Regular Faculty
Bhavna Shamasunder, Chair
Associate Professor and Chair, Urban and Environmental Policy
B.S./B.A., UC San Diego; M.ES., Yale University; Ph.D., UC Berkeley
Bhavna Shamasunder teaches and conducts research at the intersection of environmental health & justice with a focus on inequalities in chemical exposures faced by low-income communities and communities of color who live and work in urban and/or industrial environments.
Mijin Cha
Associate Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy
B.S., Cornell University; J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law; LLM, Ph.D., University of London
J. Mijin Cha's research and teaching interests are in the areas of climate justice, environmental justice, labor movements, and the intersection of labor and climate justice. Dr. Cha is a fellow at Cornell University's Worker Institute, where she works on the Labor Leading on Climate initiative. Her recent research is on "just transition," how to transition workers and communities equitably into a low-carbon future. Dr. Cha is on the board of the Center on Race, Poverty, and the Environment and a member of the California Bar.
Peter Dreier
E.P. Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics; Professor, Urban & Environmental Policy
B.A., Syracuse University M.A., Ph.D., University of Chicago
Peter Dreier has been involved in urban policy as a scholar, government official, reporter, and advocate for 30 years.
Martha Matsuoka
Associate Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy; Executive Director, Urban & Environmental Policy Institute; Interim Faculty Director, Center for Community Based Learning
A.B., Occidental College; M.C.P., UC Berkeley Ph.D., UCLA
Martha Matsuoka ’83 focuses her teaching and research on issues such as metropolitan regionalism, sustainable community development, social movements, and environmental justice.
Seva Rodnyansky
Assistant Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy
B.A., Northwestern University; Ph.D., University of Southern California
Seva Rodnyansky’s research focuses on urban policy related to housing, transportation, residential mobility and neighborhood change. Read his Oxy Story profile.
Non-Tenure Track Faculty
Janis Breidenbach
Visiting Assistant Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy
B.A., M.A., UCLA; Ph.D., Prescott College
Rick Cole
Visiting Assistant Professor, Urban and Environmental Policy
A.B., Occidental College; M.S., Columbia University
Joshua Nicholas McGuffie
Visiting Instructor, Urban & Environmental Policy
B.A, University of California, Los Angeles; M.Div., Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary; M.A., Oregon State University; P.h.D., UCLA (in progress)
Fernanda Jahn Verri
Visiting Assistant Professor, Urban & Environmental Policy
B.A., M.A., Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul; Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Bonnie S. Wang
Visiting Instructor, Urban & Environmental Policy
B.A., National Chengchi University; M.A., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Ph.D., USC (in progress)
John (Gus) Wendel
Visiting Assistant Professor, Urban & Environmental Policy
B.A., Brown University; M.A., Ph.D., UCLA
Steve Zimmer
Visiting Instructor, Urban and Environmental Policy
B.A. Goucher College; M.S. CSU Los Angeles