Image: Salar de Uyuni, in Southwestern Bolivia
Advising Group
Celebrating Spring 2026 graduates, with L-R Cassidy (and Louie), Marygold, Rebecca, Rae, Eva, and Aaron
PhD Students
Cameron Blumhardt (she/her/they/them)
PhD, Geography & Environmental Studies, expected graduation Spring 2028
Research Interests: Social and political factors driving development and land use change, Latin America, qualitative methods, remote sensing, methods integration into interdisciplinary research, critical physical geography
On Leave 2025-2026
Cassidy Tawse-Garcia (she/they)
PhD, Geography & Environmental Studies, expected graduation Spring 2026
Research Interests: Mutual aid, collective care, diverse economies, local food economies, rural livelihoods, and community building in post-disaster landscapes
Funded with: Transformation Network -- Diverse Economies
Master's Students
Jacqueline Kelley-Cogdell (she/her)
MS, Geography & Environmental Studies, expected graduation Spring 2027
Research Interests: food & abolition, qualitative research methods
Funded with: Transformation Network - "Oral Histories of Farming along the Middle Rio Grande"
Lucy Malamud-Roam, incoming Fall 2026
Group Members who already graduated
Rae Bennu (she/her)
MS, Geography & Environmental Studies, Spring 2026
MS Project: "Rooting for Growth: A Preliminary Expansion Plan of the University of New Mexico's Lobo Gardens"
Funded through: Lobo Gardens
Currently: Lobo Gardens adjunct instructor
Eva Gemrich (she/her)
MS, Geography & Environmental Studies, Spring 2026
Thesis: Rural Transformations and Identity in Northern New Mexico
Funded with: USDA "Transformative Ecologies: Food, Farming & People's Health"
Currently: Agriculture Coordinator, Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District
Aaron Canter (he/him)
MS, Geography & Environmental Studies, Fall 2025
MS Project: "A History of Lobo Gardens"
Funded with: Lobo Gardens and Transformation Network
Eva and Rae graduate!
Rebecca Hobart (she/her)
MS, Geography & Environmental Studies, Spring 2024
Thesis: Positioning Disability In Wilderness Space
Currently: Serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Indonesia
Stephanie Olivas (she/her)
MS, Geography & Environmental Studies, Spring 2024
Thesis: Agroecology and soil stewardship: values and techniques of smallholder farmers in Bernalillo County
Currently: Local Agriculture Community Coordinator for The City of Albuquerque
Vittoria Totaro (she/her)
MS, Sociology, Spring 2024
Thesis: Who We Are or What We Do? In-Situ Productions of Gentrification and Land Stewardship in a New Mexican Farmer Training Program
Currently: Pursuing a PhD in Sociology, UNM