Melanie Colavito

Director of Policy and Communications

Melanie Colavito is the Director of Policy and Communications with the Ecological Restoration Institute at Northern Arizona University. Melanie directs government relations, public policy analysis, social science knowledge development and application, and communication services at the ERI. Melanie is a social scientist with a background in researching the human dimensions of forest and fire management and has been with the ERI since 2017. She has a PhD in Geography with a minor in remote sensing and spatial analysis from the University of Arizona and also completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy in Fairbanks, Alaska. Melanie was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona. She is motivated to work toward science-based, collaborative solutions to restoration and climate adaptation with diverse partners across Western forest and woodland landscapes.

Education

• PhD School of Geography and Development, minor in remote sensing and spatial analysis, University of Arizona, Tucson, 2015
• Graduate Certificate in College Teaching, University of Arizona, Tucson, 2013
• MA School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, Tucson, 2009
• Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems, University of Arizona, Tucson, 2009
• BA School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, Tucson 2007

Research Interests

• Ecological restoration, collaborative forest restoration, use of science in decision-making and policy, science communication, knowledge co-production, forest and fire ecology, climate change, resilience, spatial analysis and modeling

Relevant Publications

See Melanie’s publications on Google Scholar.