Feature-Alumni

Rebecca Theobald, MA, PhD: Maps for Everyone

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:24:18 +0000

Rebecca Theobald, MA, PhD: Maps for Everyone Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 14:24

Whenever I prepare a presentation, I always try to provide a map so that participants can explore multiple spatial perspectives or situate themselves in relationship to the discussion. And of course, giant floor maps command the most attention! The comprehensive Department of Geography at ɫ��Ƶ�� provided me with the ability to explore multiple spatial perspectives and to collaborate across a variety of disciplines. Learning that physical and human geography, as well as environment-society relations and geographic tools, were all honored within the department cemented my understanding of the value of a broad education for students at all levels. Following six years of commuting from Colorado Springs, I joined the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at UCCS where for ten years, I coordinated the Colorado Geographic Alliance, which supported professional development for elementary and secondary teachers across the state. I also served as a consultant to National Geographic’s Alliance for Geographic Education, expanding my understanding of policy and professional practices across the country. Drawing on these geography education connections, I edited the National Council for Geographic Education’s journal, “The Geography Teacher”, for nine years. I could not have made it through that process without the willingness of graduate school colleagues and CU faculty to provide service to the discipline as authors and reviewers.

Giant Map of Colorado

My time in elementary and secondary classrooms reinforced the knowledge that geospatial technology tools continue to be unfamiliar to the majority of K-12 teachers. While geography is often not taught as a separate course in middle or high school, government or civics classes are usually required, so I developed GeoCivics (geocivics.uccs.edu) in 2017 to introduce online mapping tools as part of an instructional unit on electoral redistricting. I am working to keep these tools in place as we approach the 2030 Census. More recently, I have turned to the connection between civic action and environmental issues. Last November, I attended the United Nations Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan as an observer for the United States League of Women Voters (USLWV). You can read my impressions (and see some maps) at https://ges.uccs.edu/news-events, and view a presentation from several of the national League’s participants at https://youtu.be/HsPtH8TboiI. When I share my experience, I always try to offer information about the location, which has been well received. I continue to appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with Boulder geographers throughout the last several decades. As geographers, no matter the setting, we are all educators, so don’t hesitate to locate a map to illustrate your story.

Rebecca is currently an Associate Research Professor with the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs.

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Lionel D Lyles (PhD 1977)

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:14:38 +0000

Lionel D Lyles (PhD 1977) Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 14:14

My name is Dr. Lionel D. Lyles. I graduated in August 1977 with my Doctoral Degree in Urban-Historical Geography with an emphasis on the evolutionary development of contemporary urban problems. My major Professors at the time were, namely, Theodore Myers, Melvin Albaum, Yuk Lee, and Nicholas Hepburn.

These Professors prepared me for the social, economic, political, judicial, and environmental (e.g., climate change) problems that the American Working Class People are facing today. From the moment I graduated, and my training taught me that the cause of all the mentioned categories in which problems exist cannot be understood without first conducting an exhaustive, scientific analysis of the American Capitalist System.

Thus, for the past 40 years, I researched and objectively examined this system using the dialectical method, from pre-colonial times to 1980 and the present. The central theme is if an American is a wage earner, then he or she belongs to the American Working Class; if an American is a wealthy, non-producer, who owns multiple million and billions of dollars, he or she belongs to the American Ruling Class. My work shows American Society is the product of an historical class struggle between these mentioned classes.

At this time-2025-the American Working Class is only aware of itself via trade unionism. This level of political awareness can only win the working class people a disproportionate increase in wages relative to the millions of dollars of surplus value they lose during the process of production.

To help American Working Class People realize their historical mission of change, it took me five years to research and write the following books:

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Joseph Kerski contributed a chapter to the new book Thriving in An Academic Career

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:12:27 +0000

Joseph Kerski contributed a chapter to the new book Thriving in An Academic Career Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 14:12

Thriving in an Academic Career: An International and Interdisciplinary Guide for Early Career Faculty

Joseph Kerski wrote Chapter 13 - Integrating web mapping and geospatial technologies – in a new book that should be very helpful for all students considering a faculty career – and all faculty as well – Thriving In An Academic Career, recently published by AAG and Routledge. Kerski’s chapter will help faculty teach with web mapping tools in and out of GIS courses, in physical geography, cultural geography, mathematics, business, economics, and in other disciplines.

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Don Friend (M.A. 1988) is continuing work on water in mountains begun as a graduate student at CU

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 28 Apr 2025 20:01:49 +0000

Don Friend (M.A. 1988) is continuing work on water in mountains begun as a graduate student at CU Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 04/28/2025 - 14:01

With climate change causing a water supply crisis in high mountain Asia, a panel of experts, including Don, gathered in summer 2024 to discuss the biophysical and human impacts of this crisis in an “International Expert Dialogue on Mountains, People, and Climate.” The event, was opened by the Prime Minister of Nepal, featured remarks from Ministers of Environment from across Asia and from United Nations dignitaries. During the opening scientific session, Don delivered the keynote presentation titled, “From Vulnerability to Building Resilience: The Mountain Water Security Crisis Requires Expanding Water Supply and Water Demand Management.”

Don is now Distinguished Professor of Geography at Minnesota State University. Some highlights of his faculty career include serving as a US National Academy of Sciences Jefferson Science Fellow (2019-2020), and as a Fulbright Senior Scholar (2004-2005). He was the US Representative to the International Geographical Union Commission on Mountain Response to Global Change (2000-2016) and is past Chair and Founder of the Mountain Geography Specialty Group of the American Association of Geographers. After completing his M.A. at CU, he earned the Ph.D. at Arizona State University.

Don being thanked for his presentation at the International Expert Dialogue, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2024.

Don delivering remarks at the International Expert Dialogue, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2024.

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Warren Schupbach, MA 1968, on His Days at CU and Beyond

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Tue, 10 Dec 2024 20:54:59 +0000

Warren Schupbach, MA 1968, on His Days at CU and Beyond Gabriela Rocha Sales Tue, 12/10/2024 - 13:54

I enrolled at CU as a Teaching Associate, Fall Semester, 1965 on a two-year Master's program. John Loeffler was my advisor. After one year, I began teaching Civics and Geography in the Jefferson County Public Schools, Lakewood, Colorado. I completed my MA, Summer Session, 1968.

I taught Social Studies in the Jefferson County Public Schools until 1970 when I received a contract to teach Economics and Geography at the Community College of Denver - North Campus which became Front Range Community College, Westminster in 1976.

In addition to my teaching duties, I became a board member of the Community College Social Science Association headquartered in Grossmont College, San Diego County, California. I compiled an extensive 35mm slide collection of 19th and 20th century mining sites in Colorado. I also documented visuals of reclamation efforts at the URAD mine in Clear Creek County, Colorado, the AMAX Mine near Leadville, Colorado, and a Superfund site near Minturn, Colorado. I presented a lecture Colorado mining numerous times, using these slides. During this time, I also taught an occasional Geography class at Metropolitan State University of Colorado,

I was also chair of the Community College Liaison Committee for Economics and Geography. Our task was to meet with university faculty to standardize catalog course descriptions and credit hour offerings to facilitate transferability of our courses. The result was the creation of a community college core curriculum included in the Associate of Arts and Associate of Science degrees which guaranteed transferability to four year state schools.

I also started an European Studies Program in 1990 which enabled students to travel to western, central and Mediterranean Europe and obtain credits in Geography, Economics, or Humanities. Approximately 400 individuals participated in this program. I retired from FRCC in 1998. My most influential professors at CU included John Loeffler, Pablo Guzman-Rivas, Albert Smith and Theodore Myers.

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Geography Alumnus Joseph Kerski: Be a Positive Change Agent Through Applying Geography!

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 22:38:12 +0000

Geography Alumnus Joseph Kerski: Be a Positive Change Agent Through Applying Geography! Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 12/09/2024 - 15:38

Geography gives you superpowers! I truly believe that as I have seen how the geographic perspective, content knowledge, and skills have empowered people to make wiser decisions from local to global scale. I hold 3 degrees in geography including 2 from ɫ��Ƶ��. My research focuses on teaching and learning with geotechnologies. My dissertation title at the University of Colorado was “the implementation and effectiveness of GIS in education”, and I have been living and breathing this topic ever since. In fact, that is a major focus of my role on the Esri education team, which supports schools and higher education use of GIS in teaching, research, and in campus facilities. I have had the honor of serving in all 4 major sectors of society: Government (USGS, Census Bureau), academia (I currently teach at the University of Denver, the University of Minnesota, Au Sable Institute, and Harrisburg Area Community College), private industry (serving on the Esri education team), and nonprofit organizations (I served as president of the National Council for Geographic Education and have been active in AAG, AGU (science), ISTE (technology education), and elsewhere). I have authored 12 books including Interpreting Our World [bloomsbury.com], a new book on teaching mathematics with interactive mapping, Tribal GIS, The GIS Guide to Public Domain Data, and have created 6,000 videos visible here on my Our Earth channel [esriurl.com] I operate a spatial data and society blog on https://spatialreserves.wordpress.com which includes many ethical issues related to mapping. My podcast, called Thinking Spatially, is published monthly: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/thinking-spatially/id1441426924 I spend about 40% of my time on travel, visiting 35 campuses and 10 conferences annually; I also spend a great deal of time writing curriculum helping people to think spatially and use geotechnologies, including this new set of lessons. On my recent last visit to ɫ��Ƶ��, I visited faculty, and conducted guest presentations to Professor Schlosser’s cartography course, and about “GIS for good” to the CU Atlas data-and-society students.

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Geography Alumnus and Professor Contribute to the Swastika Counter Project

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 22:33:33 +0000

Geography Alumnus and Professor Contribute to the Swastika Counter Project Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 12/09/2024 - 15:33

Jason Miller, a recent graduate of the University of Colorado with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, has made a significant contribution to the Swastika Counter Project, led by Dr. Laurie E. Gries and Dr. Kelly L. Wheeler. This project documents and maps instances of swastika sightings reported in U.S. social and news media to shed light on the persistence and spread of these symbols. Equipped with an accessible, interactive map, the Swastika Counter Project is a public humanities project that aims to educate the general public about the targets, circulation, and intensity of antisemitic signs on the streets of the United States.

Jason developed the interactive map under the guidance of Professor Morteza Karimzadeh at ɫ��Ƶ�� Geography, drawing inspiration from his mentorship.

Jason’s background in geography provided a foundation in spatial analysis and geo-visualization, which he has since expanded into both front-end and back-end web development, computer programming, and 2D/3D graphic design. His passion for these fields—particularly in web design and programming—demonstrates his commitment to combining creativity with technology. Outside of his professional pursuits, he enjoys exploring the mountains and plains of Colorado, writing songs, and developing video games.

Looking ahead, Jason plans to deepen his work at the intersection of interactive media and creative programming, creating dynamic experiences that engage audiences in meaningful ways. Inspired by his professors and mentors, he aims to apply his skills across disciplines, bridging technical expertise and creative innovation in his future projects.

Data analysis by The Swastika Counter Project found at least 1,300 documented incidents of swastikas in the United States between Jan. 1, 2016, and Jan. 20, 2021.

Residents of Eugene, Oregon, responded against swastikas found in a city neighborhood in 2017. (Photo: SBG Photo)

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Geography Alumnus Chris McMorran, Forever in the Field

Gabriela Rocha Sales — Mon, 09 Dec 2024 22:29:10 +0000

Geography Alumnus Chris McMorran, Forever in the Field Gabriela Rocha Sales Mon, 12/09/2024 - 15:29

I stumbled into Geography, and it has made all the difference.

I majored in Anthropology for my Bachelor's degree back in Iowa, and never took a Geography course until I started my MA at CU in 2000. Thankfully, my courses at CU and work as a Teaching Assistant opened my eyes to the conceptual tools of Geography, while supporting my passion for field-based research. My MA (2002) and PhD (2008), both supervised by Prof Timothy Oakes, explored the landscapes and labor of tourism in rural Japan, which I have written about extensively and have taught about at the National University of Singapore since 2010.

During my time in the Guggenheim building, I was lucky to be surrounded by supportive, fascinating, and fun fellow grad students, some of whom remain close friends. I fondly remember Friday colloquia, weekday escapes to the mountains, potluck dinners, TA support sessions, holidays together, and more. I will also be forever grateful to my Professors, who pushed me to engage with complex ideas and created an atmosphere of deep, open conversation in their classrooms. That said, one of my most profound memories was a semester spent doing GIS labs in the dark recesses of the Guggenheim basement. The experience made me appreciate my instructors who helped me survive the journey, and it reminded me why I prefer being out in the field, talking with people and walking through the Japanese countryside.

These days I share my love for Geography and the field with my own students. As the lone Geographer in the Department of Japanese Studies at NUS, I have the opportunity to teach about deeply-Geographical concepts, like in my course called "Home", and field-based research methods, like in my course about the politics of heritage tourism, which includes 10 days in Japan. (https://news.nus.edu.sg/exploring-japans-heritage-and-tourism-in-kyushu/), I also continue to write about Japan and field-based research, including a book about the landscapes and labor of Japanese hospitality called "Ryokan: mobilizing hospitality in rural Japan" (2022).

I treasure my time at ɫ��Ƶ�� and my luck at becoming an accidental Geographer.

Chris (left), with Dan Trudeau (PhD, CU-Boulder) and Ken Foote (former faculty CU-Boulder) at the 2024 AAG meetings

Chris observing the sunset in Aso, Japan with a student

Chris in the field with students in Fukuoka, Japan

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David Kimmett: Generations of Geography: Reflecting on a Legacy of Learning at CU GEOG

Anonymous — Wed, 15 May 2024 19:35:01 +0000

David Kimmett: Generations of Geography: Reflecting on a Legacy of Learning at CU GEOG Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/15/2024 - 13:35

My time wandering the halls and climbing the central staircase of Guggenheim really was a long time ago – Class of 1994?!? Heck, that’s pre-internet! However, it doesn’t feel like a galaxy far, far away…I learned so much about so many things in such a short-but-immensely influential epoch during my years at CU…and indubitably the best knowledge stemmed from The Best Building On Campus, The Simon Guggenheim Bvilding!  No doubt this present-day tangibility with my time at CU can partially be attributed to wandering through campus on occasion, as I both live and work nearby. However, the core reality is that my education at the University and in particular the pedagogy that sifted into my noggin during those Geography baccalaureate years represented a sea change in my understanding of the world and how to make one’s way through life with a more conscientious approach.  The multiple sparks of imparted knowledge stoked internal fires of curiosity, and if you walk over to the “trophy case” by the Geography Office, you can see some bloke with my name on the Albert W. Smith Scholarship for 1993-1994.

Since that time, I’ve been a high school social sciences teacher in Denver Public Schools; an AmeriCorps volunteer for a year in southern Georgia; a GIS analyst in Fremont County, Colorado; and following a Master of Urban & Regional Planning (greatest degree acronym of all-time: MURP) degree from CU-Denver, fell into my current career a few years back as the manager of planning at Boulder’s JUWI Inc., a utility-scale solar energy facility development, engineering, and construction firm. Best job of all: dad to two kids, one who graduated from our wonderful archrival CSU with a zoology degree last weekend and the other…give it a minute! My wife and I have raised our kids mostly in the lovely burg of Longmont, along with a few chickens and goats.

Many a professor influenced my years in GEOG, though perhaps no one more than Brock Brown, who happened to provide an intro to the University during an orientation session for College of Arts & Sciences incoming Freshman in Chem 140, where among other things he spoke about The Big Picture Of Human Decision Making, focusing on America’s prolific focus on growing a plant that can’t be consumed – Kentucky bluegrass lawns – and the repercussions of that decision. That single orientation session cemented my already smoldering passion for All Things Geography into a flame that burns brightly today. Which brings me to…

A MOST IMPORTANT SIDEBAR:  my 18-year old son Quinn Kimmett is an incoming Freshman this Fall at CU and…drumroll…his major?  GEOGRAPHY!  I promise I didn’t force this upon him…must be something genetic or in the water!  I’m soooooo so so excited for him to enter the wide world that the CU Geography Department will open for him.

A special thanks to Morteza Karimzadeh who asked if I could write something for this newsletter! AND a well-earned KUDOS to all of the professors in GEOG who are crafting the next generation of critical thinkers, helping to establish a foothold of hope in a tumultuous world!

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Tai Koester: Building on Undergraduate Training to Lead Research in Political Ecology and Indigenous Geographies

Anonymous — Thu, 09 May 2024 00:51:53 +0000

Tai Koester: Building on Undergraduate Training to Lead Research in Political Ecology and Indigenous Geographies Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 05/08/2024 - 18:51

My name is Tai Koester. I am a human-environment geographer and former community organizer currently based in Tucson, Arizona. I graduated with a Bachelors from the Department of Geography at CU-Boulder in 2019.

I am a Masters student in the School of Geography, Development and Environment at the University of Arizona working with Dr. Andrew Curley. My research draws from political ecology and Indigenous geographies to study environmental politics in the US West and examines how the energy transition is shaping the political and economic futures of Native Nations. My Masters research is focused on the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, a federally-recognized tribe, whose reservation is located in southeastern Montana. This is coal country, part of the Powder River Basin, the most productive coalfields in the US. The Northern Cheyenne Reservation is surrounded by large coal strip mines on three sides and is 20 miles from the Colstrip Generating Station, once one of the largest coal-fired power stations in the US. In this remote region, coal extraction represents a reliable source of income for tribal members. However, coal’s future is uncertain, and the Colstrip Generating Station has closed half of its units that produce electricity. Against this backdrop, the Tribe is exploring options for developing its own tribally-owned utility based on renewable energy production, which has the potential to reduce the Tribe’s dependence on external electricity providers (e.g. costs for heating in winter are extremely high) and could employ tribal members.

My research is grounded in qualitative methods involving interviews with tribal government officials, economic development experts, coal miners and plant operators, and renewable energy developers, among others. These interviews are supplemented by participant observation at regional energy events and conferences focused on the energy transition. My preliminary findings suggest that the energy transition seems likely to reinforce existing inequalities. The same power companies that own coal infrastructure are developing renewables that will compete with the Tribe’s own ambitions. Furthermore, existing paternalistic bureaucracy that structures the relationship tribal nations have with the federal government presents roadblocks that make it very difficult to pursue economic development in general. For example, the Northern Cheyenne must negotiate with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a federal agency, in addition to any energy developers before constructing solar on tribal trust lands, while private energy developers operating off-reservation face no comparable obstacles.

My research at Arizona builds off the research and experiences I had as an undergraduate in the Department of Geography at CU-Boulder. Under the guidance of Dr. Joe Bryan, I completed my honors thesis on the role of US public lands and historical mapping in the dispossession of Indigenous peoples, which together have gone on to shape the terrain upon which present-day Indigenous campaigns to protect southeast Utah’s Bears Ears region must struggle. This area was made famous in part by the Trump administration’s rollback of federal protections, centering on its status as a National Monument. Bears Ears, like all public lands, was mapped and managed to facilitate extraction and settlement at the direct expense of Indigenous people and the land itself, putting Indigenous claims of authority over the landscape at a significant disadvantage to the those made by white settlers and miners.

Moving forward, I hope to continue to pursue engaged research that examines the tangled legacies of colonialism and resource extraction on Native Nations in the US. I owe much of where I am to the faculty and peers I had at CU-Boulder.

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