Social Science Portal

A postdoctoral research opportunity in social science is available with US Forest Service (USFS), Pacific Northwest Research Station (PNW) in Seattle, Washington, or Portland or Corvallis, Oregon. This opportunity may start remotely due to the ongoing pandemic.

Lee Cerveny, Research Social Scientist, is looking to fill a position for a one-year postdoctoral research fellow to conduct research on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the USFS. This work could potentially expand to include agency interactions with communities, partners, other governmental agencies including tribes, or with resource users.  The person is being hired through the U.S. Department of Energy ORISE fellowship program and will work directly with a team of social scientists in Seattle.  

This post-doc begins August 2021 as a virtual position and will be completed by August 2022. The team seeks someone with strong social science research skills (both quantitative and qualitative would be ideal) and an interest in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). And, it would be beneficial if that person had a background or interest in institutional analysis, industrial or organizational sociology/psychology, business, or public administration. The postdoc will work with the team to develop 1 or 2 short-term studies that could be completed within a year to explore the role of public agency culture as well as the nature of work or the culture of that profession (wildland firefighting, forestry, law enforcement) and how that may play a role in shaping the work environment. This builds off some of the team’s previous work (in review) related to gender, diversity and inclusion in wildland firefighting in the Northwest.

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a nonpartisan, private charitable foundation that advances ideas and supports institutions to promote a better world. The foundation’s Environment Program focuses on conservation of the North American West and addressing climate change.

The Program Associate will support the Western Conservation Program Officer and the Environment Program Fellow, who manages the foundation's wildfire grantmaking. The position will report to the Western Conservation Program Officer.

Deadline: Open Until Filled

The Department of Interior's (DOI's) Office of Wildland Fire (OWF) and Office of Policy Analysis (PPA) are organizing the DOI Wildland Fire Workshop, to be held online in the fall of 2021. This workshop builds on the momentum of Reclamation's Wildfire Research Needs Workshop (led by John Whitler on April 6 and 7, 2021), and is an opportunity for those interested in issues related to wildland fire at Interior to come together for networking, learning, and discussing current issues.

Call for Presenters

The draft agenda includes "lightning rounds" to allow participants to learn about current work going on at Interior. Lightning-round presentations are brief summaries of in-progress work or completed projects. Please use the survey link below to send a brief description of your research by Friday, April 30.

Call for Session Facilitators

The draft agenda also includes two working sessions, where participants will be breaking into several smaller groups to address various aspects of how wildland fire intersects with (1) climate change, and (2) racial equity and disadvantaged communities. If you would be interested in serving as a chairperson or note-taker for any of these groups, please use the survey link below to let the workshop coordinators know by Friday, April 30.