Dr. Lorelei L. Hanson

Lorelei L. Hanson (she/her) is associate professor of Environmental Studies at Athabasca University. She works and lives on Treaty 6 territory, the traditional lands of many Indigenous peoples including the Nehiyawak/Cree, Tsuut'ina, Niitsitapi/Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Haudenosaunee/Iroquois, Dene Suliné, Anishinaabe/Ojibway/Saulteaux, and the Inuk/Inuit. For over two decades Hanson has undertaken community-based research, often working with and in rural communities and more recently, collaborating with Indigenous peoples. Her current research focuses on: utilizing counter-mapping to advance Indigenous and environmental justice in the Bighorn Country lands of Alberta; helping community economic development partners realize long-term climate action in their communities, while also advancing community capacity, resilience and climate justice, and; solar community energy development in Alberta. Hanson served as fellow with the Energy Futures Lab (2015- 2019), a social learning lab focused on identifying innovation pathways to transition Alberta’s energy system. Her publications include Public Deliberation on Climate Change: Lessons from Alberta Climate Dialogue (2018), an edited volume that evaluates the tensions, challenges and opportunities that emerge when publics are convened to deliberate on wicked issues like climate change, and peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Environmental Politics, The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies and Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability.

Discover my research

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Research interests

• Community energy
• Community-based research
• Sustainability transition
• Political ecology
• Environmental history
• Environmental justice

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Educational credentials

• PhD
• MES
• BES

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Professional affiliations

• City of Edmonton, Energy Transition Network
• Sustainability Transitions Research Network
• Environmental Studies Association of Canada
• National Farmers Union

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