Emily Ayscue

RETI Webinars & Climate, Weather, and Tourism Initiative

Emily is originally from Kansas but grew up near Louisburg, NC. As an undergrad she studied Geology here at ECU, as well as French and Music. At the Center, Emily will be marketing and managing the RETI webinar series and developing a Climate, Weather, and Tourism newsletter which would provide seasonal climate and weather forecasts for the coastal tourism industry here in North Carolina. Her hobbies include playing and writing music, hiking, camping, and fishing.

Janna Caspersen

Geospatial Research

Janna is from Wisconsin, home of cheese curds, brats, Leinenkugels, and of course The Pack. She graduated Fall of 2010 from the University of Wisconsin- Eau Clair with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography. During her time in undergrad, she studied abroad in Chaing Mai, Thailand and participated in university sponsored trips to Honduras and the U.S. Delta South. Through these travel opportunities, Janna was immersed in various types of tourism. It was not until she began her Master in Geography at East Carolina University that she was introduced to the concepts and values of sustainable tourism, thanks to the Center for Sustainable Tourism (CST). After traveling to Cuba as part of the CST organized trip, she was so interested in learning more about what it meant to participate in and support sustainable tourism that she sought a way to apply her geography and G.I.S. know-how to helping CST with their geospatial research needs.

JP Duncan

NC GreenTravel & Sustainable Tourism Practices Initiative

JP was born and raised in North Carolina where he has spent his life living in various parts of the state. Being born in Beaufort, he has a love for the outdoors especially being on the water. This mixed with his time living in Caswell County have made him an advocate of the wilderness. JP has a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in managerial finance from East Carolina University. He became interested in studying sustainable tourism while working at a brewery. This interest was sparked from a desire to reduce waste in order to preserve the environment. JP is currently working on the NC Green Travel Initiative and the Sustainable Tourism Practices Initiative for the Center.

Scott Gray

Entrepreneurship Climate Study & Second Home Tourism Study

Erin Green

International Relationships, Cuba Research, Raleigh CVB Sustainability 

Erin was raised in the northern state of Minnesota, where her family's love of spending time outdoors was a major part of her upbringing. She was fortunate enough to spend three years of her childhood living in Malaysia which allowed for extensive travel throughout southeast Asia and Europe. Erin graduated from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa with degrees in French and Environmental Studies with a social science concentration. While studying abroad in southern Madagascar, she discovered the academic field of sustainable tourism. After a brief stint with Americorps, she found her way to ECU to start the MS in Sustainable Tourism program. As a graduate assistant at the Center, Erin is researching foodies and their travel habits and working on developing the Center's relationships with international sustainable tourism organizations. She loves canoeing, camping, breakfast, games, and meeting new people.

Erin Harris

Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) & Sustainable Tourism Business Acceleration

Born in Nashville, Tennessee,the "country music capital of the world," Erin, like her native city, is a woman with humble roots and big time dreams. Erin graduated from the College of Charleston with a Bachelor's degree in international business and political science. Since graduation, Erin has worked 5 years in various project management positions, earning her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in July 2012. She is currently a Project Manager for Green Living Project (GLP). Erin's past GA work has involved collaborating with the Charlotte Green Team, NC GreenTravel, and the town of Beaufort, NC. Erin is currently developing a business acceleration model for Eastern NC tourism businesses and partnering with GTSC to develop webinars on their destination criteria. After graduation, Erin hopes to continue to work with the Center for Sustainable, GLP, and also establish her own sustainable tourism consulting practice.

Nathan Hingtgen

RETI Webinars, International Relationships, Costa Rica & Cuba Research, EPA

Wilson Hoggard

Race, Ethnicity, Social Equity, and Tourism (RESET) Initiative

Wilson was born and raised in Eastern North Carolina in the small town of Merry Hill. Wilson’s family has worked in logging and farming so at a young age in life he was exposed to the environment and sustainable practices. For his undergraduate degree he went to North Carolina State University acquiring a BA in History where he primarily studied African American History. He hopes to research the rural south during his time at the Center of Sustainable Touris

Chris Johnson

Second Home Study, Roanoke River Development Project

Chris was born and raised in Long Island, New York, and completed his undergraduate degree upstate at SUNY Brockport earning a teaching degree in physical education. He moved to North Carolina after graduation and taught in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School district for five years. During his undergrad years, Chris participated in three study abroad trips, ranging from one month, to one semester, to one year in Spain, Australia, and Brazil respectively. His love of travel and exotic, beautiful places goes hand in hand with his appreciation for the land and different cultures. In addition to his travels and cultural exchanges, being an Eagle Scout has also helped Chris to become a steward of the world and appreciate its natural resources. Chris thoroughly enjoys home cooked meals (and will happily do the dishes), good company, and anything that takes him outside. He loves to run, hike, sail, camp, paddle, and explore. All of these interests have brought him to the Center.

Daniel Johnson

Daniel was born and raised in a small farming community outside of Elizabeth City, NC. He spent most of his youth exploring the wilds of eastern North Carolina. He received his BS in Anthropology with a minor in Environmental Health from Western Carolina University and fostered a love for the mountains. Daniel spent 10 years as a commercial construction safety professional in Raleigh assisting in major construction projects. He most recently helped start a small sustainable farm outside of Beaufort. He is especially interest in sustainable food systems, agritourism, and rural development. In his free time Daniel enjoys camping, hiking, farming, and surfing.

Leah Joyner

Visitor Study Project & Sustainable Food Systems

As a native of Greenville, Leah is excited to return home to her roots in Eastern North Carolina. Leah recently graduated from Appalachian State University, nestled in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains of Western NC, with a BS in Technical Photography and a BA in Sustainable Development. During her undergraduate time at ASU she had the opportunity to work as an intern with the Johnson County Farmer’s Market through a USDA Food Grant, creating a local food strategy for economic development and community engagement. This project encouraged her to seek out people interested in reversing their roles in the food chain from food consumer to producer. Consequently, she developed an independent study which resulted in a year-long documentary project focusing on a sixth generation family farm in Happy Valley North Carolina. This project inspired Leah to continue on a path dedicated to using visual imagery to inspire pride in self-sufficiency and elicit interest in the movement towards more sustainable agrarian lifestyles. She hopes to combine this documentary perspective with the initiatives the Center for Sustainable Tourism in already working on. Leah will be working on the Center’s Visitor Study Project, and conducting research on Sustainable Food Systems. When not busy looking at the world through a lens, Leah enjoys gardening, cooking, and a good book.

Sam Myers

EPA Research Project

Sam is from a small eastern North Carolina town called LaGrange. His experiences growing up in a rural area, obtaining his Eagle Scout, and frequently visiting the NC coast sparked his interests in keeping NC's environment clean and green so that other generations may enjoy it for many years to come.He first became interested in tourism studies when he began working on his BA in Parks and Recreation Management at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, which concentrated in tourism and commercial recreation.  After graduation, he started his first full-time job in the Outer Banks, working for a vacation real estate company where he obtained his real estate broker's license.This work experience fueled his interests in tourism studies even further.As a GA, he is now working on an EPA research project focused on how to make vacation rental properties greener.

Shan Newton

NC Agricultural Systems

Shan Newton owes his lineage to the beautiful lands of North Carolina. As an undergraduate, he studied classical guitar at the ECU School of Music before switching his major to a BA in Classics. His translations in ancient Latin and Greek led him to study most intimately the effects of policy in Plato's De Republica, and the inspirational reflections of Marcus Aurelius's Ad Se Ipsum. In an effort to round out his education, Shan completed a Certificate of Accounting, before enrolling in the dual Master program at ECU. Now earning his MBA and MS in Sustainable Tourism, he conducts research pertaining to food studies and security, evidence-based leadership in hospitality management, and tourism in Cuba. He has other interests in mythic tourism, climate change, integrating sustainability indicators into accounting and financial project valuation, and tourism management. Shan also serves as Treasurer for the Students for Sustainable Tourism group, is a recent graduate of the Engagement, Outreach, and Scholarship Academy, and stays highly involved on campus by attending conferences and lectures. Shan's love for other cultures, his passion for understanding, and his fervent desire to make a positive impact in the world makes him a great asset to the Center for Sustainable Tourism.

Sierra Plato

Race, Ethnicity, Social Equity, and Tourism (RESET) Initiative

Sierra is originally from the capital city of Raleigh, but has also lived in Atlanta, Georgia for three years.Tourism has aroused Sierra’s interest ever since she first learned about Australia in a sixth grade Social Studies class.  From there on, she has taken advantage of opportunities to learn and experience various cultures and geographic regions.In the summer of 2009, Sierra traveled to the Dominican Republic for a volunteer project which sparked her passion for the Spanish Caribbean.Soon after, she decided to study abroad in vibrant Costa Rica for five months.Sierra majored in Sociology as an undergrad and plans to assist marginalized communities in developing nations by using Sustainable Tourism as a tool for economic development. 

Heather Rubright

Cuba Research, Food and Tourism Entrepreneurship

Heather was born in Virginia but was mostly raised in Florida. She attended the University of Florida and received degrees in Psychology and Sociology. She worked in social services for a number of years before attending the University of Central Florida to obtain an MBA. After obtaining her degree she continued to work in a hospital setting assisting uninsured patients obtain Medicaid and Social Security Disability. She moved to North Carolina for a change of scenery and worked as a disability examiner before discovering the MS program in Sustainable Tourism at ECU. She is excited to finally find a path that aligns with her personal interests and passions. This year she will be working on data obtained in Cuba regarding arts and cultural tourist activities and amenities in Havana, food and tourism entrepreneur profiles, and assisting in the writing of a paper about understanding food entrepreneurs within the context of two theories. In her free time she enjoys the beach, hiking, camping, exercising, and traveling in addition to many other outdoor activities.

Haley Winslow

Eastern North Carolina Economic Development, Nature-Based Tourism

Haley was born and raised in the lovely state of North Carolina. Having a large family background in farming on one side, and a lighthouse keeper on the other, Haley had the opportunity to enjoy a great deal of eastern North Carolina’s rich heritage. With an ambitious, adventure-seeking family, Haley had the opportunity to live in some very exciting places. She lived on the Outer Banks the majority of her life with short stints elsewhere such as Alaska, and the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains where Haley acquired a passion for nature and a drive to protect the pristine environments she cared so much for. After graduating from high school, Haley went on to attend East Carolina University where she studied Hospitality Management with a concentration in Conventions and Special Events along with a minor in Business Administration. During her undergrad years, Haley participated in an eight month internship at Disney World in Florida, where she acquired an interest in cultural diversity and resort “green” initiatives. While an undergrad, she decided to pursue more education and began looking into Masters programs. With the help of a much admired Hospitality professor, Haley chose the Masters of Science in Sustainable Tourism program. Here she hopes to work toward improving sustainable efforts and tourism throughout the Eastern part of North Carolina.