Heather L Benson

Contact Information

• Email: hream@nevada.unr.edu

Degrees

• MS, Interdisciplinary Studies (Focus: Geogspatial Analysis), California State University Stanislaus, 2016
• BA, Geography (minor: Global Issues and Development), California State University Stanislaus, 2016

Biography

Advisor: Jessie Clark

Research Interests: Human Geography, Ethnic/Cultural Geography, Migration, Transnationalism

Biography: Heather was born in Southern California, grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Yosemite, completed a BA and MS in the Central Valley, and moved to the Lake Tahoe region in recent years to pursue a PhD at University of Nevada, Reno. While attending college, Heather worked simultaneously as a field technician/chain man/cartographer, drafting maps for a land surveyor in Mariposa County. Additionally, she has volunteered for a number of philanthropic organizations; the Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association (TAMBA), Upper Merced River Watershed Council, Mountain Crisis Services, Mariposa Playhouse, and Court Appointed Special Advocates. 

When she isn't busy with research, she enjoys mountain biking, international travel, creative writing, live theater and performance art. 

Publications

MS Thesis: Ethnic Foodways in the Making of Transnationals: CEntral Valley Sikhs, California State University, Stanislaus, 2016.