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, policy analysis, and social science knowledge development and application 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 University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Melanie was born and raised in Flagstaff, Arizona. She is motivated to work toward science-based, collaborative solutions to restoration with 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

• Social science, forest restoration, collaboration, decision support tools, decision-making, and science communication

Relevant Publications

See Melanie’s publications on Google Scholar.