Elizabeth Sodja, MNR, MCMP, is the Program Coordinator for the Gateway & Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) Initiative at Utah State University (USU) Extension. She has a decade of communications and community outreach experience, and has worked with federal, state, and local government agencies. Before joining GNAR, she worked for USU's Center for Community Engagement and the National Park Service. She grew up in a small town in Utah where most family vacations were either camping, fishing, or in a National Park, and has a passion for helping small towns around the west preserve what is special about them. When she isn't working, you can usually find her and her husband climbing a rock, living out of a tent, or driving down a dirt road covered in dog hair.
Jake Powell
Utah State University
Co-Director
GNAR Initiative
Assistant Professor,
Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning
Phone: (435) 797-4293
Email: jake.powell@usu.edu
Jake Powell, MSLA, is a native of Utah and spent his childhood exploring the backroads of the intermountain west. These experiences formed a deep love for the landscapes, the communities, and people of the west. Jake found landscape architecture as a way to unite people and places, and earned his BLA from Utah State University and MSLA from Penn State University. In his current position as a Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning Extension Specialist, Jake works to bring design and planning solutions to Utah’s communities. As the lead for the Gateway and Natural Amenity Initiative, Jake works with an amazing team to bring attention, resources, and new opportunities to the gateway communities of the Intermountain West.
Dr. Jordan W. Smith
Utah State University
Co-Director
GNAR Initiative
Director
Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
Professor
Environment & Society
Phone: 435-797-9174
Email: jordan.smith@usu.edu
Jordan W. Smith, Ph.D., is the Director of the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management with minors in both Geospatial Information Systems and Sociology from NC State. Jordan completed both his master’s and undergraduate degrees from Utah State University. Jordan's work uses social media analytics and geospatial technologies to develop an understanding of how outdoor recreation is changing across the American West. His goal is to provide natural resource professionals, elected officials, private industry, and the general public with a scientifically grounded understanding of how to best manage outdoor recreation. Off-campus, Jordan is an active road cyclist and triathlete.
Jordan Katcher
University of Utah
GNAR Facilitator
Wallace Stegner Center Environmental Dispute Resolution Program
Adjunct Instructor
City & Metropolitan Planning
Email: jordan.katcher@law.utah.edu
Jordan Katcher, MCRP, is the GNAR Facilitator with the Wallace Stegner Center Environmental Dispute Resolution Program and Adjunct Instructor within the City & Metropolitan Planning Department at the University of Utah. She earned her Master of Community & Regional Planning from the University of Oregon where she conducted her research on equity, diversity, and inclusion practices involving single identity-based crews within conservation corps nationwide. She also obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology & English from the University of Virginia. She is a 3x AmeriCorps alum with almost a decade’s worth of community development experience supporting students, tribes, non-profits, and rural communities. As an Appalachian, she deeply enjoys forest bathing, hiking, camping, and kayaking.
Dr. Danya Rumore
University of Utah
Founder & Co-Director
GNAR Initiative
Director
Wallace Stegner Center Environmental Dispute Resolution Program
Research Associate Professor
SJ Quinney College Of Law
Research Assistant Professor
City & Metropolitan Planning
Email: danya.rumore@law.utah.edu
Danya Rumore, Ph.D., is the Founder of the GNAR Initiative. She is a facilitator, collaborative process designer, and conflict resolution professional with a particular passion for understanding and addressing the unique challenges and opportunities facing western amenity-rich rural regions like that surrounding her hometown, Sandpoint, Idaho. Danya holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Policy and Planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is a professor of planning and law at the University of Utah, where she directs the Wallace Stegner Center Environmental Dispute Resolution Program. Danya really likes to shred the gnar on her mountain bike and skis, but she can also be found climbing rocks, floating rivers, and running trails.