Associate Professor, Environmental Program, University of Vermont
Rachelle Gould is an Associate Professor in the Environmental Program at the University of Vermont. Her previous position was as a postdoctoral scholar managing the Environmental Learning in the San Francisco Bay Area project. Rachelle is an interdisciplinary scholar whose work involves social science, ecology, and the humanities. Her research interest centers on the relationship—particularly the intangible relationship—between people and ecosystems. Her dissertation focused on ecological restoration and Cultural Ecosystem Services in forests of Kona, Hawaii. Ecological restoration, as a human action, makes obvious the normative nature of much conservation action; for her PhD work, Rachelle combined ecological study of restoration with study of the Cultural Ecosystem Services (intangible benefits from nature, such as spirituality and heritage) related to her study system.
Rachelle has a Master’s in Forest Science from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a PhD from Stanford University’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program on Environment and Resources.