IERE Joint Faculty
IERE Joint Faculty Members
Amber Barnes, Ph.D.
Brooks College of Health
Term — 2022-2023
Dr. Amber Barnes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health in the Brooks College of Health. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in global health, global health: water, sanitation and hygiene, environmental health and public health research. Her research is focused on the prevalence of zoonotic enteric parasites among vulnerable humans, animals and their shared environment using a One Health approach. Dr. Barnes also investigates individual and household risk factors for zoonotic disease exposure surrounding water, sanitation and hygiene services and behaviors as well as human-animal contact related to culture, agriculture and gender roles. She leads the Coastal One Health and Zoonoses lab.
Raphael W. Crowley, Ph.D.
College of Computing, Engineering and Construction
Term — 2022-present
Dr. Raphael Crowley is an Associate Professor in Civil, Coastal, and Port Engineering in the Taylor Engineering Research Institute within the College of Computing, Engineering and Construction. He teaches several courses in civil engineering related to water, fluids, coasts, and ports. Dr. Crowley’s research is usually under the umbrella of “coastal resiliency” and has included work on underwater noise during pile driving associated with bridge construction, using geomicrobial processes to strengthen shorelines, construction of artificial oyster reefs, wave forcing on beach houses, erosion around coastal bridge foundations, and development of a maritime management plan for Duval County. Dr. Crowley has also been involved in water erosion design associated with several relatively high-profile projects including the Mario Cuomo Bridge in Tarrytown, NY, the McMicken Dam in Surprise, AZ, the Chacao Channel Bridge in Chile, and the Port of Singapore.
Josh Gellers, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences
Term — 2022-present
Dr. Josh Gellers is a Professor of Political Science and Public Administration in the College of Arts and Sciences and Director of the MA in International Affairs program at UNF. He teaches courses in comparative politics and international relations. Dr. Gellers is also a Research Fellow of the Earth System Governance Project, Expert with the Global AI Ethics Institute, and former Fulbright Scholar to Sri Lanka. His research, which has been cited in UN and EU reports, focuses on environmental governance, rights, and technology. He has received the Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award, Outstanding International Leadership Award, and Outstanding Faculty Scholarship Award from UNF, been named Green Teacher of the Year by the U.S. Green Building Council Florida (Northeast Florida Region), and received the Environmental Achievement Award from the Jacksonville Environmental Protection Board. He is the author of The Global Emergence of Constitutional Environmental Rights (Routledge 2017) and Rights for Robots: Artificial Intelligence, Animal and Environmental Law (Routledge 2020).
Erin Largo-Wight, Ph.D. — Director
Institute of Environmental Research and Education
Term — 2022-present
Dr. Erin Largo-Wight is a Professor of Public Health and the Director of the Institute of Environmental Research and Education. Dr. Largo-Wight’s teaching focuses on behavioral and social solutions to public and environmental health problems. She is a research scientist and the lead of the UNF Nature and Health Laboratory studying the impact of nature on human health (nature and well-being), as well as the impact people have on the environment (social behavioral research). Her research assumes a reciprocal relationship between the environment and people (One Health). The focus is on testing nature interventions by measuring the impact of nature on health and well-being outcomes in various settings (homes, schools, workplaces, and communities). Dr. Largo-Wight also explores environmental health behaviors, strategies to promote change, and other social behavioral solutions to environmental problems. Her research has been supported by federal agencies and national associations and foundations (e.g., NOAA, APHA) and has been published and well cited in the research literature, as well as widely covered in news and popular press outlets in the U.S. and Europe. She has received impact and excellence awards focused on this work, and proudly serves on local and national boards and alliances to further environmental and nature research and initiatives.
Heather Barnes Truelove, Ph.D.
College of Arts and Sciences
Term — 2022-present
Dr. Heather Barnes Truelove is a Professor of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences and Program Director for the Institute of Environmental Research and Education. She teaches courses in the areas of social psychology and research methods, including conservation psychology. Her research interests center on the psychology of pro-environmental behavior including research on perceptions of environmental problems, application of behavior change theory to predict environmental behavior, and design and evaluation of behavior change interventions. Her work has been supported by several federal agencies, including NSF and NOAA, and has been widely published and cited. Dr. Truelove has won numerous university and college-wide awards, including UNF’s Distinguished Professor Award, for her record of distinction within teaching, research, and service.