Officers

If you are interested in getting involved with CAGS, please reach out to cags.general@gmail.com! There are always opportunities to get involved.

Below are the 2023-2024 Officers:

Name: Olivia Williams
Position: President
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: Geology, PhD
Year: 4th
Advisor: Christo Buizert
Project: Using noble gases to identify past melting events in Greenland ice cores
A Fact: I won an award in college for my poem about the Mt. St. Helens eruption
Website: oliviawilliamsgeo.com

Name: Sami Cargill
Position: Vice-President
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: Geology, PhD
Year: 5th
Advisor: Joe Stoner
Project: Investigating paleomagnetic and paleoenvironmental records from marine sediment cores off the Oregon coast
A Fact: I was on the archery team in undergrad

Name: Samuel Mawutor
Position: Secretary
Program: Geography, PhD
Year: 3rd
Advisor: Larry Becker
Project: Examining the making of cocoa Landscapes of southwestern Ghana: the critical agrarian question.
A Fact: I’ve worked a bit on environmental ethics of the chocolate industry yet I dont eat enough chocolate.

Name: Mia El-Khazen
Position: Treasurer
Pronouns: She/They
Program: OEAS MG&G, PhD
Year: 2nd
Advisor: Andreas Schmittner
Project: Using Neodymium isotopes as a tracer to better understand past changes in Global Meridional Overturning Circulation.
A Fact: I have a tiny frog in a party hat on my office desk; his name is Norm. 

Name: Joshua Blockstein
Position: Awards Chair
Pronouns: He/Him
Program: ESGP, PhD
Year: 1st
Advisor: Jenna Tilt
Project: Assessing disaster resilience among Oregon Latinx coastal communities using a community capitals framework
A Fact: Humans have climbed 8,849 meters (summit of Mt Everest) without the assistance of a vehicle, but have only dived 332.25 meters deep without a vehicle.

Name: Julia Marks Peterson
Position: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) Co-Chair
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: OEAS – MG&G, PhD
Year: 4th
Advisor: Ed Brook
Project: Studying the greenhouse gas composition of the past atmosphere from ice cores
A Fact: Before starting grad school I taught middle school science!

Name: Najiba Rashid
Position: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity (DEI) Co-Chair
Pronouns: She/her
Program: Geography
Year: 2nd
Advisor: Jenna Tilt
Project: Disaster Debris Management through the Lens of Community Engagement
A Fact: I like to travel and read historical fiction books

Name: Deepa Dwyer
Position: Outreach Co-Chair
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: OEAS – MG&G, PhD
Year: 5th
Advisor: Joe Stoner
Project: Using paleomagnetic records from sediment cores in Gulf of Alaska to better understand ice sheet instability of the Northern Cordilleran Ice Sheet
A Fact: New to learning embroidery and calligraphy
Website: Deepa Dwyer

Name: Sarah Beethe
Position: Outreach Co-Chair and G&G representative
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: Geology, PhD
Year: 3rd
Advisor: Anthony Koppers
Project: Using 40Ar/39Ar geochronology to understand volcano-tectonic relationships in submarine environments
A Fact: I unconsciously stick my tongue out when I’m trying to concentrate on something

Name: Jonas Donnenfield
Position: Social Chair
Pronouns: He/Him
Program: OEAS – MG&G, PhD
Year: 3rd
Advisor: Maureen Walczak and Alan Mix
Project: Using marine sediment cores in the NE Pacific and Baltic Sea to understand oceanographic variability during deglacial periods/warming climates
A Fact: I co-founded an all-cello ensemble in college!

Name: Sophie Lalande
Position: Geography Representative
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: Geography, M.S.
Year: 2nd
Advisor: Hannah Gosnell
Project: Upscaling Climate Smart Agriculture in the United States
A Fact: Agriculture is the largest employer in the world, employing over 40% of the global population!

Name: Marlena Penn
Position: MRM Representative
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: MRM, M.S.
Year: 2nd
Advisor: George Waldbusser
Project: Quantifying native Olympia oyster and Pacific oyster growth response to environmental conditions in Yaquina Bay
A Fact: I am a Star Wars enthusiast and have two cats named Yoda and Vader along with a subaru named Ewok.

Name: Katie Stelling
Position: MG&G Representative
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: OEAS MG&G, PhD
Year: 2nd
Advisor: Mo Walczak
Project: Using sediment cores from the West Greenland Margin to understand the oceanographic conditions leading up to the retreat of the Greenland Ice Sheet following the Last Glacial Maximum
A Fact: I’m a big fan of fun-shaped pasta

Name: Maria Christina Alvarez
Position: OEB Representative
Pronouns: She/Her
Program: OEB, MS
Year: 2nd
Advisor: Laurie Juranek
Project: Historical changes in dissolved oxygen concentrations in the Arctic Basin
A Fact: Some people have the misconception that sea otters are lazy. However, they rely constantly on the use of their paws and whiskers to keep up with their dietary needs of 10 pounds of food per day.

Name: Cassidy Wagner
Position: Physics of Oceans and the Atmosphere (POA) Discipline Co-Representative
Program: OEAS – PO, PhD
Year: 3rd
Advisor: Brodie Pearson
Project: Analyzing large-scale turbulence in the ocean and its impact on climate modeling
A Fact: I know the names of all 14 Land Before Time movies in order of release date.

Name: Matthew Koszuta
Position: POA Co-Representative
Program: OEAS ATS, PhD
Year: 6th
Advisor: Nick Siler
Project: Studying various impacts of global warming on precipitation in regions of complex terrain
A Fact: I have been to the northernmost permanent settlement—Longyearbyen, Svalbard.

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