NAU Geography, Planning and Recreation Department

🌿✨ Through leadership and vision, Thomasene Cardona co-founded the Yavapai Land and Culture Collective alongside Dr. Emanuel Preciado, helping return focus to Yavapai land, culture, and community-rooted knowledge. Her work exemplifies meaningful community engagement, Indigenous leadership, and scholarship grounded in responsibility and care. This initiative was supported by NAU's Maxwell Lutz Community Impact Award. We celebrate their dedication to honoring the past while shaping a more just and connected future.

🎉 Congratulations to Andrue Padilla, recognized as an Outstanding Senior in Parks and Recreation! 🌲✨

This recognition celebrates exceptional scholarship and service, and Andrue’s dedication to parks, recreation, and community engagement truly stands out. The NAU Department of Geography, Planning and Recreation is proud of Andrue’s hard work, leadership, and meaningful contributions during his time at NAU. Well deserved!

🎉 Congratulations to Zoë Lloyd, recognized as Northern Arizona University’s Geography, Environment and Society Outstanding Senior for Fall 2025! 🌎✨

This honor celebrates exceptional scholarship and service among our graduates, and Zoë’s dedication, insight, and contributions truly exemplify the spirit of the discipline. The NAU Department of Geography, Planning and Recreation is incredibly proud of her work and the impact she has made during her time at NAU. We can’t wait to see what’s next!

🌍 Meet Griffin Franklin — a graduate student in our MS in Geography program at NAU who is committed to exploring how landscapes and human systems interact under changing environmental and social conditions. Griffin’s work embodies our mission of training community-engaged scholars and equipping the next generation of geographers to understand the spatial complexities of our world. We’re proud to spotlight him during Geography Awareness Week!

✨ Congratulations to Zoë Lloyd — Fall 2025 Gold Axe Award Recipient! ✨

Zoë has been recognized among the top 1% of graduating seniors at NAU for her exceptional leadership, service, and academic excellence. As a driving force behind the Geography, Environment, and Society Club (GESC), Zoë helped shape the club’s identity as a welcoming, inclusive space for students across campus. She also brought her cartographic expertise to NAU’s Intern-to-Scholar Program, where she designed an impressive suite of StoryMaps featured at the ESRI Education Summit and User Conference, NAU’s Undergraduate Research Symposium, and the Association of Pacific Coast Geographer's Conference.

Zoë’s dedication to mentorship, collaboration, and innovation exemplifies the spirit of NAU and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. 🌍💙

“I am eternally grateful for the experiences, mentorship, and guidance I have received throughout my undergraduate journey. These experiences have shaped my growth and prepared me to confidently continue into my graduate studies at NAU.” — Zoë Lloyd

Zoë selected Dr. Josh Merced as her "Educator of Influence"! Congratulations.

Celebrating an incredible Geography Awareness Week with big wins for NAU Geography, Planning & Recreation at this year’s Association of Pacific Coast Geographers Meeting in Santa Clarita, California! 💙🌎

We’re proud to recognize our outstanding researchers:
✨ Zoe Lloyd, recipient of the Undergraduate President's Award for an Outstanding Paper for her work with the World Geo Open Educational.
✨ Brandon Wang, awarded the Undergraduate Geosystems Award for Best Applied Geography/Earth Systems Student Paper for his NSF REU research at Georgia State University.
✨ Dr. Josh Merced, honored with the Jan Monk Early Career Faculty Research Award, celebrating his impactful scholarly contributions.
✨ And a special shoutout to Zoe and Brandon for earning Travel Awards to support their participation and research dissemination.

So proud of our Lumberjack geographers pushing the field forward! 🌲📍

🌍 Meet Tessa Collins, a dedicated graduate student in our MS in Geography program at NAU! Tessa brings a “middle ground” mindset—rooted in physical, social and environmental justice scholarship—to her geographic research. We’re proud to have her in our department, where she is training to become a thoughtful geographer and change-maker.

🌍 Meet Sam Scarborough — a motivated graduate student in our MS in Geography program at NAU, Sam brings a unique lens to geographic research, focusing on how regional landscapes and human systems interact under shifting environmental conditions. His drive and curiosity embody the spirit of our program as we train the next generation of geographers, community-engaged scholars, and world-changers. We’re proud to highlight Samuel this Geography Awareness Week.

🌍 Meet Hannah Kenyon — a dedicated graduate researcher in our Geography program at NAU. Hannah brings a sharp focus to exploring social-ecological systems, GIS, and the emerging role of AI in geographic inquiry. Her work embodies our program’s commitment to training community-engaged scholars and equipping the next generation of geographers to make meaningful impact. We’re excited to celebrate Hannah’s contributions this Geography Awareness Week and beyond. 💡

🌍 Meet Kaeli Wells, a graduate student in our MS in Geography program at NAU. Kaeli brings an inspiring blend of passion and purpose to the discipline—her background in environmental education and public land advocacy gives her the grounding to engage deeply with place-based research, community-driven partnerships, and sustainability in action. We’re proud to highlight Kaeli during Geography Awareness Week and celebrate how she’s helping shape the future of geography at NAU.

🌍 Introducing Dr. Emanuel Preciado — a scholar-activist in urban and environmental planning whose research tackles structural inequities, working with communities to envision more just and vibrant cities. He holds a Ph.D. in Urban & Environmental Planning & Policy, and his dissertation “Seeds of Resistance: To Cultivate the Land is to Cultivate Liberation” reflects his commitment to land-based justice and collective empowerment. At our department, Dr. Preciado blends rigorous scholarship with real-world engagement, challenging us all to ask how planning can serve people most impacted by urban change. Reach out and connect with him at [email protected] as he helps shape tomorrow’s scholars and cities.

🌎 Meet Dr. Brian Petersen - Associate Professor in the Department of Geography, Planning & Recreation at NAU. He brings a deep commitment to studying the intersections of environment, society and sustainability. His research explores how landscapes, natural resources and human systems evolve together, and his teaching invites students to engage critically with real-world geographic challenges. Want to learn more or connect? E-mail him at [email protected].