Faculty, students, leaders and staff making a difference at Penn State
Jennifer Bates, Amazon Union Organizer
Jennifer Bates, who helped lead the union organizing effort at Amazon’s Bessemer, Alabama facility (BHM1), grew up in a small, tight-knit community where faith, family, and hard work were central. Over decades working in food service, manufacturing, and finally on the warehouse floor, she saw firsthand how the promise of [...]
Lorinda John, Indigenous Chef and Entrepreneur
Based in Gowanda, New York, the Cattaraugus Territory of the Seneca Nation, Chef Lorinda John represents a vibrant intersection of Indigenous art, food sovereignty, and cultural healing. Raised in a family where the garden, the table, and creative making were inseparable, John transformed a personal journey of discovery into a [...]
Mia Ray, EnvironMentors Program Coordinator
Mia Ray has seen Penn State’s EnvironMentors program from both sides—first as a staff mentor and now as the program’s coordinator. Originally connected to the program while working at Penn State Hershey, she joined as a mentor shortly after graduating from college, guiding her first mentee through the process of [...]
Mark Evans, MBE, explorer, field guide, author, and wilderness advocate
Mark Evans, MBE, is a British explorer, field guide, author, and wilderness advocate whose work has taken him to the Arctic and the desert but has recently focused on Oman and the Arabian Peninsula. From camel trekking across the desert to kayaking the Omani coast, Evans’ work highlights building cultural bridges [...]
Teddy Fisher, assistant director of York County Parks
Teddy Fisher is a 2014 alumnus of Penn State’s wildlife and fisheries science (WFS) program, with deep roots in PSU from his childhood. Having received a master’s degree from Clemson University in wildlife and fisheries biology, he has worked for several notable organizations such as the Montgomery County Parks Department [...]
Eric Klinenberg, author and Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University GalleryEric Klinenberg, author and Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University
Eric Klinenberg, author and Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University
Eric Klinenberg, author and Helen Gould Shepard Professor of Social Science and director of the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, is Penn State’s 2024-25 Colloquium on the Environment keynote speaker. Klinenberg’s talk expands on his bestselling book “2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year that Changed [...]
