Marissa Matsler

I was recently accepted into the Urban Studies PhD program at Portland State University, and was awarded an IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Tranineeship) by NSF. My interest and acceptance into this program is directly related to my time at Ecosa, where I was first exposed to the joys of working in an interdisciplinary group, realizing the power of integrating different backgrounds and points of view. Our Ecosa group in 2006 included a linguist, an engineer, a river-raft guide, a bull-rider (well in his past life :)...), a biologist, an architect, a carpenter, an artist, a raw-foods 'baker' - all interested in improving the urban condition and making human lives more sustainable.

When I came to Ecosa, I had just graduated with my BS in Marine Biology and I felt trapped in the "scientist" box. I wanted to be a green architect and I didn't know where to start. Ecosa provided an opportunity to experience and experiment in a field different from my basic training and gave me the confidence to pursue my "green' dreams. Throughout the program, I learned about many different fields of study, and realized that I didn't actually want to be an architect. My skill set was better suited for the world of urban planning and policy. And that distinction was incredibly important moving forward in my life.

After Ecosa, I jumped around alot, back into my "scientist box" doing field work and teaching outdoor education. Eventually I ended up in Connecticut, teaching on a tall ship. While there, a familiar name from Ecosa came up in conversation with the sustainability community I was getting to know in the area. Stephan Kellert, I discovered, was teaching at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. My boss encouraged me to check out the master's program and meet with Kellert and other green building and planning experts. 

Upon visiting Yale FES, I fell in love with the program, the ideas, and the people. It was an unexpected surprise - with my west coast upbringing I did not think I would fit in the east coast ivy league experience - but FES was decidedly different. I completed my Masters of Environmental Management in May of 2010, where I studied the social and economic impacts of wave energy on the Oregon coast, as well as stormwater and wastewater infrastructure. 

Ecosa began me on the path that I am forging today. It is not a well-traveled path, like the one I was on before I came to Ecosa. Instead, I am making my own way, working in-between disciplines and combining a variety of experiences. 

Specifically, I will be studying decentralized urban stormwater infrastructure, both in Portland, OR and abroad - a topic first introduced to me by Brad Lancaster during my Ecosa semester. That field trip inspired my quest to learn as much as possible about stormwater and wastewater treatment here in the states and I have studied many different techniques for the wet landscape of the Pacific NorthWest since I left Arizona. 

So, all in all, life has been going well since I "graduated" from Ecosa! Just got married last summer to a theoretical physicist who is teaching at Western Oregon University. It's great to have an interdisciplinary marriage - he really adds alot of insight to my work. 

Glad to hear that Ecosa is expanding into so many new avenues!! I hope to come and visit one of these days as I miss the beautiful high desert.