Cameran Bahnsen

Research Assistance

Hi there! My name is Cameran Bahnsen, and I am a second-year transfer / fifth-year undergraduate at UCSB majoring in Environmental Studies (B.S) with a minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. I am part Assiniboine (Fort Peck Reservation, present-day Montana) and my passions primarily lie in traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), Indigenous representation and relationships to public lands, food sovereignty, environmental justice, and the decolonization of climate science and land / resource management.  I am the UC Global Food Initiative Project-Based Fellow for UCSB and am currently working with our American Indian and Indigenous communities to help implement more sustainable Indigenous foods/medicines, Indigenous gardening practices, traditional ecological knowledge, and cultural representation on campus via our Four-Sisters and Three-Directions Garden. I have spent the past two summers working at Grand Teton National Park where I have been fortunate enough to work in community engagement, tribal relationships and partnerships, JEDI-focused initiatives, interpretation, and place-based education. For fun, I enjoy hiking, backpacking, camping, going to the beach, enjoying meals with family and friends, music, and reading!

Ashley Watkins

Research Assistant

Hello and welcome! My name is Ashley and I am a fourth-year student at the University of Kentucky majoring in Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies with a minor in Business Analytics. My family has lived in Kentucky and the surrounding states since the beginning of our time in the United States. This extensive history in the land of Appalachia has driven me to learn more about the people and culture in Appalachia. It has also encouraged me to help people of other backgrounds in any way I can, including job security, cultural inclusion, and education. As part of that mission, I am a sister of Theta Nu Xi Multicultural Sorority, Incorporated, an organization whose goal is to promote leadership, multiculturalism, and self-improvement in a variety of assets, both on and off-campus, not despite society’s differences, but because of them and the love we share for our sisters. I believe that fear and hatred only come from a lack of knowledge and understanding. That is why we must spread knowledge and love whenever we can.