About the Author

Sallie Marston received her Ph.D. in geography from the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is a full professor in the School of Geography and Development at the University of Arizona. Her undergraduate teaching focuses on political and cultural geography through innovative teaching and learning initiatives. She is the recipient of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award as well as the University of Arizona's Graduate College Graduate and Professional Education Teaching and Mentoring Award. She teaches an undergraduate course on community engagement through school gardens and another on culture and political economy through the HBO television show, The Wire. She is the author of over 100 journal articles, book chapters, and books and serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals and received the Association of American Geographers' Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.

Paul Knox received his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Sheffield, England. After teaching in the United Kingdom for several years, he moved to the United States to take a position as professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech. His teaching centers on urban and regional development with an emphasis on comparative study. He has written several books on aspects of economic geography, social geography, and urbanization and he serves on the editorial board of several scientific journals. In 1996 he was appointed to the position of University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech, where he currently serves as Senior Fellow for International Advancement, and International Director of the Metropolitan Institute. He is co-author of Pearson's introductory human geography textbook, Human Geography: Places and Regions in Global Context, along with numerous other geography books.

Diana Liverman received her Ph.D. in geography from the University of California, Los Angeles. Born in Accra, Ghana, she is the co-director of the Institute of the Environment and Regents Professor of Geography and Development at the University of Arizona. She has also taught geography at Oxford University, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Her teaching and research focus on global environmental change, environment and development, and Latin America. She has served on many national and international advisory committees dealing with environmental issues and climate change and has received prestigious awards from the Association of American Geographers and Royal Geographical Society for her work.

Vincent J. Del Casino Jr. received his Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Kentucky in 2000. He is currently Professor of Geography and Development and Associate Dean, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Arizona. He is part of the Social and Cultural Geography and Dialogues in Human Geography editorial boards as well as the AAG Membership Committee. He was previously Professor of Geography at California State University, Long Beach. He has held a Visiting Research Fellow post at The Australian National University, and completed NSF supported research in Thailand. His current research reflects his ongoing interests in the areas of social and health geography, with a particular emphasis on HIV transmission, the care of people living with HIV and AIDS, and homelessness. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on his research, and he recently completed an upper-division textbook on social geography: A Companion to Social Geography (Wiley-Blackwell). He has served as Chair of the Cultural and Political Ecology Specialty Group of the AAG. His teaching focuses on social geography, geographic thought, and geographic methodology. He also teaches a number of general education courses in geography, including world regional geography, which he first began teaching as a graduate student in 1995.

Paul Robbins received his Ph.D. in geography from Clark University in 1996. He is Professor and Director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. Previously, he taught at the University of Arizona, Ohio State University, the University of Iowa, and Eastern Connecticut State University. His teaching and research focus on the relationships between individuals (e.g., homeowners, hunters, professional foresters), environmental actors (e.g., lawns, elk, mesquite trees), and the institutions that connect them. He and his students seek to explain human environmental practices and knowledge, the influence the environment has on human behavior and organization, and the implications this holds for ecosystem health, local community, and social justice. Robbins's past projects have examined chemical use in the suburban United States, elk management in Montana, forest product collection in New England, and wolf conservation in India. He has won several awards in recognition of distinguished research, professional activities, and innovative publication.