Biography
Education
1996
Ph.D. in Rural Sociology
Pennsylvania State University
Dissertation: "Land Use Change and Community Involvement: A Lancaster County Case Study"
1990
M.S. in Wildland Resource Science
University of California, Berkeley
Thesis:"Participation and the Evolution of North Coast Environmental Protest: A Rural North Coast Community Case Study"
1988
B.A. Environmental Studies
B.A. Communication Studies
University of California, Santa Barbara
Areas of study: Environment, Communication
Graduated with Distinction in Environmental Studies and High Honors
About
Dr. Steinberg is excited to lead the Institute for Sustainability as we engage in interdisciplinary work, create collaborations and offer innovative learning and engagement opportunities. At Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State University) she served as Director of Community Research for the California Center for Rural Policy and most recently as the Director of Institute for Geospatial Education at UMass Global where she also served as Faculty President for four years. Her research interests include sustainability, environmental justice, culture and community engagement, research methods, JEDI, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), ethnicity, social inequality and policy. She developed an interest in these topics through living in nearly every region of the United States and serving as a United State Peace Corps Volunteer in Guatemala as part of the agroforestry program working with local people and teaching at the Universidad de San Carlos in Spanish.
Dr. Steinberg's most recent publication is as co-editor of a new volume entitled, Climate, Vulnerability and Health (Springer Press forthcoming 2025) and the edited volume entitled Resilient Communities Across Geographies (Esri Press 2021). Additionally, she has co-authored GIS Research Methods: The Geospatial Advantage (Esri Press 2015) and Extreme Weather, Health and Communities: Interdisciplinary Engagement Strategies (2016). Her research focuses on the connection between people, places and environments considering local knowledge, networks and the power of culture and community engagement to generate policy and action. While the position of Director of the Institute for Sustainability is campus-wide, Dr. Steinberg will call the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies her College home.