For many years, Bellevue College faculty have been working to introduce our students to aspects of ongoing and future climate disruption that are appropriate to the topics in our classes. Some of us who have retired from full-time teaching are addressing such questions in our wider community as citizens rather than as teachers. Within Bellevue College, we are increasingly known as Emericorps, an echo of the US government agency, Americorps.
Brief bios of Emericorps faculty who are most directly involved in the BCCC Earth Week event are below.
Dr. Douglas Brown
Dr Douglas Brown is an astrophysicist and emeritus faculty member of the Bellevue College Physics Department. Prior to his teaching career at BC, he was a member of the University of Washington research faculty. His interest in climate dynamics initially arose from the recognition among astronomers that the atmospheres of Venus, Earth, and Mars were originally similar but evolved very differently because of greenhouse gas processes.
Dr. Helen Taylor
Dr. Helen Taylor is a psychologist and an emerita member of the psychology faculty at Bellevue College. Among other courses, she has taught positive psychology, abnormal psychology, and social psychology. She is interested in the impact of climate and environment on our mental health and well-being.
Wendy Pickering
Wendy Pickering is an emerita member of the English Language Institute faculty at Bellevue College. Throughout her teaching career, she integrated environmental sustainability and climate justice into her course curriculum at every opportunity. Wendy has a life-long passion for spending time in the natural world and for sharing its wonders with students, family, and friends, believing that we will protect what we truly love. Wendy enjoys hiking, skiing, biking, paddling, gardening, and sauntering through her community every morning with her husband and dog.
Kent Short
Kent Short is an emeritus faculty member in the Science Division at Bellevue College and has taught courses in oceanography, meteorology, and environmental science. His specialty for many years has been global climate change and its implications. Prior to coming to Bellevue College, Kent worked at the federal agency NOAA, and at several large and small environmental consulting companies.
Last Updated April 12, 2022