Samantha Wyman

PhD Candidate

Harvard University

Research Interests: environment, agriculture, deindustrialization, politics, morality, recognition


I am a first-year PhD candidate in Sociology at Harvard University. My research explores how culture, political ideology, and morality inform support for environmental policies. Specifically, I study the relationship between rural collective identity and opposition to local energy transition policies in fossil fuel-producing communities in the US.



About Me

Research

Experience

  • Lead an interdisciplinary team of students to georeferenced over 50
    water utility maps in 4 months
  • Hold weekly meetings with the Tennessee Association of Utility Districts
    to resolve technical issues
  • Submit a 50-page manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed
    geography journal

  • Vanderbilt Drinking Water Justice Lab
  • Research Lab Team Leader
  • 2023
  • Review methods for engaging polarized communities in collaborative
    governance and knowledge co-production
  • Research the role of the fishing industry in Gloucester, MA
  • Communicate with stakeholder in Cape Ann, MA to learn from local
    knowledge of the environment and political climate
  • Publish a white paper on best practices for building social capital and
    addressing climate change adaptation in polarized communities
  • Salata Institute - Strengthening Communities Cluster
  • Research Assistant
  • 2025
  • Research best practices for understanding climate change public opinion,
    climate communication, and motivating climate action
  • Create a plan that will guide Routt County’s collection of community
    feedback on their climate action plan initiative


  • Yampa Valley Sustainability Council
  • Climate Action Plan Intern
  • 2023
  • Conducted survey-based research on a contentious and emotional
    political topic
  • Worked with local stakeholders to develop a 20-question survey
  • Partnered with community leaders to distribute the survey
    (250+ responses)

  • Honors Thesis
  • Rural Political Estrangement and Colorado Wolf Reintroduction
  • 2023
  • ·Assembled case studies on North American, Latin American, and African
    gas and oil opposition movements
  • ·Developed profiles for suppressed US climate scientists

  • Vanderbilt University Sociology Department
  • Research Assistant
  • 2023

PhD Sociology, expected 2029

Salata Institute Student Ambassador

Center for American Political Studies Affiliate




  • Harvard UniversitY

Summa Cum Laude (GPA: 3.97)

Bachelor of Arts with Highest Honors in Environmental Sociology, 2023

Awarded Outstanding Sociology Student of the Year, 2023


  • Vanderbilt University
  • Python
  • R
  • Arc GIS Pro
  • Arc Map
  • Spanish (Conversational)
  • Skills

Education,
Awards, &

Skills

Publications


Connect with me

  • Samantha Wyman

swyman@g.harvard.edu

Department Website


Find my resume

  • connect with Me