Conference Coordinator
Claire Barnes is a second-year graduate student at Yale Divinity School, concentrating in Religion and Ecology. Claire has several fields of interest including food and religion, climate histories, and gastronomic archives. She currently works at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and wishes to pursue a career in archival work. Claire holds a Masters in International Political Theory from The University of St Andrews and a Bachelors in Religion and Philosophy from Emory University. She is originally from Los Angeles, CA.
Conference Coordinator
Katherine Smith is a second-year Masters of Arts in Religion candidate at Yale Divinity School, concentrating in Religion and Ecology. Prior to attending Yale, Katherine received her Masters in Biblical and Theological Studies from Lee University in Cleveland, TN. There, she wrote her thesis on the role of worship rituals in forming the hearts of people towards attention to and care of the environment. She is interested in exploring the role of religious communities in environmental hope and healing. Katherine also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies from Lee University.
Logistics and Events Coordinator
Jhena Vigrass is a second-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of the Environment, specializing in energy and environmental policy analysis. She is interested in bringing her background in behavior change, environmental justice, and Jewish studies to policy advocacy in order to create more inclusive and durable environmental policies. Before attending YSE, Jhena worked to increase food access and oppose fossil fuel projects in the New York region, and most recently spent a year studying at Pardes, a non-denominational Yeshiva program, in Israel. She holds bachelor degrees in Viola Performance and Environmental Studies from the University of Michigan.
Logistics and Events Coordinator
Noah Humphrey is a second-year Master of Divinity candidate at Yale Divinity School, specializing in holistic care and indigenous modes of healing. He is interested in becoming a pastor and a chiropractor that utilizes prayer, seeking to pursue chiropractor school after receiving his Masters. Before Yale Divinity, Noah based his research on multiple factors of Pasifika healing throughout past and current History including understanding the philosophy and techniques of the Hawaiian martial art of lua, an art specializing in bone breaking and healing. He is currently a chaplain for the Yale Football team and doing community outreach projects virtually from Oahu specifically the Kalihi area, his hometown of South Central Los Angeles, and locally here around New Haven Green. He holds a bachelor degree in Religious Studies and a Holistic Care minor from Whittier College.
Communications and Publication Coordinator
Riley Erlandson is a first-year Master of Arts in Religion candidate at Yale Divinity School, concentrating in Ethics with a particular interest in theological environmental ethics. Originally from Minnesota, she is a recent graduate from Concordia College where she majored in Biology and Neuroscience with a minor in Religion. She is especially interested in teaching, organizing environmental advocacy and earth-renewing practices within religious communities, and engaging global interfaith networks in climate solutions. In her free time, Riley enjoys losing herself in a good book, cooking for and with loved ones, and making art and music.
Communications and Publication Coordinator
Weixi is a second-year Master in Public Health candidate and first-year Master in Environmental Science candidate in the joint degree program between the Yale School of Public Health and the Yale School of Environment. She is in the Global Health concentration in YSPH and a student in Michelle Bell's lab in YSE. She is interested in the effects of climate change, environmental pollution on human health, especially among vulnerable populations from the environmental justice perspective. She graduated with a Bachelor in Science degree in Environmental Science from the University of Manchester in the UK in 2017.
Sponsorship and Grants Coordinator
Ross is a first year Masters of Environmental Management student at the Yale School of the Environment. His focus is on wildlife coexistence, ecosystem connectivity, environmental sociology and the repopulation of wild bison in North America. Prior to Yale, he worked in public policy, decarbonization campaigns, grassroots activism, and the conservation of wildlife--especially bison-- in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. I am excited to be involved with the GCRE because it will help deepen people's spiritual relationship with the natural world and enrich lives and ecosystems.
