Dr. Mele Wheaton is Associate Director of Program Strategy for the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at Stanford University. Prior to her position in E-IPER Mele was a research scholar in the Social Ecology Lab at Stanford University. Her research interests include behavior change, environmental learning, and equity and inclusion in conservation education. Mele managed projects including exploring the various pathways to environmental literacy, examining how social sciences are integrated into sustainability research, and connecting research and practice both in education and in conservation land management. Mele has studied environmental behavior change in nature-based tourism (including in collaboration with Oceanic Society’s behavior change program), with research sites in Galapagos and California, and examined the development of environmental identity. Prior to academia, Mele taught in a variety of outdoor education settings and worked as a field biologist.