M Jackson, PhD ’17 (geography)

Geographer, Glaciologist, and National Geographic Society Explorer 

Growing up, M Jackson did not know that a career in science was possible for her. Jackson did not do well in math and science in school, and she had never met a scientist, much less a woman in glaciology.  

Prior to arriving at the UO to pursue a PhD in geography, Jackson earned her bachelor’s degree at Western Washington University, her master’s degree at the University of Montana, and completed a US Fulbright research fellowship in Turkey. In the process of applying to PhD programs, Jackson emailed numerous colleges about wanting to study how humans interacted with glaciers. Oregon emailed her back, saying she could study both in their geography program.  

During Jackson’s time at Oregon, she worked in the Glacier Lab under the supervision of Professor Mark Carey, where they created a feminist glaciology framework for environmental change. Jackson also gave a TEDx Talk about feminist glaciology and calling for more inclusivity in glacier science during her time at the UO. 

Since completing her thesis, “Tangled Up in Blue: Narratives of Glacier Change in Southeast Iceland,” and earning her PhD, Jackson has become a National Geographic Society Explorer, a host for Crash Course’s climate and energy series, published three books, and starred in Pirate Gold of Adak Island, a Netflix series about a team of elite treasure hunters trekking in the Alaskan wilderness in search of buried pirate gold. 

Read Oregon Quarterly’s feature on M Jackson 

Listen to M Jackson’s interview on the Duck Stops Here Podcast 
 

Brian Imus, BS ’96 (planning, public policy and management)

Executive Director at Illinois Green Alliance
 

After graduating from the University of Oregon in 1996, Brian Imus moved to the Midwest to pursue a career in public health and safety nonprofit work. He began his career at the Michigan chapter of the Public Interest Research Group as a field director and later worked there as state director. While working at PIRGIM, he contributed to a campaign to reduce mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants and advocated for legislative change related to urban sprawl. 

Imus’s work at PIRGIM led him to become the director of Illinois PIRG, and in 2013, he became the executive director of Illinois Green Alliance, a member-driven nonprofit working to foster a green building community and combat climate change. In this role, Imus manages operations, expands partnerships with sector leaders, and develops strategies to advance the latest trends and technologies.  

Recently, he helped launch Net Zero Honor Roll, which highlights projects in Illinois that are certified or working toward becoming net zero. He has also secured fifteen Neighborhood Power Project building pilots throughout Chicago neighborhoods, oversaw the expansion of the Illinois Green Schools Project to thirty schools and more than fifty professional mentors, served as a member of the City of Chicago’s Building Decarbonization Policy Working Group, and is a steering committee member for the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition. 

Imus was recently recognized as a Notable Leader in Sustainability by Crain’s Chicago in June 2022. 
 

Virginia Klausmeier, BS ’04 (general science), MS ’06 (human physiology)

President and CEO of Sylvatex

After Virginia Klausmeier graduated from the University of Oregon, she began her career in clinical technology data management and sustainable technology.  

Klausmeier has dedicated the past decade to working toward solutions for climate change, founding Sylvatex, a manufacturing technology company for electric vehicle batteries. Since founding Sylvatex in 2014, the company has won numerous awards at industry conferences and is a National Laboratories and USDA affiliate. Klausmeier is also a member of All Raise, Unreasonable Group, Alliance of Chief Executives, Astia, E2 Emerging Leaders, and Silicon Valley Leadership Group, which help advise and influence public policy in the climate technology industry and provide a community for minority-led organizations.  

Klausmeier has multiple patents pending for her work in climate technology and has been a speaker at numerous domestic and international events. She was selected as one of the “Top 10 Women in Biofuels” by Green Tech Media and was named by Forbes for “30 Under 30” in Energy. 
 

Rose Poton, BS ’20 (general social science), MS ’22 (conflict and dispute resolution)

Equity, Environmental Justice, and Racial Justice Specialist at Oregon Water Resources Department

Rose Poton is a Double Duck whose work focuses on approaching complex environmental issues and conflicts through community engagement with a health, equity, racial, and environmental justice lens.

Poton currently serves as equity, environmental justice, and racial justice specialist for the Oregon Water Resources Department. Beginning July 3, 2023, she will transition into a new role as Verde's new water justice coordinator. Prior to these roles, she was an environmental justice fellow and project manager for the Pacific Northwest Just Futures Institute for Racial and Climate Justice, a multidisciplinary collaboration between the UO’s College of Arts and Sciences and College of Design, alongside other partners. During her time with the institute, Poton supported the Willamette Partnership’s community-led drinking water quality testing program and the Oregon Water Futures Collaborative. This work earned her a Student Leadership in Sustainability Award in 2022.

Before earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the UO, Poton had a career in health care, working as a nursing assistant and nurse for twelve years. She maintains her nursing license by working part-time nursing hours. Through her work in the health care field, Poton said she recognized the significance that communities and environments have on one's individual health and wellbeing. This compelled her to make a career shift to environmental policy, where she’s able to support historically disadvantaged communities’ access to water and natural habitat care.
 

Amy Bowers Cordalis, BA ’03 (political science)
 

Co-principal at the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group 
 

Amy Bowers Cordalis is a mother, fisherwoman, attorney, and member of the Yurok Tribe. She is the co-principal of the Ridges to Riffles Indigenous Conservation Group, a nonprofit representing Indigenous tribes, organizations, and people in natural and cultural resource matters.  

Her work focuses on Klamath River restoration, including dam removal, water rights, and fisheries issues. She is the author of a forthcoming book, Child of Big Water, Indigenous Resistance, Resilience and Stewardship: A Family Story Behind the World’s Biggest River Restoration Project. Since colonization, every generation of her family has fought for Yurok rights, with their Supreme Court case, Mattz v. Arnett reaffirming the status of the Yurok Reservation as Indian Country. 

Cordalis graduated from the University of Oregon in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and a minor in environmental studies. She earned a law degree from the University of Denver. She served her tribe as general counsel and was a staff attorney at the Native American Rights Fund. 

Among other successes, she was named one of “100 Ducks who Made a Difference” in Oregon Quarterly magazine’s 100th anniversary issue, where she was included in a list of UO alumni, students, faculty members, staff, and friends making significant contributions to Oregon and the nation. Additionally, Cordalis will serve as the speaker at the UO’s 147th commencement ceremony, set for Tuesday, June 20. 
 

Greg Dotson, JD ’95

Associate Professor, UO School of Law Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center and UO Environment Initiative Senior Faculty Fellow 
 

Gregory Dotson leverages the law to mitigate climate change—advancing federal environmental legislation, interpreting it, and helping others put it to work.  

With the know-how for keeping the gears of Congress grinding forward, he has pushed bills through bureaucracies and expedited policy changes. It’s complex, nuanced work. But the results are palpable: reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks, farsighted environmental policies, federal support for renewable energy, and more. 

Dotson grew up in Virginia, rock climbing and backpacking in idyllic locales such as the New River Gorge National Park and Seneca Rocks. He taught at the National Outdoor Leadership School and climbed in destinations as diverse as Wales and Yosemite National Park. 

He parlayed this passion for the outdoors into a UO law degree with a focus on the environment—and opportunities to explore (and conserve) the wilder areas of the Pacific Northwest. Those regional journeys opened his eyes to more global concerns, especially climate change. 

For two decades working in the US House of Representatives, Dotson moved important environmental legislation forward. He also participated in crucial oversight efforts and investigations. 

Dotson joined the Oregon Law faculty in 2017, but it wasn’t long before Congress came calling. In 2021, Dotson took a leave of absence to serve as chief counsel for the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. In this key role, he helped write and pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022—landmark legislation that includes historic climate action.  

Back in the classroom, Dotson hopes to inspire his law students—many of them future environmental champions—by sharing all that practical experience. And he continues working to make sure the IRA is implemented effectively.