The College of Forestry announces the selection of Dr. Cristina Eisenberg as a 2020 Alumni Fellow. Dr. Eisenberg, who received a PhD in Forest Resources in 2012 and served as a post-doctoral fellow immediately after, integrates her Native American and Latina heritage with her scientific expertise to achieve environmental restoration that honors traditional practices.
Her acceptance presentation, “Indigenous peoples’ social justice in academia and natural resources conservation in a COVID-19 world”, can be viewed here. The Alumni Fellows recognition program was established by the OSU Alumni Association in 1988 to acknowledge alumni who have distinguished themselves in their professions and communities.
Dr. Eisenberg is Latina and of mixed Native American Heritage (Raramuri and Western Apache). She is the first person in her family to graduate from college. Today, Dr. Eisenberg seeks to integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) into environmental restoration practice in Western North America. Dr. Eisenberg is a Smithsonian Research Associate and served as the Chief Scientist at Earthwatch Institute from 2014 until 2019, where she oversaw a global research program focusing on ecological restoration, social justice for Indigenous peoples, and sustainable production of natural resources. Dr. Eisenberg is the author of numerous books, journal articles and book chapters and is currently writing a book on bison rematriation for OSU Press.
Dr. Eisenberg serves on several boards and is the vice-chair of the Board of Trustees at Prescott College, her alma mater for her master’s degree, where she chairs the Academic and Student Affairs Committee. She also serves as the Director at Large and chairs the SER TEK Working Group for the Society of Ecological Restoration (SER).
We are exceptionally fortunate to have Dr. Eisenberg affiliated with OSU and the College of Forestry and thrilled she is receiving the Alumni Fellow as recognition for her outstanding knowledge, dedication, and accomplishments. Although she was subjected to overt racism and bias as a student and colleague in the College, she remains committed to working with us and helping the College and OSU overcome the structural racism that haunts us to this day. She continues her engagement and support of OSU as Graduate Faculty and as Courtesy Faculty in the College of Forestry and the College of Agricultural Sciences. She also serves on the OSU Press Advisory Editorial Board. In 2019, she was recognized by the College of Forestry as an outstanding alumna in Forest Ecosystems and Society.
