Board Members
Board members of Rowan Institute provide scientific and public leadership to direct our organizational mission, vision, goals, and culture.
Priya Shukla
Priya Shukla (she/her) is a PhD student based at UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Laboratory studying the effects of climate change on shellfish aquaculture. She received her undergraduate degree in Environmental Science and Management at UC Davis and earned her Master’s in Ecology from San Diego State University. Priya uses science communication to bridge issues concerning social justice, rapid environmental change, and the scientific community.
SYriS Valentine
Syris Valentine (he/him is currently an undergraduate student in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences at the University of Washington (UW), Seattle. He has conducted a variety of research in the fields of planetary science and space technology ranging from understanding the surface dynamics of asteroids to investigating methods of extracting water from extraterrestrial bodies. Syris has given speeches at the 2017 Seattle March for Science, 2017 Seattle March for Truth, and 2018 TEDxUofW Conference. Beyond his speaking engagements, Syris is the co-founder of a student-led STEM educational outreach organization at UW; he is an executive Board member of the Black Student Union at the UW, and he serves as the Dean’s Office Liason for the Student Advisory Council of the UW College of the Environment. While he is in love with his research, Syris’s true passions are best encapsulated by the African Philosophy of Ubuntu and the African proverb “Ubuntu ngumtu ngabanye abantu” (“A person is a person through other people”).
Barbara Clabots
Barbara Clabots (she/her) is an interdisciplinary researcher working at the intersection of gender equality and the environment. She received a Foreign Language Areas Studies Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Education to complete her Masters of Marine Affairs from the University of Washington. She was the first to document the impact of women's involvement in marine protected areas. Barbara is also a Senior Research Affiliate at Ladysmith Ventures and advises Washington Women for Climate Action Now. She incorporates both quantitative and qualitative research methods across a variety of disciplines. She developed five datasets quantifying gender inequality in the environmental sector the Global Gender Office for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. She is an editor for Sightline Institute and was acknowledged as a 2015 “Young Green Leader” by Washington Conservation Voters. Her analyses and advocacy pieces are published in the Seattle Globalist, Yes! Magazine, and The Establishment. Barbara’s approach to environmental solutions is both evidence-based and feminist, and she speaks frequently on this intersectional approach to climate equity.
Urpi Ruiz Angeles (she/her)
“I was born in Cusco, Peru, I come from Quechua and Aymara descendants. Cusco is a city known for its rich culture and beautiful landscapes. It was there that I learned to appreciate and give back to the earth. My earliest memories are of my great-grandmother teaching me how to peel a potato, and our family friend teaching me how to make adobe walls. In the Quechuan culture, the children learn through watching. I remember the distinct earthy smell of my city and the gentleness of the people when handling the earth; because of my upbringing, I feel connected to it. These experiences shaped me to be environmentally conscious. Now that I am older, I understand that my family are environmental scientists; it is because of them that I want to continue the legacy of being a protector of the environment.
After spending my first ten years in Peru, I moved to Seattle; it felt like a whole different planet. There were skyscrapers instead of adobe houses, no brown slopey mountains in sight, and for the first time ever, I lived by large bodies of water. Growing up in Seattle was a challenge. When I was 11, my mother got a divorce as a result of domestic violence. From that point onwards, my family had unstable housing. My mother tried her best to raise us as a single mother: we've slept in shelters, friends' houses, a youth home, a car, and even a tent on the freeway, and still went to school the next morning. Because of these living conditions, I was able to meet people who were in a similar situation. Families who were trying to move forward with their lives but were challenged because they did not live in the best environment. I've experienced homelessness for such a long time that I can relate to and understand their struggles. In a way, I am grateful to have experienced homelessness, because I can now advocate for people to have better living environments in order to have better lives.
My time at Seattle Central has given me the opportunity to grow academically as well as practice my leadership skills. At Seattle Central, I joined TRIO, MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program. I'm also part of the RST (Ready, Set Transfer!) program, and I made the Dean's List during the spring of 2017. In the spring of 2017, I was awarded the Wayne & Jean Tice Endowed Scholarship, and the Costco Diversity Scholarship in Fall 2018. I am a Phi Theta Kappa member since 2017 and was the Seattle Central College SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) President for 2018. As a SACNAS member, I attended two of the yearly SACNAS conferences. I was also able to volunteer at events, such as the Engineering Mentor Night the WISE (Women in Science and Engineering) club runs yearly. I volunteered as a recruiter coordinator and as the awards ceremony speaker at the Science Olympiad held at Seattle Central College. I was also given the opportunity to design the logo for tutor vests at the University of Washington's EAC (Engineering Academic Center). Being highly involved at Seattle Central has prepared me to thrive in an academic environment.
Although I couldn't change my fate as a child, I can do so now that I am an adult. I am continuing to fight to stabilize my living situation and grow roots in the community that will sustain my passion to be an advocate for our planet. As we speak with more urgency about climate change, and as we face its consequences, it is my dream to be at the front lines of this issue. I am excited to become a part of the Rowan Institute community, so I can help others -- and our planet -- flourish and thrive.”
SARRA Tekola
Sarra Tekola (she/her) is currently working on her PhD in Sustainability at Arizona State University. Her undergraduate research was on the physical elements of climate change, where she interned and researched for EPA, NOAA and the Washington State Department of Ecology. She has also worked on the political side of sustainability as a legislative aide for a Seattle City Councilmember. To put the knowledge into application her dissertation works on the social side of climate change focusing on creating the cultural change Western society needs to successfully implement climate solutions. She is investigating the connections between climate change and colonization, and how the colonial trauma Western countries have affects our ability to address climate change today and how decolonization can be a climate solution.
Sarra is also a climate and racial justice, direct-action activist from Seattle. She is the cofounder of Women of Color Speak Out, a group that works to help the environmental movement become more accessible to people of color. Sarra continues to be involved in environmental and racial justice activism on the frontlines in Phoenix, working on both police brutality and indigenous land rights. Her activism has been featured in Democracy Now, CNN, Rolling Stone and was named by Outside Magazine as one of the “30 under 30” in 2016.
@juniperlsimonis @dapperstats
Dr. juniper Simonis
Dr. Juniper L. Simonis (they/them) is a Data Analyst in the Weecology Labat the University of Florida; Founder, Owner, and Lead Scientist of DAPPER Stats, a data science consulting firm focused on conservation biology and management; and an adjunct scientist in the Conservation & Science Departmentat the Lincoln Park Zoo. They received their PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biologyfrom Cornell University and their BS in Integrative Biologyfrom the University of Illinois: Urbana-Champaign. Dr. Simonis’ research focuses on combining dynamic mathematical models, computational techniques, and long-term data to study organismal populations and forecast species’ responses to environmental change.
In addition to their science, Dr. Simonis is a public educator, an advocate and mentor for young scientists and entrepreneurs, and an activist for inclusive, safe, and supportive work environments. They are presently a member of the 500 Women ScientistsLeadership Team and have served on leadership committees for an LGBTQ alumni organization, multiple athletic associations, research ethics bodies, and an employee inclusion task force. Dr. Simonis is also a lifelong athlete of many sports and is a current (and three-time) world champion roller derby (WFTDA) skater with the Rose City Rollers.