The Loka Team
Project Leads
Loka Alumni
Indigenous Advisory Council
Loka Faculty

The Loka Team

Dekila Chungyalpa
DIRECTOR

Jackie Chalghin
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Rusal Ferus
GRADUATE PROJECT ASSISTANT

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Tarunika Bharath
STUDENT ASSISTANT

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Nisch Neupane
PROGRAM MANAGER

Young woman hiking in mountains with forested slopes, wearing an orange jacket, black hat, and green neck gaiter, smiling at the camera.

Mirtha Sosa Pacheco
OUTREACH COORDINATOR

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Christy Wilson-Mendenhall
RESEARCH SCIENTIST

Project Leads

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Rev Ed Brown
Facilitator- Creation at the Crossroads

Khenpo Chheke Gurung
Coordinator - Khoryug

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Brian McInnes
Producer - Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth

Loka Faculty

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Trishna Gurung
Senior Director of Communications, TechnoServe

Rick Lindroth
Distinguished Fellow, Lumen Center
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Michael Notaro
Director, Scientist III, Center for Climatic Research

Jonathan Patz
Inaugural Director, Global Health Institute

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A smiling man wearing a light blue dress shirt in front of a window with closed blinds.

Susan Davidson
Physician in Maternal Fetal Medicine, Dean/SSM Health

Aaron Bird Bear
Professor Emeritus, American Indian Studies

Chantal Elkin
Head, World Wildlife Fund Belief and Values Programme

Richard Davidson
Founder & Director, Center for Healthy Minds

Steve Vavrus
Senior scientist, Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research

Paul Robbins
Dean of Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies

Loka’s Indigenous Advisory Council

Gary Besaw
Director of Agriculture & Food Systems, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

Juanita Cabrera Lopez
Executive Director of the International Mayan League

Janice Rice
Elder of the Ho Chunk Nation

Carla Vigue
Director of Tribal Relations - UW Madison

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Mike Wiggins Jr. - Emeritus
Director of Madeline Island Museum

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A man wearing glasses, a pink shirt, and a colorful, patterned vest with a large, round beaded necklace, speaking at a podium during a formal event, flanked by blurred audience members in the foreground.
A woman with long black hair wearing a patterned pink and purple top standing outdoors in a lush green garden.
A smiling woman with shoulder-length brown hair and glasses, wearing a blue scarf with black shamrocks, a black top, and a necklace, standing in front of a geometric-patterned woven wall hanging.

Loka Alumni

A young man smiling in an outdoor wetland with dried plants and leafless trees in the background.

Liam O’Connor
Research Assistant

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Nyagam Simon Wal
Student Assistant

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Julia De La Cruz
Student Assistant

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Kristina Fiedler
Student Assistant

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Roxanne Hoks
Researcher II

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Kristin Klingman
Program Assistant

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Jakob Moe
Student Assistant

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Ella Quainton
Student Assistant

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Salima Seale
Outreach Coordinator

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Young woman smiling and gesturing with her hand at the beach with cliffs and buildings in the background

Iris Ding
Research Assistant

Lois De Piesse
Program Administrator

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Pilar Gauthier
Research Postdoc

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A man with long dark hair and a beard sitting on a couch, leaning close to and looking at a beagle dog wearing a blue harness, in a cozy indoor setting.

Paul Franz
Education Specialist

Sonakshi Garr
Student Assistant

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Person holding a large, fluffy white cat that has a small unicorn horn attached to its head, indoors with a window and some balloons in the background.

M Vikas
Environmental Specialist

Teddy Zhang
Student Assistant

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