Suzanne (she/her) brings to the Paulson Initiative an interdisciplinary background and a passion for connecting people to their natural environment. At Wellesley, she has co-developed several collaborative courses, including Creating Sense of Place: Antiracism, Nature, and the Environment and Climate Crisis and the Liberal Arts. 

Prior to joining the Paulson Initiative, Suzanne led a cross-disciplinary project with the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment developing nature-based approaches to climate adaptation planning in colllaboration with coastal California communities. She served as a Lecturer at the University of California Santa Cruz for 7 years where she taught interdisciplinary courses on restoration and conservation, using place-based and experiential learning approaches. Suzanne also collaborated on restoration and conservation projects across the globe, providing her an opportunity to learn from a diverse range of ecosystems, people, and relationships to nature. Suzanne is always excited to engage with the full diversity of perspectives on campus and aims to create a center that is accessible for all and sparks curiousity and joy. She is an avid open water swimmer, fiddler, dancer, and loves finding new places to explore on Wellesley’s landscape. Suzanne received her Ph.D. in Environmental Studies and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of California Santa Cruz and her B.A. in Biology from Smith College. 

My name is Lacey Berg and I graduated from Wellesley with the green class of 2021. I grew up exploring local woods and wetlands in central North Carolina and I feel a strong sense of connection to my home. At Wellesley, I formalized and expanded my curiosity for the world around me through an interdisciplinary lens as an Environmental Studies major. I’m interested in how people and places shape each other and how we can build dynamic, sustainable, and enriching relationships with our environments. I have a background in science education and I strive to make environmental studies engaging and accessible to everyone. In my free time, you might find me playing ultimate frisbee (go Whiptails), hiking with friends, and taking care of my pet fish.

My name is Kristine (she/her, class of 2021) and I am from the Ann Arbor area in Michigan. While at Wellesley, I was an Environmental Studies major and Chinese minor. I was also a member of the field hockey team. I am very excited to be back on campus working with the Paulson Initiative again after being a summer intern in 2019. I'm looking forward to building relationships with the Wellesley community through shared outdoor experiences. I developed a strong connection to Wellesley’s landscape as a student and hope I can help others find outdoor spaces that bring them comfort, whether on campus or somewhere else.

Jenn is a postdoctoral fellow working with both the Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative and the Botanic Gardens, developing resources for experiential STEM education, sustainability, and inclusive excellence at Wellesley. Her favorite roles include mentoring students and appreciating plants, whether through teaching courses or holding impromptu garden tours. She completed her PhD at Penn State University studying corn (ask if you want to know more), and received her BA in biological sciences at Wellesley in 2012.

Louisa is a Paulson Post-Baccalaureate Fellow passionate about fostering student connections to nature and the outdoors through interdisciplinary landscape-based learning. She recently graduated from Wellesley in May 2019, majoring in Environmental Studies and Spanish. Her favorite place on campus is the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden, which has sparked and stimulated her interests in ecology, horticulture, the cultural significance of plants, and spending time outside.

Bindu Nicholson '16 was a Paulson Initiative Post-baccalaureate Fellow from 2019-2021. She received her B.A. from Wellesley in 2016, majoring in English and minoring in Environmental Studies. The Paulson Initiative fellowship was a serendipitous way for her to continue connecting with the enchanting beauty of the Wellesley landscape and to increase her eco-literacy. Through Paulson Bindu supported students in developing and deepening their awareness, curiosity, engagement, and appreciation of the Wellesley landscape through art- and science-based nature education and outdoor wellness programming. Bindu loves gardening, identifying plants, raquet sports, biking, and short speculaive fiction.