Monika Derrien grew up in Jackson Heights, Queens. She escaped the city after high school, migrating northward to Cornell University, where she received a BA in history, focusing on environmental history and ethics. As an antidote to furious studying, she spent much of her time there teaching for Cornell Outdoor Education and traipsing around the trails of Central New York. After a year spent working with writing programs in public high schools in Boston, Monika came to the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources to complete her MS in Natural Resources, during which time she completed a Graduate Certificate in Ecological Economics and worked on several Vermont-centered projects in recreation planning, rural social change, and sense of place in refugee communities. She is currently working on a Ph.D. in the Rubenstein School with Pat Stokowski. In addition to a good research project, Monika has a hard time turning down any opportunity for backpacking, skiiing, running, cooking experiments, and a monthly jump in Lake Champlain.

Research Interests: Conservation, Quality of Life, Recreation, Cultural Ecosystem Services, Rural Social Change
Dissertation: In Process