PSM Faculty and Research Staff

Dr. Tolessa Deksissa is the Director of the Water Resources Research and the founder and current Director of the Professional Science Master’s Program in Water Resources Management and the new UDC’s Environmental Quality Testing (EQTL) Laboratory. His research expertise includes water quality assessment and modeling, emerging contaminants, GIS-based modeling of green infrastructure,  trace metal analysis in urban soils, fate and transport of organic contaminants in water, modeling integrated urban wastewater system, adaptive water resources management, and fostering significant learning in sciences. Dr. Deksissa serves as a member of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Research and Outreach Collaborative Steering Committee and the emerging contaminant and agriculture working group of the Potomac Drinking Water Source Protection Partnership. He is currently spearheading the National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference Certification of the EQTL. Dr. Deksissa is also the co-founder of CAUSES. He earned his Ph.D. in Environmental Technology from Ghent University, Belgium. Contact: tdeksissa@udc.edu

Dr. Matthew Richardson is the Assistant Director for Urban Agriculture Research and Coordinator of the Professional Science Master’s Program in Urban Agriculture. He earned degrees in Biology and Entomology at the University of Delaware before completing his MS in Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences and PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign (UIUC). Prior to joining CAUSES, Dr. Richardson was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Crop Sciences at UIUC, a Research Entomologist with the USDA-ARS, and a Research Scientist with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute. He is a prolific author and his publications usually focus on his main research interests, which are to find practical solutions to conserve or restore species, natural communities, and ecosystem services. Dr. Richardson is also an active science educator who supports student learning through research internships, academic courses about natural resources and climate science, and community outreach. His commitment to outreach was recognized with a President’s Volunteer Service Award and a USDA Martin Luther King Jr. Drum Major for Service Award.
Contact: matthew.richardson@udc.edu

Dr. Mamatha Hanumappa is the project specialist for specialty and ethnic crops. She teaches courses in agroecology and climate change science and conducts research and community outreach in areas related to improving food and nutritional security in a changing climate. She coordinates UDC’s Professional Science Masters in Urban Agriculture program in addition to serving as the state coordinator for grant programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Dr. Hanumappa has research experience in a wide range of topics including urban agriculture, climate change adaptation, natural resource management, plant biotechnology, and bioinformatics. She was a recipient of Government of India fellowships throughout undergraduate and MS studies at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, India. She received a Ph.D. in Horticulture from the University of Maryland, USA., worked as a postdoctoral fellow at prestigious laboratories in the US, Japan, and South Korea, and has provided consultancy services to several organizations including theWorld Bank. Dr. Hanumappa is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Global Scholar Award to Kazakhstan for the academic year 2021-2022.

For a full CV of Dr. Hanumappa and her publications and accomplishments, click here.

Dr. Elizabeth Gearin is a policy and planning expert capable of effectively linking professional and academic planning disciplines. She is currently serving in a range of professional capacities, including as a policy and planning consultant; and as Chair of the Arlington County Planning Commission.

Prior to her current work, Dr. Gearin served as an NSF-funded graduate researcher at the University of Southern California. Before graduate school she served in a range of professional planning capacities, including as Housing Coordinator for the City of Livermore, California; as a Community Development Planner for the Contra Costa County California Redevelopment Agency; and as a Community Organizer in Chicago, Illinois for the Southwest Parish and Neighborhood Federation.

Dr. Gearin received a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan, a Master of City and Regional Planning (MCRP) degree from the California Polytechnic State University-San Louis Obispo, and a doctorate (PhD) in Public Policy and City and Regional Planning from the University of Southern California (USC). Her dissertation focused on assessing the child-friendliness of three iconic suburbs in the Washington D.C. metro area. Dr. Gearin is a member in good standing of the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP), holds a graduate certificate in Sustainable Cities from the University of Southern California, and a professional certificate in Housing Development Finance from the National Development Council. She has taught at USC and in the Wilder School at Virginia Commonwealth University as well as The College of Professional Studies at George Washington University. She is certified as both a Master Naturalist and an Audubon at Home Ambassador by Virginia Cooperative Extension. Born in Norwalk, Connecticut, Dr. Gearin spent her middle and high school years living in Taipei, Taiwan; Manila, Philippines; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; and Bangkok, Thailand. She lives with her family in Arlington, Virginia.

Kathy Denise Dixon, AIA, NOMA, LEED AP BD+C, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Urban Architecture and Community Planning and a licensed architect with over 20 years of experience. During her career, Kathy has worked on a number of educational facilities in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. She spent several years working on national contracts with the Federal Aviation Administration including Potomac TRACON and several Air Traffic Control facilities. Prior to moving to government and institutional projects, she worked for four years with McDonald’s Corporation developing new restaurants, site planning, designing commercial kitchens, and creating child-oriented play areas. Most recently, she has designed civic facilities and faith-based institutions including fire stations, churches, family life centers, and schools. Prof. Dixon holds a Master’s degree in Urban Planning, with a focus on Housing and Community Development. She is certified by the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environment Design Program the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, as well as CSI’s Certified Documents Technologist program.