People
Directors
Faculty Co-Director
David M. Kennedy is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus. Professor Kennedy received the Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1988. He was … Read More »
Faculty Co-Director
Richard White, the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History, is widely regarded as one of the nation’s leading scholars in three related fields: the Amer … Read More »
Executive Director
Jon Christensen has been associated with the Center since its founding in 2002-2003, when he was a Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford. Jon was an environmental journalist and science writer for 2 … Read More »
Staff
Financial and Human Resources Manager
Laura Ma brings deep knowledge and experience with Stanford's systems, as well as a fascinating, rich life history to the Center. Laura grew up in Hong Kong, received her B.A. in Economics f … Read More »
Director, Rural West Initiative
John spent nearly 30 years at NPR as an award-winning editor, correspondent and news executive. He established two of the news department’s fundamental operating elements, both the Nationa … Read More »
Creative Director for Media and Communications
Geoff McGhee specializes in interactive data visualization and multimedia storytelling. He is a veteran of the multimedia and infographics staffs at The New York Times, Le Monde and ABCNews.com. Ge … Read More »
Program and Research Associate
Heather West coordinates our summer internship program, our work with undergraduate research assistants, and our events. Heather will also work with our program on Wat … Read More »
Postdoctoral Fellows
Postdoctoral Fellow
Brenda Frink is a postdoctoral scholar at the Lane Center. She received a Ph.D. in history from Stanford University in 2010. Her current book project focuses on historical memory in Californi … Read More »
Postdoctoral Fellow
Her current research project, "Access and Mobility in the American West," explores the scientific and policy worlds of roadkill prevention and their intersections with other forms of h … Read More »
Postdoctoral scholar
Maria J. Santos received a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California Davis in 2010. She came to the Lane Center in 2012, after a year as a postdoctoral research fellow at the Museum of Ver … Read More »
Researchers
Visiting Scholar
Kevin Hearle received his A.B. in English from Stanford in 1980 and his Master of Fine Arts from the Writers' Workshop of the University of Iowa in 1983 in poetry, and received a Masters (19 … Read More »
Researcher, California Constitutional Reform
Thad Kousser is an Associate Professor of Political Science at University of California, San Diego. He was a visiting Associate Professor of Political Science at the Center, and a National Fello … Read More »
Research Assistants
Research Assistant
Julia Barrero is entering her second year as a Stanford undergraduate. Her research with the Bill Lane Center for the American … Read More »
Research Assistant
Aline Bass is a sophomore planning to major in either History or International Relations with a minor in Chinese. She has been interested in environmental issues, especially water scarcity, since h … Read More »
Research Assistant
Judee Burr is an undergraduate student in Stanford’s class of 2012, majoring in Earth Systems, with a focus in Land Systems, and Philosophy. She has been involved in environmental research an … Read More »
Research Assistant
Matt Grossman is a junior economics major. At the Bill Lane Center, where he is a research assistant to David Kennedy and John McChesney, his work focuses on using statistical analysis to explain e … Read More »
Research Assistant
The walls of Annie's compact dorm room speak volumes. They tell the tales of high-alpine trekking (and trudging) in Bhutan, Nepal, Corsica, and beyond, of endurance running through the Hoh Rain … Read More »
Research Assistant
Matthew Miller is a man of many hats: a racial justice organizer, an urban planning hopeful, a young educator, and to most professionals (including the Center), an environmen … Read More »
Research Assistant
Michael Pearce is a Junior History major from San Jose, California. His interest in environmental and legal history, particularly i … Read More »
Research Assistant
From exploring slot canyons in Utah to investigating insect thermodynamics in the Rockies to predicting patterns of development in California’s Central Valley, Jenny Rempel is deeply in love … Read More »
Research Assistant
Elle Stuart is a sophomore History and the Law major from Tucson, Arizona. Her love for Southwestern culture and the West in general first led her to the Bill Lane Center, where she works as a rese … Read More »
Research Assistant
Elizabeth Titus is a reporter and rural-California native. She got her start in journalism at The Ferndale Enterprise, the weekly newspaper her family publishes in northern California. … Read More »
Research Assistant
Dani Uribe is a senior majoring in International Relations, focusing on historical and political analysis. She is also pursuing a minor in African Studies. As a political asylee from Colombia, she … Read More »
