Biography

• Doctor of Philosophy (Environmental Studies and Political Science), University of Victoria, 2016
• Master of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, 2010
• Bachelor of Arts (Political Studies), University of Saskatchewan, 2008
• Bachelor of Science (Environmental Studies and Biology), University of Saskatchewan, 2007

I grew up in Saskatoon. You often hear people say that they are interested in studying the environment because they had experiences with nature when they were children. While I did go camping with my dad and brother regularly (our favourite place being Besnard Lake in northern Saskatchewan), I do not believe that my academic interests came from that. I am pretty positive that my interest in environmental issues was really motivated by the computer game Sim City 2000, which I started to play at a friend's house around the age of 7. Setting up your city's electrical grid is basically the first thing you have to do in that game, and the renewable energies (i.e. hydro and wind) always seemed more reliable than the fossil fuels. A few years later (at age 11), I started to debate competitively through my school, and while I was pretty bad at the beginning, I came to love it, hence my interest in controversial issues.

To study these very interests, I attended university right after high school, and received my bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Saskatchewan. Wanting to diversify my credentials (and for the experience of living somewhere new), I then moved to the west coast, along with my partner, Jenn, to start a PhD program at the University of Victoria. We lived there for four years, and got married halfway through. Near the end of my program, we decided to come back to Saskatoon, and I spent a year teaching at the UofS while finishing my dissertation. Most people would rather live in Victoria than Saskatoon, but we are not most people, preferring cold and sunny to warm and rainy. Now I am a postdoctoral fellow, thrilled to be back at the same department that I did my master's degree with.

We also have a very funny and very cute baby named Paige. After spending several months on parental leave I have to say that, as much as I love being an academic, being a dad is better!

Outside of academia, I am interested in video games (especially interactive novels and rhythm games), music and cartoons from the 80's and 90's, webcomics, and European-style board games (e.g. Settlers of Catan, not Monopoly). I also like cats. Jenn and I have a dilute tortoiseshell named Evie, who is a little bit hyper, but our baby loves her (Paige's favourite word is "cat"). My parents also have two cats (i.e. Buddy and Kato) that I am very fond of.