Erica Dowd ‘26

Erica Dowd is a sophomore from Topsfield, Massachusetts studying sociology. Her research interests include sustainability, poverty and social justice. Dowd will be working with Professor Dan Miller, whose work focuses primarily on international environmental policy and the various impacts of conservation funding. Alongside her mentor, Dowd will be researching community forestry as a mechanism to alleviate poverty. As Professor Miller is the coordinator of FLARE Network, Dowd will also assist in taking inventory of web-based tools similar to that of FLARE Networks’ CommFor tool, which allows users to monitor community forestry outcomes. Throughout her research, Dowd looks forward to deepening her understanding of interactions between societies and their environment.