Current & Past Scholars

Photo of three people seated in a communal gathering space on Eden Hall Campus, inside a building with a large skylight and tall plant wall

Rachel Carson Visiting Scholars are experts in six areas central to the mission of Chatham University’s Falk School:

  1. natural systems, including environmental science and natural resource conservation

  2. sustainable built systems, including green buildings and renewable energy

  3. equitable community development

  4. sustainable business practices

  5. food studies

  6. environmentally-inspired writing and communication

Rachel Carson Visiting Scholars take an intersectional approach to exploring the root causes of social and ecological crises; they broaden our understanding of possibilities and pathways towards a regenerative, climate-positive future.

Rachel Carson Scholars are leaders in their fields – whether they come from academia, business, government, or community organizations.

And they are proudly hosted at Chatham University as it stewards the legacy of its powerful alumna and advances a vision of equitable progress within a vital, living Earth.

Exchanging Ideas

Hear from Zygmunt J. B. Plater, inaugural Rachel Carson Visiting Scholar, and Lou Leonard, dean of the Falk School of Sustainability & Environment and Eden Hall Campus on what makes the program remarkable.

Current Scholar: Heather Valentino

Heather is an adjunct professor at Southern New Hampshire University, Hofstra University, and University of Colorado-Denver teaching sustainability courses at both the undergraduate and master's level.

Heather lives in North East Ohio and is the Assistant Director of Energy Management at Case Western Reserve University. She has a doctorate in Educational Sustainability from University of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, a master's degree in Sustainable Management from University of Wisconsin-Parkside, and a bachelor of arts degree in Environmental Studies from Chatham University. Heather's career began with a focus on regulatory compliance in environmental, health, and safety, later transitioning into sustainability leadership roles in both the private sector, public transit administration and now higher education. 

Past Scholars

  • Joseph Sarkis

    Professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s (WPI) Business School

  • Portrait of Kelly Kay smiling

    Kelly Kay

    Associate Professor of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles

  • Photo of Farha Ternikar

    Farha Ternikar

    Professor of Sociology and Director of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies at Le Moyne College

  • Photo of Zygmunt J. B. Plater

    Zygmunt J. B. Plater

    Professor at Boston College Law School