GLORIA C. BLAISE
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"The only way forward, if we are going to improve the quality of the environment, is to get everybody involved."
​-Richard Rogers
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My experiences living in urban cities have been the driving forces influencing my interests in environmental matters. Born in the highly urban and dense city of Carrefour, Haiti, my family and I migrated to the United States, where I continued to live in an urban setting in the city of New York.  I believe the lack of natural surroundings throughout my childhood and young adulthood instilled in me an appreciation of nature and wildlife. Graduating at the top of my high school class, I was fortunate enough to have obtained a scholarship that has since allowed me to pursue my studies at institutions that I would otherwise not be able to fund. 

My research focuses on three areas:
1. Building community resilience in developing countries through community-based natural resource management.
2. Understanding the potential of community-based agroforestry to meet planetary health needs.
3. Understanding the adoption and scaling of agroforestry innovations in rural smallholder landscapes.


 With an integrated approach that spans across disciplines, the various questions I hope to answer will delve into aspects of community health, climate change resilience, and agroforestry program development.
​


Appointments

2017-2018
Independent Research Assistant,  Rutgers University Program in Science Learning Lab

2016-2017
Research Assistant, R
utgers University Program in Science Learning Lab

Previous Appointments
2016 May-August
Natural Resource and Piping Plover Intern, National Park Service/ Student Conservation Association

Education

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2020-Present
Doctor of Philosophy
Natural Resources
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2018-2020
Masters of Science
Natural Resources

                                 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
                                 Cornell University, Privately endowed research university and a partner of the State University of New York

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2013-2018
Bachelors of Science
Major: Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources 


​School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and Douglass Residential College
Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey

Past and Current Projects

 Ph.D. Dissertation Research
Abstract: In Haiti, agroforestry represents a potential  planetary health solution in need of more attention and implementation. With extreme rates of poverty, land degradation, and high incidences of extreme weather events, Haiti is one of the most vulnerable island countries to climate change. To establish a business case for agroforestry and increase our knowledge of its scaling potential in smallholder landscapes, our team—with expertise in conservation, restoration, diffusion modeling, public health, and rural development—will work alongside several NGOs to identify key drivers of agroforestry innovation scaling and gain a better understanding of the health pathways all in the context of Haiti. The results will provide an initial health impact assessment tool for agroforestry and spatial models for the targeting and implementation of agroforestry for planetary health in Haitian communities across the country where agroforestry will have positive impacts. The research will engage agroforestry NGOs working with Haitian smallholders to develop an actionable agroforestry innovation scaling framework to guide future activities. If safety conditions on ground allow, this work will also engage agroforestry NGOs working with Haitian smallholders to use new cutting edge technology that connects them with potential investors for carbon payments that will further increase well-being and contribute to planetary health.

Masters Thesis Project
"Trees for Livelihoods: Effectiveness of Community-Based Agroforestry on Land Cover Change and Agroforestry Adoption Behavior in Haiti" -  Partnering w/ Haiti Friends Organization
​Advised by Drs. Shorna Allred, Jim Lassoie, Stephen Morreale, Cornell Department of Natural Resources and Dr. Gen Meredith, Cornell Department of Public Health

Full Abstract

Agroforestry is one of the few natural resource management practices that can restore
degraded landscapes while simultaneously delivering food and income. However, despite these benefits, there exist numerous barriers to its adoption that limit efforts to bring it to scale. Using a mixed methods design, this research spatially and temporally examines community agroforestry adoption and tree cover patterns within a range of communities across the rural mountain landscape in Haiti’s Latibonit Department. It also assesses livelihood outcomes as a result of practicing community agroforestry and the likelihood of permanence over a period of 14 years. The results show that community agroforestry adoption was primarily driven by gaining access to trees for income, the provision of ecosystem services and obtaining another source of food to address food insecurity. Social networks played a critical role within and between communities to increase adoption throughout the landscape. Positive patterns in tree cover were also associated with communities practicing agroforestry for 10 years or more. Community capitals (social, human, natural, financial, cultural, political, built) were used to better understand the state of community livelihoods. The results demonstrated that community agroforestry is positively associated with all community capitals, some (social, human, financial, natural, cultural) more than others (built, political). The likelihood of community agroforestry permanence was also higher within communities where the practice enhanced community capitals in contrast to communities where community capitals were not enhanced or were reduced. Overall, an understanding of adoption behaviors and the effectiveness of agroforestry in rural Haiti provides insights on the ways to better implement agroforestry in rural Haitian communities and to promote rural community development.​

George H. Cook Scholars Project

"Does Forest Usage and Accessibility Influence the Perceptions of its Users and Surrounding Residents?" 
Advised by Dr. Rebecca Jordan, Rutgers Department of Human Ecology
Sponsored by Douglass College
​

Short Abstract
Forests provide valuable ecosystem services to individuals that live near them and visit them. However, many forests,
especially in highly developed areas, are specifically managed for resource conservation purposes. A common
practice for conservation is restricting access to people to ensure minimal human-driven harm. While the restriction of
human access to the forests increases the biological ecosystem services of the forest, it limits the cultural services and
may reduce the public’s perceived value of the forest. To investigate how access influences the perceived value of a
forest, two forests in the state of New Jersey, USA were compared. The forests– the Rutgers Ecological Preserve
(RUEP) and Hutcheson Memorial Forest (HMF)- represent accessible and inaccessible forests respectively. The study
reported here evaluated the effects of visitation and accessibility on public perception of both sites. Residents near
RUEP, HMF, and visitors of both sites were surveyed (n=48). The results of the surveys demonstrated that the
frequency of visitation and community location, can have noticeable influences on a number of variables including
one’s belief that forests provide important services and the thought that protected areas take away from an individual's
freedom to use the area. A more positive view of the forests were present in those who visited the public forest most
often.​
​

Papers and Talks


-Blaise, G. C., & Allred, S. B. 2020. Trees for livelihoods: Exploring the relationship between community agroforestry and community capitals in rural Haiti. Community Development.
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G Blaise, J Brown, R Jordan, A Sorensen. 2020. "The Impact of Forest Usage and Accessibility on the Perceptions of its Users and Surrounding Residents." Urban Science. 
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-AE Sorensen, RC Jordan, G Blaise, J Brown, LK Campbell, M Aronson, M Johnson. 2017. “The role of identity and community in urban ecological restoration programs.“ Ecological Society of America, Portland, OR. (talk).
-AE Sorensen, RC Jordan, G Blaise, J Brown, LK Campbell, M Aronson, M Johnson. 2017. "Public willingness to participate in urban restoration stewardship programs: Linkages between ecological knowledge, environmental identity, and motivations."

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