Dr Rachelle Gould's collaborative interdisciplinary research investigates the relationships between ecosystems and well-being, focusing on the intersection of environmental values, learning, and human behavior. Using the lens of Cultural Ecosystem Services and with particular attention to issues of diversity and equity, she examines how nature improves well-being in nonmaterial ways.

Rachelle grew up in Southern California, and is still connected to the region’s beaches and arid chaparral – and is also excited to get to know Vermont. Her work on the connections between people and nature has led her to multiple continents and scores of relationships with conservation practitioners, government officials, and local community members. She spent two years in Chile working with The Nature Conservancy and a local NGO, and managing a large-scale Conservation Corridor project. She learned about the dynamic state of conservation doing her Master’s of Forest Science on Non-Timber Forest Products, in partnership with the Bhutanese government’s Environment and Forestry Institute. For over five years, she conducted her dissertation work in Hawaii, on forest restoration and Cultural Ecosystem Services. Most recently, she spent two years as the Managing Post-Doctoral Scholar for the Stanford University Environmental Learning in the Bay Area Project. She is eager to revisit and reinvigorate these connections as her research program develops and expands.