Faculty Fellows Program
Institute for Applied Sustainability
Fawn Canady, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Literacy Education; Co-Director, Oregon Writing Project at Southern Oregon University; Department Chair, Undergraduate Education
Dr. Canady is a literacy educator whose teaching, research, and community engagement focus on climate justice, storytelling, and teacher preparation.Her recent collaborations include two National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant-funded Summer Institutes—Human/Nature and The Future Earth Project—which invite educators to explore climate futurism through cli-fi and reimagine the role of narrative in transdisciplinary environmental education.
At SOU, Dr. Canady’s work bridges literacy and ecological inquiry. As co-director of the Oregon Writing Project, she supports educators in developing community-based writing and storytelling practices. She has also contributed to the Environmental and Climate Change Literacies Project (ECCLPS), co-developing Watching Over Water, a model curriculum for educator preparation programs. Her current research and projects explore narrative as both a method and a tool for community and place-based education, including youth-led oral histories with communities experiencing wildfire.
Her forthcoming co-edited volume, Transforming Schools and Communities to Address the Climate Crisis (Bloomsbury Academic, Spring 2026), brings together educators, scholars, and community partners to imagine hopeful, justice-oriented futures.
Wayne Hung, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Wayne Hung (he/him/his) is originally from Taiwan and joined Southern Oregon University in 2024. He is an environmental analytical chemist whose research explores the intersection of environmental chemistry and microbiology. His work focuses on the prevalence and fate of metal(loid)s and antibiotic resistance in soil and water, with particular attention to how these issues are shaped by wildfires, environmental justice concerns, and broader questions of environmental quality. Wayne employs a variety of tools in his research, including spatial analysis, advanced instrumentation, and field-based studies. He is also deeply committed to inclusivity and diversity in STEM education, pursuing pedagogy research that supports equitable access and meaningful learning opportunities for students from all backgrounds. Outside of academia, Wayne enjoys hiking, playing basketball and pickleball, watching sports, working out, and traveling. He is excited to explore Southern Oregon and take full advantage of its national forests and parks in pursuit of his love for the outdoors.
Karen Mager, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Policy, & Sustainability, and Biology
Dr. Mager is a wildlife ecologist focused on the management and conservation of mammals. Much of her research has focused on caribou ecology, including how historical population dynamics and landscape features shape the genetic diversity and connectivity of caribou herds. Here at SOU, she and her students continue to study wildlife connectivity using camera traps to examine wildlife use of Interstate 5 prior to wildlife crossing construction. She loves to work with students in a diversity of ecosystems using field methods. Ultimately, she is motivated to contribute to ecosystem stewardship that enables wildlife populations to adapt to change and promotes sustainable human-wildlife coexistence.
Read more about their current work below.
Chhaya Werner, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Environmental Science, Policy, & Sustainability
Dr. Chhaya Werner received her PhD in 2018 from University of California, Davis, where she studied the impacts of fire, drought, and order of species arrival on plant communities. Her postdoctoral research at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity and the University of Wyoming included developing quantitative methods to examine species interactions in diverse communities, and modeling how species interactions and coexistence are impacted by global change drivers such as drought. Her current research explores how disturbances such as fire, restoration projects, and drought interact to shape our ecosystems, and how interactions between plant species drive resilience to disturbance.
Read more about their current work below.
Christopher Lucas, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Program Coordinator of Digital Cinema
Dr. Christopher Lucas is an assistant professor in the Communication, Media, and Cinema Program. He was a founding member of SOU’s Sustainable Curriculum Initiative. His research has focused on cultural policy and the relationship between digital technologies and society, especially in the media industries. As a documentary filmmaker he has produced and written for a number of award winning documentaries on the theme of sustainability and the environment, including work on fossil fuel infrastructure, environmental justice, and water quality. He’s a member of the International Documentary Association, and a past participant in the Climate Story Lab, an international convening on building new, more diverse cultural narratives about climate change and sustainability.
Pavlina McGrady, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Tourism and Sustainability
Dr. Pavlina McGrady is an associate professor at the School of Business at Southern Oregon University, and the coordinator of the Sustainable Tourism Management degree. Pavlina’s current research focuses on sustainable tourism, exploring tourism businesses’, and local residents’ perceptions on tourism impacts, management, and policies, to identify strategies for sustainable destination management. Another area of Pavlina’s scholarly work examines barriers and predictors of corporate sustainability in the United States, as well as the role of leadership in the businesses’ journey towards sustainability. Pavlina founded the SOU Sustainability Curriculum Initiative (SOUSCI) and has been serving on the SOU Sustainability Council as well as the Travel Southern Oregon board.
Jessica Piekielek, Ph.D.
Chair, Professor, Sociology and Anthropology
Jessica Piekielek is a cultural anthropologist with research and teaching interests in conservation, environmentalism, sustainability, and border and migration studies. She has fieldwork experience in the US, Mexico, and Latin America. Jessica chairs the Sociology and Anthropology program. She received her PhD in anthropology at the University of Arizona.
Jamie Trammell, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Chair, Environmental Science, Policy, & Sustainability program
Jamie Trammell is an Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Policy, and Sustainability who is dedicated to thinking about the future in a more proactive and actionable way. He specializes in working with communities and experts across disciplines to better understand the trajectory and diversity of plausible futures for a given place and people. Using geospatial and stakeholder analysis tools, he has worked in a variety of socioecological systems, including the deserts of the southwest, the northern rivers of New South Wales, Australia, across Alaska and Canada, and throughout the intermountain west. A self-proclaimed bird-nerd, he sits on the Rogue Valley Audubon Society board, and is the current chair of the Environmental Science, Policy, and Sustainability department at SOU.
Precious Yamaguchi, Ph.D.
Program Chair and Professor of Communication
Dr. Precious Yamaguchi is the Chair of the Communication Program and Full Professor of Communication at Southern Oregon University. She is also the former business owner at Catalyst Ashland, and recently completed her co-chair position of the City of Ashland’s first Social Equity and Racial Justice commission. She has her doctorate in Communication Studies from Bowling Green State University as well as her bachelor’s degree in Studio Art with minors in Ethnic Studies and Public Relations from Humboldt State University. Her academic research is interdisciplinary, focusing broadly on issues of culture, identity, generation, technology, social media, and international textile markets. Her book, The Journeys and Strength of Japanese American Women: Stories and Life Experiences During and After World War II, was published by Lexington Books. She has received the Distinguished Faculty Award during her time at Southern Oregon University as well as a Top Paper Award from the National Communication Association. Her board membership includes non-profits such as Southern Oregon PBS, the National Association of African American Studies, the International Association of Asian Studies, and Reclaiming Lives. Dr. Yamaguchi is passionate about working with organizations and projects that support culture, sustainability, and community. She has co-curated several art shows in Southern Oregon and also has co-created two different programs for JPR, Southern Oregon and Northern California’s NPR-affiliated radio station.
When Dr. Yamaguchi is off-campus, enjoys traveling, painting, hiking, and spending time with family and friends from all over the world.
1. Learn more by attending a Podium to Pub event.
2. Collaborate with a Fellow’s research or co-host a Podium to Pub event.
3. Support the Faculty Fellows Program through philanthropic giving.
