Faculty Labs

Iris Stewart-Frey

Water & Climate Justice Lab

The Water and Climate Justice Lab envisions a future where community-academic partnerships tackle the interconnected challenges of water and climate justice. By prioritizing Community-Based Participatory Action Research (CBPAR), we aim to empower communities, amplify their voices, and drive collaborative solutions that promote environmental justice and sustainability. Our multidisciplinary, student-centered approach integrates both qualitative and quantitative methods, while working closely with the Frugal Innovation Hub at Santa Clara University.

Visit the Water & Climate Justice Lab website

Chris Bacon

Food & Climate Justice Lab

Through Santa Clara University’s Agroecology, Climate Resilience, & Food Justice Lab, we collaborate with community partners in the greater San Francisco Bay Area, California, and Central America on research that empowers civil society, farmers, and governments to develop food justice responses to hunger, vulnerability, and economic insecurity, and to build resilience to climate change and other hazards. We work with community-based groups, farmer cooperatives, universities, local governments, and nonprofits to design, diversify, and evaluate their agricultural and food security programs. We use agroecology and participatory approaches to improve health and environmental outcomes.

Visit the Food and Climate Justice website

Virginia Matzek

Matzek Lab

We're interested in how ecological restoration can sustain the provision of multiple ecosystem services to humans, including carbon sequestration, nutrient cycling, forage production, and recreation. We approach all problems with an interdisciplinary viewpoint informed by economics, policy, and the behavioral sciences. The lab also researches plant invasions, with an eye toward managing exotic invaders efficiently and with appropriate impacts.

Visit the Matzek Lab website