over the last 5 years. My
research focuses broadly upon the environment and media, and climate change
communication in particular, with a specific interest in the role of visual communication in
environmentalism and activism. I have just completed a book, Mediating Climate Change
(Ashgate, August 2011), which explores the difficulties of communicating climate change and
making it meaningful to the public. I am also involved in a collaborative arts project with the
artist, David Harradine, where, through a creative dialogue between media studies and art,
we are attempting to create new visualisations of climate change that are more
engaging/embodied than current media images. I am committed to integrating environmental
issues into the teaching of Media Studies at undergraduate and postgraduate level, and was
co-developer of the BA (Hons) Environment and Media Studies degree (University of
Brighton, 2007), which is the first of its kind in the UK. Thus, I am interested in aligning both
the research and practice of environmental communication, particularly through promoting a
reflection on our own practices as academics, practitioners and professionals; from the food
we eat, to the way we travel.

Currently on the Editorial Board of the journal, Environmental Communication: A Journal of

Nature and Culture, and as Vice-Chair of the Science and Environment Communication
Section of ECREA, I have already had the opportunity to input into the development of the
IECA. I am inspired by the passion and commitment of the global environmental
communication community in supporting the development of an international association. I
am committed to the goals of the ICEA in bringing together a global community of scholars,
practitioners and professionals to promote sustainability through communication and
practice. I would very much welcome being able to contribute to the work of the ICEA
through a position on the Board of Directors, and would endeavour to promote and
strengthen the links between theory and practice, and the teaching of environment and
sustainability.

Profile: http://artsresearch.brighton.ac.uk/research/academic/doyle
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Dr Neil T. Gavin

Senior Lecturer, Department of Politics, The University of Liverpool (UK)

Convener-Climate Change, Environment and Sustainability Network, Media,

Communication, and Cultural Studies Association (MECCSA)

gavin@liverpool.ac.uk

Statement of Interest

I wish to run for office as a member of the Board of Directors of the International
Environmental Communication Association (IECA). I have been highly research active in the
broad domain of political communication, and have published in the areas of the mediated
economy and the coverage of the European Union (see The Press and Television in British
Politics, London: Palgrave/Macmillan). But I am co-founder, and currently Convener, of the
‘Climate Change, Environment and Sustainability’ Network (CCES), under the auspices of
Media, Communication and Cultural Studies Association (http://www.meccsa.org.uk/climate-
change-network/). As Convenor I have been actively involved in, and supportive of, the
development of the IECA. I am also currently on the editorial boards of Journalism: Theory,
Practice and Criticism, and Environmental Communication: Journal of Nature and Culture. I
am currently heavily research-active in the field of the politics and mediation of climate
change, with a particular emphasis on coverage of the issue on television, in the press and
on the web. Publication also focuses on the profile of environmental activism and climate
protests in the media. I have incorporated this work in teaching at undergraduate, Masters
and PhD levels.

Profile: http://www.liv.ac.uk/politics/staff-pages/n_gavin.htm
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Anders Hansen

Senior Lecturer

Department of Media and Communication,University of Leicester

United Kingdom

ash@le.ac.uk

Statement of Interest

I am offering my candidature for a position on the IECA Board of Directors. I can bring to this
my extensive experience as founder and chair of the Environment, Science and Risk
Communication Group under the International Association for Media and Communication
Research (IAMCR). The IAMCR Environment Group was one of the first of its kind and field
to run under a major international communication association, and it has grown in recent
years in popularity and size to become one of the largest subject groups in the IAMCR. As
this group’s chair and convenor, and witnessing the phenomenal rise in popularity of
environmental and science communication, I have from an early stage supported and been
involved with the initiative to launch the new International Environmental Communication
Association, which I believe can provide the kind of subject identity and support that is
needed to further advance this important field of communication research. I also bring with
my candidature for a position my association - first on the editorial board and currently as
Associate Editor - with the prestigious flagship journal Environmental Communication: a
Journal of Nature and Culture.

My primary research interests have long focused on Environment, Science and Health
Communication. I edited the first major publication in Britain to examine The Mass Media
and Environmental Issues (Leicester University Press, 1993) and was more recently co-
editor of a special double issue of The International Communication Gazette (73, 1-2; 2011)
on ‘Communicating the Environment’. I am particularly interested in the way that
environmental news and public/political agendas are constructed and in the ways in which
claims-makers (pressure groups, politicians, experts, etc.) succeed in managing or
influencing media agendas and public debate on the environment. I explore many of these
issues in my recent book on Environment, Media and Communication (Routledge, 2010), as
well as in current and ongoing research projects.

Profile: http://www.le.ac.uk/mc/staff/ash.html
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Kathleen P. Hunt,
Doctoral Student, University of Utah
kphunt@gmail.com

Statement of Interest

My interest in serving on the ICEA Board of Directors is an extension of my personal

dedication to the growth of our professional community. I have demonstrated this support for
our discipline while completing graduate study by working as an editorial assistant for the
journal Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, presenting at
several conferences, as well as holding a committee position at a professional association’s
environmental communication group. In the interest of full inclusion and diversity it is my
feeling that our newly formed professional association cannot be considered complete
without providing adequate professional development opportunities for graduate students.
Professional associations too often become sites for reunions or committee work/service
opportunities for more senior scholars, leaving graduate students few options besides panel
presentations and menial committee positions. For those seeking entrè into scholarship and
professional service greater opportunities are needed. ICEA, as a new organization, can set
an example. Potential outlets for graduate students might include an environmental
communication graduate student journal, a graduate student division or committee, and/or
graduate student volunteer/service/praxis projects that can foster professional networking
and perhaps lead to publication. The formation of ICEA represents an opportunity for greater
representation of graduate students of environmental communication. Electing a graduate
student to the founding Board of Directors can be the first step toward this goal.

Profile: http://faculty.utah.edu/u0647544-Katie_Hunt/biography/index.hml
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Sangita Iyer

Founding Executive Director, Bermuda Environmental Alliance

www.bermuda-bea.org

Statement of Interest

I would like to have the opportunity to stand for one of the eight founding Directors’
position. I am the Founding Executive Director of the Bermuda Environmental Alliance, an
organization I conceived and created in Bermuda after being disillusioned with poor media
coverage on environmental issues. I used to be a broadcast journalist, but now I use those
skills to produce environmental documentaries through my charity.

I have an 11-year broadcasting portfolio ranging from executive director to documentary

producer, to associate news producer to video journalist, to writer and news reporter,
supported by international news reporting and presenting, producing and hosting award
winning environment television series, fund raising and motivational speaking.

Consultant 2009-Present
Bermuda Environmental Alliance
Conceive and develop the alliance in collaboration with Bermudian business executives.
Direct, produce and deliver educational content on Bermuda’s environment; Direct, produce
and present documentaries on Bermuda; Interview and hire Bermudian contractors for
production; Educate and engage the public and youth by featuring documentaries on VSB
Channel 11 and in schools; Promote the island’s successful conservation efforts in Canada
and beyond; Collaborate with Bermuda Government, schools, businesses, and local and
international NGOs; Design fund raising, marketing and communication strategies.

Senior Broadcast Journalist 2005 - 2008

ABC/CBS Affiliate - Bermuda Broadcasting Company
Presented live newscasts for television and radio, reported live on radio from location and
packaged television stories, covered Court, Senate, House of Assembly, Environment,
Health, Politics. Proposed story ideas, researched, identified sources, conducted on-camera
interviews, scripted and packaged stories.

Conceived, developed, produced and hosted an award winning 13-week half-hour

environment TV series "EnviroShorts" which was commended by the senate president and
received the top environment awareness award - the inaugural DeForest Trimingham award
from the Bermuda National Trust, compiled shows on DVD and distributed them in public
schools to create youth environmental awareness. Identified sponsors, wrote proposals, and
raised money for the series

Conceived, developed and produced weekly health segments for the newscast, identified
sponsors, wrote proposals, and raised money for the health segments.
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Libby Lester, Ph.D.

Associate Professor; Journalism, Media and Communications
School of English, Journalism and European Languages
University of Tasmania
Libby.Lester@utas.edu.au

Statement of Interest

I am pleased to have the opportunity to self-nominate for the IECA's Board of Directors. The
need for an organisation is clear from the initial response to the membership call, and it is a
pleasure to be a part of such a truly international group. As a board member, I would build on
the work I do as Associate Editor of Environmental Communication, encouraging Australian,
New Zealand and regional participation in not only IECA but the debates, scholarship and
ideas it is sure to generate.

Profile: http://www.utas.edu.au/journalism/staff_profiles/lester/lester.htm
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Soenke Lorenzen
Media Analyst
Greenpeace International
Ottho Heldringstraat 5
1066 AZ Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Soenke.Lorenzen@greenpeace.org

Statement of Interest

Five years ago, after ten years of working in different positions in the media industry, the
newly created position of media analyst at Greenpeace International in Amsterdam was
offered to me. In my new position my scientific interest shifted to environmental
communication research in order to inform the communication strategy building of the
organization. As I followed the proceedings of the Environment, Science and Risk
Communication Working Group of the IAMCR back in 2007 I realized that there is a big gap
in terms of communication/networking between NGOs/media professionals and the scientific
community (not just in terms of EC). I am convinced that this new organization will be an
important first step in closing some of the gaps between theory and practice and I look
forward to supporting the new organization in reaching its objectives in the years to come.

Biography

On graduating from the University of Freiburg, Germany (MA in Applied Geograpy and
Cultural Anthropology), I began my career in the media industry in Zurich, Switzerland. I
joined the prize-winning Swiss Photographers Agency Lookat in 1995, in charge of sales and
documentation. During this time I was also affiliated with the Seminar of Popular Cultures at
the University of Zurich, working on issues of amateur media production. In 1998 I joined
the Swedish Media Intelligence Company Observer as a Media Analyst. In 1995, I was
invited to join Greenpeace International as Media Analyst. I am also a founding member of
the US/Swiss based NGO, Trapiza, which aims to further the educational and cultural goals
of a local initiative for a school project in Eastern Nepal.

Profile: http://www.cestagi.com/view.php?Soenke_Lorenzen
Self nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Amanda Katili Niode Ph.D.

Coordinator, Division of Communication, Information, Education. Indonesian National

Council on Climate Change, Manager, The Climate Project Indonesia

amandakatili@yahoo.com or amanda.katili@dnpi.go.id

Statement of Interest

My interest to self nominate stems from 30 years working experiences in the subject of
environment and natural resources that encompass arenas in Indonesian government
agencies, multinational corporations, environmental consulting companies, academic
institutions, civil societies and international organizations. Through years of interactions with
stakeholders in environment and climate change field I understand that successful policies
and programs rely heavily on appropriate communications tools and methods. I see the
International Environmental Communication Association as a “one stop shop” for those who
need to understand the “who, what, when, where, why and how” of environmental
communication.

Working experience. Amanda Katili Niode is the Coordinator of the Communication,

Information and Education Division at the Indonesian National Council on Climate Change.
She was the former Special Assistant to the Indonesian Minister of Environment (2004-2009)
and was a researcher at the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.
Amanda is the Manager of The Climate Project Indonesia, part of Al Gore's climate change
leadership program with a mission is to educate the public about the harmful effects of
climate change and to work toward solutions at a grassroots level worldwide. After
personally trained by Al Gore in 2008 to spread the message about the challenges of and
solutions to the climate crisis Amanda has completed presentations to almost 20,000 people
all over Indonesia and abroad. The Climate Project Indonesia Facebook Page at
www.facebook.com/tcpindonesia has more than 11,000 likers. She is a member of the
Indonesian Delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) meeting and was instrumental in organizing the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) Outreach Events in Indonesia in 2007, attended by cabinet
ministers, government officials, scientists, activists, and journalists. In her line of work
Amanda has the responsibility of communicating information from both the political path and
the scientific path of climate change to the general public.

Education. Amanda Katili holds a Ph.D degree from the School of Natural Resources and
Environment, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. She completed a Certificate Program
for Entrepreneurs in the US. Her continuing education includes: environmental conflict
resolutions, environmental policy and regulations, environmental crime investigations, and
media communications. Amanda participated in an Executive Education Program at the
School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, USA and a Leadership and Campaign
Management Program at Yale University, USA.
Professional activities. As an environmental specialist Amanda participated in
international meetings either as a member of the Indonesian Delegation or as a professional
speaker. In academia, she was a lecturer at the Graduate program in Environmental
Studies at the University of Indonesia. She was appointed as a visiting scholar at
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, USA. Prior to the MIT
appointment, the University of Nevada in Reno designated her as an Adjunct Assistant
Professor. The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor invited her as a guest lecturer.

With interests in writing, editing and coordinating book publications, Amanda has worked on
several books in a variety of subjects and has had her environmental related articles
published in local daily newspapers and international publications. She was also in a team
that producing short movies for climate change awareness in Indonesia.

Several years ago with assistance from several international organizations she sent
Indonesian women journalists abroad to acquire knowledge in sound environmental
reporting. Countries visited include Thailand, the United States, Japan, Sweden, Sri Lanka
and Canada.

Amanda Katili is on the Board of the Indonesian Biodiversity Foundation (KEHATI) an

independent and non-profit grant making foundation with an initial endowment of US$ 16
million, dedicated to support conservation, sustainable use and equitable sharing of benefits
of Indonesian biological diversity. She is also on the Board of For Our Earth Foundation, a
non-profit organization that conveys environmental messages through songs as a
universal art form.

Contact details

http://www.tcpindonesia.org/
Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Dr. Manoj K. Patairiya, M.Sc. (Environmental Biology) Director, National Council for Science
& Technology Communication www.dst.gov.in; Editor, Indian Journal of Science
Communication www.iscos.org; President, Indian Science Writers' Association
www.iswaindia.com; Visiting Professor, Global Communication, Chungnam National
University, South Korea; manojpatairiya@yahoo.com

Statement of Interest

The world is now focusing on the younger generation to prepare and motivate them so that
they can become more responsible citizens of tomorrow with an orientation towards
environment friendly approach. In order to achieve this, we are trying to influence the
thinking process of our young leaders and to shape their action. I am involved in the process
of not only influencing the thinking and action of the common man but also developing and
inculcating the capacity and scientific approach enabling them to take more rational,
analytical and appropriate decisions in terms of environmental protection and bio-resources
conservation. India possesses a great treasure of environmental heritage and biodiversity
hotspots. It has been our guiding factor to conserve and preserve the nature including plants
and animals. Various religions, like Jainism and Buddhism including several enlightened
sages had been preaching to not to harm the plants and animals and therefore the bio-
resources or environmental conservation has been an integral part of our value system and
culture. Of late it has become part of the fundamental duties of every citizen of the country
as per the Constitution of India “it will be the duty of every citizen of India to protect and
improve the natural environment including forests, lakes, rivers and wild life and have
compassion for living creatures”. The root cause of most of the miseries of people is
communication gap in various spheres of life, be it interpersonal communication or mass
communication, the gap prevails everywhere. This gap has to be bridged and bilateral as
well as multilateral communication has to be established. Environmental communication
brings about awareness amongst masses and inculcates an eco-friendly attitude into them.
Here is an example as how the local level environmental reporting can help. A group of
upcoming science and environment journalists led by me visited Kosi River near Rampur
(U.P) to write on the spot report on the situation of pollution in the river. In the process, the
participants found that the colour of water in the river was dark, the grasses along the river
were died and damaged, animals died due to pollution caused by untreated chemical
effluents from nearby industries. We were told that the ingress of polluted water has entered
the ground water of some 60 villages of the locality turning water of hand pumps and wells
un-potable. Our team also visited a village and found that many people were suffering from a
variety of diseases ranging from skin diseases to throat diseases and nothing was being
done. The samples were collected and analyzed and reports appeared in regional and
national media, then the authorities were alarmed and the situation was tackled by
installation of treatment plants in the industries. It was the impact of communication and
local level environmental science reporting. Another example is noteworthy. During a similar
programme, it was found that people of Himachal Pradesh use a traditional technology for
water harvesting called Khatriyan. They make a tank adjoining to their house and rainwater
and snow falling on the roof of the house can be stored in the tank through bamboo or some
other pipes and can be used for the entire year for various domestic purposes other than
drinking. Such technologies can be communicated and transferred to other pats of the world.
Similarly, there is much more to learn for the international environment activists and
communicators from this part of the world, as well as learning from them as well.

Profile: http://dst.gov.in/scientific-programme/s-t_ncstc-bio-off.htm
Self nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Mark Pedelty, Ph.D.

Associate Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of

Minnesota; Resident Fellow at the Institute on the Environment;
http://environment.umn.edu/about/ione_bios/mark_pedelty.html

pedeltmh@umn.edu

Statement of Interest

My anthropological research has involved both ends of the environmental communication

spectrum: creative expression and quantitative content analysis. I have been studying music
as environmental communication through ethnographic fieldwork and film, while also
engaging in computer-assisted content analysis of environmental music and news. Similarly,
the IECA promises to bring together a range of disciplinary orientations and ideas. As a
Fellow at the Institute on the Environment—a cultural anthropologist among material
scientists--I have learned a great deal about communicating and collaborating across
disciplines. In similar fashion, I hope to serve as an interlocutor on the Board of Directors for
the IECA in order to help build an inclusive and collaborative association. For example,
working with scientists I have come to understand how environmental researchers and
communicators often put a black box around “anthropogenic variables” in their ecosystems
modeling and communication. Take the case of water quality. There is a tendency to assume
it is merely a matter of convincing people to use native plants, install permeable surfaces,
redirect drain spouts, while making other changes to their property. What that approach
ignores is that semiotics--what a lawn means--overdetermines the material variables of a
watershed ecosystem (e.g., the typical American lawn is green concrete in terms of
stormwater runoff). Yet, water systems ecologists continue to act as if environmental
problems are merely a matter of material measurement and reasoning. At the opposite
extreme, cultural researchers sometimes seem loath to consider material systems dynamics
at all, resulting in similarly narrow conceptions of how to understand and communicate
environmental matters to scientists, policy makers, and publics. To become a working
community of environmental communication researchers we must critically engage the entire
range of theories, methodologies, disciplines, and public discourses. For the IECA to fulfill its
promise, environmental communication researchers must learn to talk to each other across
diverse disciplinary divides, to listen, understand, and collaborate. I would like to take a
leadership role in building an interdisciplinary, diverse, and publicly relevant IECA.

Profile: https://apps.cla.umn.edu/directory/profiles/pedeltmh
Self nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Dr. Emily Plec

Associate Professor, Communication Studies

Western Oregon University

plece@wou.edu

Statement

Finding Environmental Communication in the academy was like finding my way home. I have
been an environmental activist since my early adolescence and dabbled in Environmental
Studies as an undergraduate student at the University of New Mexico. In graduate school at
the University of Utah, I was introduced to Environmental Communication as a field of study
and it has been a significant part of my professional life for more than a decade. I currently
teach Environmental Communication, Media, Rhetoric and Intercultural Communication
courses at Western Oregon University where I am Associate Professor in the
Communication Studies Department and faculty advisor for the Environmental Studies minor
program. My publications in the subject area have been few, with most of my attention
devoted to the development of curriculum and community involvement initiatives related to
rural landowners and watershed conservation practices. Nonetheless, my environmental
communication essays have appeared in journals, conference proceedings, book chapters
and other publication outlets, and I am the editor of a forthcoming book on Animal-Human
Communication. I have also served the National Communication Association’s
Environmental Communication Division in a number of capacities, both elected and
appointed. I played a supporting role in the establishment of Environmental Communication
Divisions and Interest Groups within regional U.S. communication associations such as the
Northwest Communication Association and the Western States Communication Association,
as well. I have attended and presented at every Conference on Communication and the
Environment since 2001 and continue to serve on the Editorial Board of Environmental
Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture.

The experience that most inclined me to self-nominate to the Board of Directors was co-
chairing the outreach and membership task force of this newly formed International
Environmental Communication Association. I learned that my strengths as a union organizer
transfer well to other organizational contexts and that I genuinely enjoy the challenges and
opportunities of international collaboration. I understand the vision that led to the launch of
this enterprise yet also possess the openness and flexibility necessary to allow the
association to evolve as a responsive vehicle for sharing and encouraging Environmental
Communication work across disciplinary, professional and geographical borders. I hope to
have the opportunity to serve this dynamic and exciting new association as a member of the
Board of Directors.

Academia Page: http://wou.academia.edu/EmilyPlec

Self Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Raul Reis, Ph.D.

Professor & Chair
Department of Journalism & Mass Communication
California State University, Long Beach
rreis@csulb.edu

Statement of Interest

I was very pleased to read Anabela Carvalho's message on the IAMCR listserv about the
founding of the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA). I
immediately went to the web site and signed up as a founding member, and would like to
self-nominate for the Board of Directors.

I'm currently a professor at (and the chair of) the Department of Journalism & Mass
Communication at California State University, Long Beach. I was an environmental and
science reporter in Brazil in the late 1980s and early 1990s, covering environmental issues
related to the Amazon rainforest (preservation, deforestation); industrial pollution in São
Paulo; biodiversity; and environmental clean-up efforts, among many others. As the
environmental assistant editor and special features reporter for Gazeta Mercantil, Brazil's
leading financial newspaper at the time, I also covered all issues related to the preparation
and execution of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de
Janeiro (Rio-92). Since then, I have earned a Master's and Ph.D. in Mass Communications.
My Master's thesis focused on the coverage of Rio-92 by Brazilian newspapers. I have
published environmental and science communication academic articles both in Science
Communication and Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture. I also
teach an annual course on Science & Environmental Reporting at CSULB, in which I take
students to the Brazilian Amazon as part of the class. Most recently, I presented an
academic paper on Climate Change at the 7th International Conference on Environmental,
Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability in Hamilton, New Zealand in January 2011.

Profile: http://www.csulb.edu/~rreis
Self-Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Stacey K. Sowards, Ph.D.

Associate Professor & Research Fellow
Department of Communication, Sam Donaldson Center for Communication
University of Texas at El Paso
ssowards@utep.edu

Statement of Interest

My primary interest in serving on the IECA Board of Directors stems from the opportunity to
continue working with the amazing people involved in creating this organization and in the
environmental communication field. Over the course of my career as an environmental
communication scholar and teacher, I have encountered some of the most interesting,
passionate, and committed people who want to make our world a better place. I believe that
through IECA, we will have more opportunities to connect with people on important
international environmental problems and issues such as climate change, deforestation,
species protection, marine ecosystems, community participation, environmental justice, and
pollution. My experience and service in leadership positions related to environmental
communication will enable me to serve effectively as a member of the Board of Directors:
• Vice President Elect, Vice President, President, Immediate Past President of the
National Communication Association Environmental Communication Division (2006-
2009)
• Chair Elect, Chair, Immediate Past Chair of the Western States Communication
Association Environmental Communication Interest Group (2008-2012)
• Committee Member of the International Communication Association Task Force for
creating environmentally sustainable organization and conference (2009 – present)
• Conference on Communication and the Environment, Conference Director (2010-
2011)
• Institutional Membership Coordinator, Vice President of Organization for Research on
Women and Communication (2006 – present)
• Research and teaching related to environmental communication
• Faculty member for a master of arts degree in collaboration with the non-profit
organization, Rare, an international environmental organization that operates in more
than 45 countries, specifically focusing on China, Indonesia, and Spanish speaking
countries
• Editorial Board Member or Ad Hoc Reviewer for more than 10 academic journals

These leadership roles have provided me the necessary experience to become a

member of the IECA Board of Directors. Although not all my service to these other
organizations is complete, some roles have or will have reduced responsibilities (ICA,
WSCA, COCE) within the next year, enabling me to serve effectively as a member of the
IECA Board of Directors.

Profile: http://academics.utep.edu/Default.aspx?tabid=67102
Self-Nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, PhD

Professor of Environmental Communication
Dept of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences ,
Uppsala, Sweden
Nadarajah.Sriskandarajah@slu.se

Statement of Interest

n self-nominating to the first Board of IECA, I bring the interest and enthusiasm of the Unit of
Environmental Communication at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in
Uppsala, in seeing the development of this field of study and practice as a globally
significant enterprise. As an academic unit, ours is home for around 16 researchers and PhD
students, largest such university grouping of Environmental Communication (EC) people in
Europe. Our MSc program titled Environmental Communication and Management attracted
a cohort of 30 students from around the world in 2010. So, it is in our interest to be
connected to this exciting new development in the field and contribute through our
experiences to the process of internationalizing the Association.

I hold the position of Faculty Professor in Environmental Communication here since 2007,
and my primary task as academic leader has been to support the growth of this youngish
research group to develop our niche within EC with emphasis on Natural Resource
Management. The contexts for our work range from farming and agriculture to wildlife,
forestry, water and climate change. We consider questions of democracy, participation,
conflicts, sustainability, and collaborative learning. Our research is generally practice and
problem oriented, and we work much with the relevant sectors in facilitator and capacity
building roles.

I have participated in the different stages of planning for this International Association, from
being in the discussion panels that Steve Depoe organized in Barcelona (2008) and in
Portland (2009), as a member of the 2009-10 Task Force and more recently in the
Organizational Working Group which selected the present name of IECA. I serve in the
Praxis Editors group of the Environmental Communication Journal. Over the years, I have
held positions at five universities in Asia, Australia and Europe, played leadership roles in at
least two other professional associations, and at present my work in EC cuts across several
countries in Europe, Latin America, South East Asia and Easter Africa. It would be
real pleasure for me to be able to offer some of my personal competence and my group's
back up and resources in the service of IECA.

Profile: http://www.sol.slu.se/environ/
Self nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Miguel Vicente-Mariño, PhD

Senior Lecturer
Vice-Dean of the School of Legal, Social and Communication Sciences
University of Valladolid – Segovia Campus (Spain)
Calle Trinidad, 3. 40001 Segovia (Spain)
mvicentem@yahoo.es / miguelvm@soc.uva.es

Statement of Interest

The launching of this international association is a stimulating project and, since its very first
steps, I was willing to help in any way I can. I believe that I can serve as a good connection
with the Spanish speaking countries, trying to develop and make more visible their research
and action projects related to environmental communication. I can also be useful as a link
with undergraduate and postgraduate students in order to promote the association’s
activities and to widen our scope. As a result of my work at the university and also at some
sports federations, I am also very used to work on international organizations, so I think I
can help in the daily running and the activities’ diffusion of the association.
I am sure that most of the profiles running as candidates for this Board of Directors are more
solid in terms of scholar or practical experience than mine, but I would like to bring new and
young energies to this almost just born organization. Regardless the final result of these
elections, I will be at your disposal for any task you consider I can take.

Biography

During my PhD research I began my relationship with the Environmental and Risk
Communication, after completing a degree in Journalism (2002) and another in Sociology
(2006). I finished my doctoral studies in Audiovisual Communication (2009), although I have
been lecturing at the Department of Sociology of my university since 2006, being part of the
Direction Board of my School since 2010. I usually teach courses about Public Opinion,
Sociology of Communication, and Research Methods.
My research interests and projects have been focused on the media coverage of
environmental crises, on the portrayal of environment in the advertising industry, on the
media representation of climate change and on the social discourses’ analysis about
environmental issues. These projects have received funding from Spanish public and private
institutions, and have also helped in completing research visits to Leicester (2008) and
Westminster (2010).
I have also been actively involved in the IAMCR Environment, Science and Risk
Communication Working Group since 2006 and in the ECREA Environment and Science
Communication Science, being the liaison between this section and the Youth ECREA
Network from 2008 to 2010.

Profile: http://uva-es.academia.edu/MiguelVicenteMarino
http://inico.usal.es/personal/curriculum/Vicente-M.pdf
Self-Nomination to Board of Directors for International Environmental Communication
Association:

Barb Willard, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Joint Appointment – College of Communication & Department of
Environmental Science & Studies
DePaul University
bwillard@depaul.edu

Statement of Interest

This is an exciting time for practitioners and scholars of environmental communication. For
the past twenty years, a group of dedicated individuals involved with various aspects of
environmental communication have been organizing in a variety of ways to bring their work
together – through conferences, journals, websites, edited volumes, and the listserv. And
now, through the concerted efforts of some of our most committed practitioners and
scholars, we have the formation of an international organization to bring all of these
elements together so that our work can expand beyond borders, across disciplines, and past
the confines of our various professions. Given this exciting occasion I wish to become
involved in a leadership capacity and self nominate to the Board of the International
Environmental Communication Association. I have been involved in a variety of ways with
the organizational elements of environmental communication for the past 15 years. I was at
the founding meeting and was a founding member of the Environmental Communication
Commission (later division) of the National Communication Association. Later, I was elected
as secretary (2001-2002), vice-president (2002-2003), and president (2003-2004) of the
Environmental Communication Commission. I also was the host of the Biennial Conference
on Communication and the Environment (COCE) at my home institution – DePaul University
in Chicago, Illinois, in 2007. As a member of the editorial board of Environmental
Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture since its inception in 2007, I have watched
the important scholarly and practical work that has informed our vocation and am excited for
the future possibilities of this journal as we move into this next phase of our organizational
development. I believe that my experience with the leadership of the Environmental
Communication Division, the journal, and the COCE conference has prepared me to serve
on the Board of the International Environmental Communication Association. Furthermore, I
am also highly active in leadership positions regarding environmental interdisciplinary
programs at my home institution, DePaul University. I hold a joint appointment as a tenured
professor in the College of Communication and the Department of Environmental Science
and Studies. I helped develop the B.A. curriculum in Environmental Studies and served as
the chair of the committee that created the Sustainability concentration and minor in this
program. The president of our university appointed me to serve on the Sustainability
Initiatives Task Force charged with creating a sustainability master plan for our university. I
also am on the Executive Council and am a founder of DePaul University’s Institute for
Nature and Culture, an institute created to foster collaboration among researchers,
environmental practitioners, and the general public on behalf of the health of our
environmental future.

Profile: http://communication.depaul.edu/Faculty%20and%20Staff/Full%20Time
%20Faculty/willard.asp
Self-nomination to Board of Directors for the International Environmental
Communication Association

Ruben Zondervan
Executive Director
Earth System Governance Project
International Project Office
Lund University, P.O. Box 170, SE-221 00 Lund, Sweden
ruben.zondervan@esg.lu.se
www.earthsystemgovernance.org

Statement of Interest
I am neither a scholar in the field of communication nor a communication professional. As
the executive director of the Earth System Governance Project, the largest social science
research network in the area of governance and global environmental change, I am however
constantly struggling with the issue of environmental communication – as are many others in
similar positions. This is why I am offering my candidature for the IECA Board of Directors.

Explaining and translating findings from complex interdisciplinary social science research on
environmental governance in a language and format understood by decision makers and
stakeholders is one of the communication challenges I face. As is the question of the
appropriate choice and use of communication medium to communicate with a variety of
audiences including international organisations, national governmental agencies, NGO’s,
funding agencies, businesses, other scientific disciplines, and individuals.

I am convinced that IECA will have added value for people like me who have to do
“environmental communication” without being an environmental communication professional
or scholar. Here I see a clear potential for, and expect significant benefits from IECA as
international body for advancing the practice, study, and teaching of environmental
communications, and to promote international collaborations among all interested parties.
Standing for election indicates my willingness to support IECA in realising this potential. In
addition, I can bring to bear my experience in managing emerging organisations and
networks, and my experience in conference and project management.

Profile: http://www.earthsystemgovernance.org/people/person/ruben-zondervan