Advisory Council

Landing a job as an interpretive park ranger at the Grand Canyon ultimately brought our environmental studies guru, Nicole Ardoin, to Stanford where she leads key research focused on environmental behavior as influenced by environmental learning and motivated by place-based connections. An associate professor in the Graduate School of Education, senior fellow with the Woods Institute for the Environment, and director of the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, Nicole serves on the Directors Council for the d.school where she says she feels instantly more creative, energized and collaborative just walking across the threshold.

Her Social Ecology Lab includes interdisciplinary social-science scholars who address pressing environmental challenges through collaborations with community and nonprofit partners. They work to design innovative approaches grounded in theories from social psychology, sociology, anthropology, and the learning sciences. She also studies emerging trends in environment and conservation, including philanthropic support of conservation initiatives, international participation in the UN sustainable development goals, and the research/practice nexus.

When Nicole’s not studying the environment, she is out enjoying it: hiking, camping, and exploring tidepools on the coast. We’d expect nothing less from someone who says her inspiration is to spend as much time outside as possible, anywhere, anytime—and to be a great role model for her daughter.