Together in a Changing Place: How Social Processes Shape Pro-Environmental and Adaptation Behavior

This event is supported by the CALS Office for Diversity and Inclusion and is part of the CALS Dean’s Inclusive Excellence Seminar Series, which highlights academic excellence through inclusive science and creates a platform for extended discussions on how our science can and should be transformative in leading to best practices and policies that support social, economic, environmental and climate justice.

The CALS Dean’s Inclusive Excellence Seminar Series and the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment present: A conversation with Francisca Santana

Talk Abstract:
Successful mitigation and adaptation to climate change will require meaningful changes to human behavior at multiple scales. In this talk, I will discuss how different social processes – social norms, social support, and place attachment – shape the ways that individuals respond to threats and changes in their biophysical environment. Specifically, I will discuss findings from two studies focused on human behavior in response to wildfire smoke and coral reef decline, respectively. In the first study, I will discuss protective-health behavior among Northern Californians exposed to hazardous levels of wildfire smoke and present a novel theoretical framework drawing on interview data and existing behavioral models. In the second study, I will share results from a community-engaged study on Maui, Hawaiʻi investigating the drivers of coral reef conservation behavior. Additionally, I will discuss the importance of community-engaged environmental research that is grounded in place-based problem solving and centered on the priorities of local and Indigenous communities. 

Speaker Bio:
Francisca (Kika) Santana is a PhD Candidate in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at Stanford University. Her research focuses on the social processes that influence how individuals and communities respond to environmental change and climate risk, primarily through community-engaged scholarship. As an interdisciplinary social scientist, she investigates the psychosocial drivers of pro-environmental and adaptation behavior in changing landscapes and the social nature of decision-making in response to climate hazards. Her research has been published in Climate Risk Management, Environmental Research Letters, Sustainability Science, and Climatic Change. Prior to her doctoral studies, Francisca worked on air quality and marine policy issues for nonprofits and government agencies, including the Energy Foundation, Earthjustice, and the White House Council on Environmental Quality. She earned a master's degree in coastal marine science and management from UC Santa Barbara and a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University.

Zoom link:
https://cornell.zoom.us/j/96654833429?pwd=dHNrOVpiRE5UaHZoVnJHejA0TWRwUT09 

Meeting ID: 966 5483 3429

Passcode: 143544