If your organization has a need that you believe could be served by an applied research project supported by UNC Asheville faculty, let us know. We can match you with a dedicated student to develop a proposal. We would be happy to share information from your organization with interested students and have them follow up with you directly to further develop ideas. For more information, please email Dr. Casey King, cking10@unca.edu.
McCullough Institute at UNC Asheville
Welcome to the McCullough Institute
The McCullough Institute for Conservation, Land Use, and Environmental Resiliency is designed to be a national model for applied research addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing communities today. The institute focuses on land use and conservation, urban planning, sustainable agriculture, and environmental resilience and sustainability—fields that are critical to building healthier, more sustainable regions. Launched in summer 2015, the McCullough Fellows Program offers a competitive, mentored research experience for UNC Asheville students.
About the McCullough Fellowship
About the McCullough Fellowship
Student fellows design and complete faculty-advised, applied research projects in partnership with local organizations across Western North Carolina. Each fellowship includes student funding, materials support, and stipends for faculty mentors and community partners, ensuring meaningful collaboration and real-world impact. Apply in Spring for the Summer-Fall research period. Sign up for an information session to get started!
Highlighting Student Success
The McCullough Fellowship program provides intensive mentorship and hands-on learning opportunities during the summer and fall semesters. Students gain practical, career-relevant experience in areas such as data analytics and mapping, environmental and administrative law, emerging technologies, and ecosystem preservation—while addressing critical needs identified by community-based businesses and organizations.
Named in honor of Dr. Charles T. McCullough Jr., who devoted his life to civic and environmental advocacy, the institute was established through a $1 million endowment from Dr. McCullough and his wife, Shirley Anne McCullough. In addition to advancing applied research, the institute works with faculty to develop professional certifications in environmental studies and policy, expanding career pathways and job opportunities for students pursuing environmental and sustainability-focused careers.
How Three Students' Fieldwork is Advancing the Sciences and Supporting Communities in Western NC
Meet a few of the 2025 McCullough Fellows as they share their research experiences and reflect on how the fellowship helped them to achieve their goals while giving back to their communities.
UNC Asheville McCullough Fellow Lights the Way Toward a Greener Future
Senior chemistry student and McCullough Fellow Adam Wold is driving real sustainability research at UNC Asheville — applying curiosity, science, and hands-on work to power meaningful environmental impact and chart a greener future.
McCullough Fellows 2024
The prestigious McCullough fellowship allows undergraduate students to spend the summer deeply engaged in applied research addressing challenges in land use and conservation, urban planning, sustainable agriculture, and resilience and environmental sustainability—all in collaboration with community partners and under the guidance of expert faculty mentors.
Senior Seminar Scholars - Felipe Ahumada: Economics
Senior economics major Felipe Ahumada took a different research route and applied economics to the prestigious McCullough Fellowship, which focuses on conservation, land use, and environmental resiliency
Students Take On Sustainability Research
A Celebration of the 2023 McCullough Fellows
Sustainability Education at UNC Asheville
This Year’s McCullough Fellows Explore Mushrooms, EVs, Food Justice and More
McCullough Fellows: Then and Now
UNC Asheville Sustainability Students’ Journeys After Graduation
Then and Now, Part II
UNC Asheville Sustainability Students’ Journeys After Graduation
A Summer of Sustainability
Five New McCullough Fellows Take on Real World Research
McCullough Fellows Working locally for global impact
The McCullough Fellows program at UNC Asheville empowers undergraduate students to dive into faculty-mentored, applied research that tackles real environmental, land-use, and sustainability challenges in Western North Carolina. Through competitive fellowships that provide funding and professional support, students collaborate with local partners on projects spanning conservation, urban planning, sustainable agriculture, resilience, and more — blending academic inquiry with hands-on impact in the community.
Meet the 2026 McCullough Fellows
Dylan Metcalf
Land-Use Change and Stormwater Implications: Identifying Runoff Sensitivity in Rapidly Urbanizing Mountain Communities of the Greater Asheville Area
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Caitlin Cook, Atmospheric Science
Community Partner: Nate Oblon, Woodfin
Wendy Acevedo Lule
Seeds of Success: A Digital Resource for Sustainable Agriculture and Migrant Education Advocacy
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Lei Han, New Media
Community Partner: Liceth Sherlin, Program Coordinator, Buncombe County Schools Migrant Education Program
Eliana Liantonio
Sustainable Agriculture In and Around Asheville - A Synthesis of Farmer Data Post-Helene Through Narrative Analysis
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Kirk Boyle, English
Community Partner: Dr. Heidi Blanck, Director of Programs & Impact and Local Food Research Center, ASAP
Sebastian Majano
Phytocapping: Quantifying a more sustainable method for landfill cell closure
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Jake Hagedorn, Environmental Science
Community Partner: Cassandra Lohmeyer, Recycling Coordinator, Buncombe County Solid Waste
Stephen Childs
Underwater: How WNC Small Businesses
Navigate Post-Flood Financing
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Muhammad Nawaz, Economics
Community Partner: Bekah Wallace, Director of Community Investments, Mountain BizWorks
Past McCullough Fellows
Atticus Brooks
Project: “From Awareness to Action: The Role of Native Pollinators in Influencing Public Support for Conservation Efforts”
Community Partner: Bryan Tompkins, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Faculty Advisor: Caitlin Brez, Psychology
Jade Bush
Project: “Hydrogeochemistry of a Southern Appalachian Wetland Post-Helene”
Community Partner: Kathryn Loughran, Botany Research Specialist, NC State Plant Conservation
Faculty Advisor: Jeff Wilcox, Environmental Science
Harshada Foote
Project: “Assessing Tropical Storm Helene Damage on UNCA’s Chestnut Ridge Forest to Guide Recovery”
Community Partner: Andy Tait, Forestry Director, EcoForesters
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Horton, Biology
Ian Miller
Project: “Controlled Pastured Poultry Impacts on Soil Properties and Biomass in Silvopasture Systems”
Community Partner: Lyric East, Farmer, Wild East Farm
Faculty Advisor: Jake Hagedorn, Environmental Science
Ximena Reyna-Campozano
Project: “Exploring Planting Patterns with Native Plants to Maximize Ecosystem Services”
Community Partner: Copland Rudolph, Asheville City Schools Foundation
Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Rhode Ward, Biology
Olivia Williams
Project: “Using Aquatic Macroinvertebrates to Assess Hurricane Helene’s Effect on Stream Health and Ecology in the Swannanoa River Watershed”
Community Partner: Renee Fortner, Director of Programs, RiverLink
Faculty Advisor: David Gillette, Environmental Science
Kasidy Loggins
Project: “Climate Emergency Preparedness in the Form of Self-Sufficiency”
Community Partner: Dulce Mirian Porras, Semilla de Vida Huertos and Elevate AVL
Faculty Advisor: Sara Sanders, STEAM Studio
Adam Wold
Project: “Designing Green-Solvent Processable Polymers for Organic Solar Cells”
Community Partner: Rob Simon, Sugar Hollow Solar, Commercial Inside Sales Coordinator
Faculty Advisor: Jeromy Rech, Chemistry
Ava Bjorkman-Tracy, Project: “Composting in Asheville: Assessing Current Practices and Exploring New Sustainable Solutions”
Community Partner: Casi Lohmeyer, Buncombe County Government
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Dee Eggers, Environmental Studies
Phoebe Carnes, Project: “Population Genomic Analysis of the Oconaluftee Manitoban Elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park”
Community Partner: Natrieifia Miller, Great Smokey Mountains National Park
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Graham Reynolds, Biology
Jane Jeffrey, Project: “Elohi Dinigatiyi: Exploring Co-Land Management in Sustainable Communities Amongst the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians”
Community Partner: Tommy Cabe, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Department of Natural Resources
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Trey Adcock, American Indian and Indigenous Studies
Kari Kvittem, Project: “Water quality monitoring on the French Broad: near real-time E. Coli estimators relative to turbidity, streamflow and season”
Community Partner: Anna Alsobrook, MountainTrue
Faculty Advisor: Dr. David Gillette, Environmental Studies
Nicole Mooradian, Project: “Bird Community Responses to Eastern Hemlock Mortality in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park”
Community Partner: Clayton Gibb, Blue Ridge Audubon
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Andrew Laughlin, Environmental Studies
Edwin Salas Acosta, Project: “The Last Chair of the Forest and the Plastic Bottle”
Community Partner: Jessica Orzulak, Asheville Art Museum
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Victoria Bradbury, New Media
Felipe Ahumada, Project: “The Economic Benefits and Value of Volunteer Management of Outdoor Recreation in Western North Carolina”
Community Partner: Carolina Mountain Club
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Brown, Economics
Hope Donnellan, Project: “Street-by-street: Mapping Urban Heat Islands in Asheville, NC”
Community Partner: GreenWorks
Faculty Advisor: Jackie Langille, Environmental Studies
Ava Ingle, Project: “Asheville-Buncombe Sustainable Microbrewery Initiative”
Community Partner: Asheville-Buncombe Air Quality Agency
Faculty Advisor: Evan Couzo, Atmospheric Science
Juliette Malowany, Project: “Photographing the Effects of Tourism in Roan Highlands”
Community Partner: US Forest Service
Faculty Advisor: Carrie Tomberlin, Art
Julia Thomas, Project: “Assessing soil arthropod and nematode biodiversity in Eastern Hemlocks following pesticide treatment”
Community Partner: Hemlock Restoration Initiative
Faculty Advisor: Camila Filgueiras, Biology
Andrea Carver, Interdisciplinary Studies
Project: “Bird Conservation through Lights Out Asheville”
Community Partner: Blue Ridge Audubon Society
Faculty Advisor: Andrew Laughlin, Environmental Studies
Owen McDonald, Mechatronics/Engineering
Project: “EV Charging Planning: Charger Where?”
Community Partner: Land of Sky
Faculty Advisor: Rudy Beharrysingh, Mathematics
Ari Puentes, Biology
Project: “Assessing the Effects of Prescribed Fires on Macrofungal Community Composition in Upland Mixed Oak-Pine Forests”
Community Partner: Asheville Mushroom Club
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Horton, Biology
Addison Wright, Mass Communication & Political Science
Project: “Applying Theories of Communication to Food Justice in Western NC”
Community Partner: Food Justice Planning Initiative
Faculty Advisor: Laura Meadows, Mass Communication
India Appleton, Project: “Making Solar More Affordable: Analysis of the 2021 Solarize Asheville-Buncombe County Campaign”
Community Partner: Blue Horizons Project
Faculty Advisor: Jake Hagedorn, Environmental Studies
Ally Fouts, Project: “Residents’ Perceptions of the Urban Tree Canopy in Asheville, North Carolina”
Community Partner: Center for Biological Diversity
Faculty Advisor: Leah Mathews, Economics
Anna-Lisa Keller, Project: “Inventorying UNC Asheville’s Forested Properties to Estimate Carbon Sequestration”
Community Partner: NC Forest Service
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Horton, Biology
Sarah McMullen, Project: “Exploring the Relationship between Herbaceous Forest Plants and Land Use History in Southern Appalachia: A Mixed Methods Approach”
Community Partner: Christmount Assembly
Faculty Advisor: Irene Rossell, Environmental Studies
Gabbie Moneymaker, Project: “The Perceived Effects of a Sensory Garden for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum”
Community Partner: Autism Society of NC
Faculty Advisor: Darren Bernal, Psychology
Zuria Butler, Project: “Evaluating the Effectiveness of Biological Artifact Collections”
Community Partner: Western North Carolina Nature Center
Faculty Advisor Andrew Laughlin, Environmental Studies
Madison Carson, Project: “Tracking Box Turtles and Promoting Turtle Citizen Science”
Community Partner: The North Carolina Arboretum
Faculty Advisor: Carrie Tomberlin, Art
Brenna Johnson, Project: “Quantifying Sustainability: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Energy Conservation Efforts at the Biltmore Estate”
Community Partner: The Biltmore Estate
Faculty Advisor: Jeff Shields, Management
Linnea van Manen, Project: “Assessing Living Roof Benefits for Pollinators”
Community Partner: Living Roofs, Inc.
Faculty Advisor: Cathy Whitlock, Math
Zane Carroll, Project: “An Analysis of Energy-Saving Modifications in Buncombe County, North Carolina”
Partner: Blue Horizons Project
Faculty Advisor: Evan Couzo, Education
Katie Caruso, Project: “Understanding Threats to the Riverside Shrub Spiraea virginiana: Utilizing Botanical Gardens as a Pathway to Native Plant Conservation”
Partner: Botanical Gardens at Asheville
Faculty Advisor: Jennifer Rhode Ward, Biology
Elsa Haun, Project: “Survey Populations of Rock Gnome Lichen to Provide Critically Needed Information for its Conservation in the Southern Appalachians”
Partner: Christopher Ulrey, Blue Ridge Parkway
Faculty Advisor: Irene Rossell, Environmental Studies
Karl Mueller, Project: “What Drives Consumers to Drive Electric Vehicles?: A Study of Consumer Preferences for Electric Vehicles in the Asheville, NC Market”
Partner: Duke Energy
Faculty Advisor: Kathleen Lawlor, Economics
Soni Pitts, Project: “Creating Healthy, Sustainable, and Deeply Affordable Communities: A Sustainability Action Plan for the Micro Home Village”
Partner: BeLoved Asheville
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Ameena Batada, Health and Wellness Promotion
Brittany Barker-Jones, Project: “French Broad River Rare Mussel Conservation”
Partner: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Faculty Advisor: Rebecca Hale, Biology
Shannon Bodeau, Project: “Sustainability through Kinship: Using Drawing and Mindfulness to Reveal the Interconnection Between All People and the Earth Ecosystem”
Partner: Climate Listening Project
Faculty Advisor: Tamie Beldue, Art
Kelley Coleman, Project: “Birds of the Greenway”
Partner: Green Opportunities
Faculty Advisor: Andrew Laughlin, Environmental Studies
Daniel Suber, Project: “Environmental Pathways”
Partner: Asheville GreenWorks
Faculty Advisor: Megan Underhill, Sociology
Katherine Tyrlik, Project: “Non-Invasive Population Survey of Hellbenders (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis) Using Nest Boxes”
Partner Organization: Wild South
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Graham Reynolds
Alex Blue, Project: “Dingle Creek Watershed Innovative Stormwater Project”
Partner: Riverlink
Faculty Advisor: Kevin Moorhead, Environmental Studies
Delandra Clark, Project: “Native Plant Workshop”
Partnering Organization: Villagers
Faculty Advisor: Cathy Whitlock, Math
Dylan Ryals-Hamilton, Project: “Food Cultivation in Urban and Public Green Spaces: Design, Management, Civic Engagement, and Lessons from the Field”
Partner: City of Asheville Office of Sustainability
Faculty Advisor: Dee Eggers, Environmental Studies
Sam Stanley, Project: “Screening American Chestnut for Resistance to Blight and Root Rot for Future Reintroduction in Southern Appalachian Forests”
Partner: American Chestnut Foundation
Faculty Advisor: Jonathan Horton, Biology
Dale Wright, Project: “Downtown Revitalization”
Partner: Asheville Design Center
Faculty Advisor: Victoria Bradbury, New Media
Carolina Arias, Project: “Strengthening the Roots: Strategies for Supporting Asheville’s Community Gardens”
Partner: Bountiful Cities
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Amy Lanou
Robert Chambliss, Project: “Historical and Contemporary Elevational Range and Connectivity among Montane Populations of a Threatened Salamander: Implications for a Changing Climate”
Partner: Wild South
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Graham Reynolds, Biology
Karl Knight, Project: “Connecting Farms and Food via Point-of-Sale Micro-Donations in Western North Carolina: Consumers’ Willingness-to-Pay for Conservation and Restaurants’ Role”
Partner: Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Kathleen Lawlor, Economics
Julia Krebs-Moberg, Project: “Investigating Best Practices to Develop a Curriculum for Community Resilience and Food Security”
Partner: Groundswell International
Faculty Advisor: Alison Ormsby, Environmental Studies
Collaborate with Us
Collaborate with Us
Our Staff and Advisory Board
Casey King
Lecturer of Environmental Science, Director of Sustainability
Office: 006 Karpen Hall
Phone: (828) 350-4556
Email: cking10@unca.edu
- Leslie Casse, Chair
- Annie Ager, Camp Director for Project HNG
- Marielle DeJong, Donor Engagement Officer, The Pisgah Conservancy
- Jay Leutze, Senior Advisor, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy
- Monte Parsons Gaillard, The French Broad River Garden Club Foundation
- Susan Roderick, Retired Asheville GreenWorks Director, Environmental Advocate
- Ford Willis, Town and Mountain Realty
- Mary Bruce Woody, Environmental Advocate
- Leah Wong Ashburn, Highland Brewing Co.
- In Remembrance of Oscar Wong (1940-2025), Highland Brewing Co.