CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
Esaac Mazengia is a first year PhD student in the Environmental Studies department at UC Santa Cruz, working with Dr. Mijin Cha on the political ecology of a Just Energy Transition in California. Before coming to UC Santa Cruz, Esaac completed his Master of Environmental Science at the Yale School of the Environment under the mentorship of Dr. Dorceta Taylor.
A current fellow with the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Program & University of California Cota-Robles fellowship, Esaac’s most recent research explores the socio-ecological impacts of California's offshore wind development and the political, ecological, and justice implications of such projects. When not researching, Esaac loves to bake, play board games, and participate in a variety of outdoor recreation activities, including hiking, kayaking, nature photography, and camping with friends and family.
Previous Educational Experience:
Bachelor of Science: Environmental Science | University of Washington
Masters of Environmental Science | Yale University
Graduate Directory Page: https://envs.ucsc.edu/about/grad-directory.php?uid=emazengi
Esaac Mazengia (He/Him)
2nd yr Phd Student
University of California - Santa Cruz Environmental Studies
Hunter Moskowitz is a research specialist at the Just Transition Lab at the University of California Santa Cruz, working on projects related to just transition in the fossil fuel industry and environmental and labor justice in the renewable energy economy. He has previously worked on similar research at Occidental College and the Worker Institute at Cornell University. He is currently a PhD. Candidate in World History at Northeastern University studying labor history in the US and Mexico during the nineteenth century and a fellow at the Northeastern Humanities Center.
Previous Educational Experience:
Bachelor of Science: Industrial and Labor Relations | Cornell University
Personal Website: https://huntermoskowitz.com/
Hunter Moskowitz PhD (He/Him)
Research Associate
Northeastern University | World History
LAB ALUMNI
Scarlett Ortega Velez is a fourth-year transfer undergrad, majoring in environmental studies and economics. A Building Belonging Fellow with the UCSC Institute for Social Transformation in the Just Transitions Lab, Scarlett is working as an undergraduate research assistant on the CARB community research project. While working as a seminar coordinator in the ENVS Department, Scarlett was inspired by all the speakers and the work put into their research and hopes to follow a similar trajectory. Outside of research, you can find Scarlett reading a book or making collages with their K-pop albums.
Previous Educational Experience:
Associate of Science: Natural Science and Mathematics | Los Angeles City College
Associate of Arts: Liberal Arts and Humanities | Los Angeles City College
Scarlett Ortega Velez (She/Her)
4th yr Undergraduate Student
University of California - Santa Cruz Environmental Studies & Economics
Jonah Henry is a fourth-year transfer student at UCSC completing a B.A. in Environmental Studies with a concentration in Economics. He is interested in the opportunities and challenges that the energy transition presents for low-income countries. He is currently conducting his senior thesis research under the guidance of Professor Cha on Western development aid interventions in the clean cooking sector in Sub-Saharan Africa. He is a steering member of Sunrise Santa Cruz, a student-led climate activist group, and a UCOP Bonnie Reiss Leading on Climate Action Fellow, where he serves as the system-wide undergraduate representative to the UCOP’s Global Climate Leadership Council (GCLC) and Sustainability Steering Committee (SSC). After graduating he hopes to pursue a career in climate activism.
Previous Educational Experience:
Associate of Science: Environmental Economics | Santa Monica College
