Dr. Becky Thomas is an Associate Professor of Parks and Conservation at 91³ÉÈË and the Southwest Region Director for the Pennsylvania Association of Environmental Education. After completing her bachelor’s degree at Penn State, she worked as a practitioner in the field of environmental education and interpretation before pursuing masters and doctoral degrees at Colorado State University. Her research focuses on human dimensions of wildlife and leveraging social science research methods to evaluate outcomes of environmental education and collaborative conservation. She has worked on research projects with state fish and wildlife agencies in several locations including Montana, Nebraska, Hawai’i, Colorado, and Pennsylvania. She seeks opportunities to draw from different natural and social science disciplinary perspectives and traditions to connect audiences of all ages to the environment around us. Dr. Thomas received the 91³ÉÈË President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018-2019. At 91³ÉÈË, she teaches graduate courses in Conservation Social Science Research Methods and Environmental Issues, and undergraduate courses in Sustainability, Interpretive Methods, and Wildlife Management. She enjoys traveling, cooking, eating, hiking, gardening, and hanging out on her small suburban homestead with her partner, two golden retrievers, and six chickens.
Education
Ph.D., Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, 2015, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. M.S., Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, 2012, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. B. S., Wildlife and Fisheries Science, 2005, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Becky Thomas
309F Vincent Science Center
724.738.4576
rebecca.thomas@sru.edu