“I’m honored and grateful for the consideration of the Graduate School and the Graduate Dean Awards Advisory Panel for this recognition and the opportunity afforded by the Doctoral Finishing Fellowship. I would like to thank my friend and advisor Dr. Chelsea Schelly for her unwavering support as I chart my course through the challenges of pursuing a PhD, as well as my committee members including Dr. Ana Dryeson, Dr. Roman Sidortsov, and Dr. LouAnn Wurst for their wisdom, patience, and insight.
I was driven to pursue my PhD by the recognition that climate change is an existential threat perpetuated by social systems of power that are out of the reach of the average person. The transition to renewable energy represents an opportunity to not only transform energy systems with the redistribution of energy as electrons that create physical work, but also the redistribution of social power as a mechanism for cultural, political, and ecological self-determination through political and economic empowerment.
My dissertation work is focused on the benefits of conferring decision-making power to people impacted by the energy transition to ensure that solutions match cultural, technical, and social needs and wants, ameliorate past harms, and benefit impacted communities without disproportionate burdens. This research involves exploring community-engaged research, concepts of sovereignty, and analyses of federal Tribal law and policy and its implications for Tribal energy development, sovereignty, and self-determination.
Ultimately, my goal is to continue charting pathways toward a just energy future where people have access to the energy as an instrumental good, recognizing the intrinsic value and inherent sovereignty of all communities of life.”