Amanda Fencl
Research
Dr. Amanda Fencl is an interdisciplinary environmental geographer researching how environmental governance arrangements (re)produce uneven access to water resources and can both build and undermine resilience to future changes. She completed her Ph.D. in Geography from the University of California, Davis in July 2019 through the UC Davis Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior. Her mixed-methods dissertation research explored the ways in which California’s polycentric water governance system is adapting to changing environmental conditions and extreme events, like drought. Prior to UC Davis, she spent six years as a Staff Scientist at the Stockholm Environment Institute’s US Center in the water resources and climate change adaptation research groups. Research interests include: water governance, water security, environmental justice, climate change adaptation and transformation, sustainable urban transitions, and political ecology.Selected Publications
Ekstrom, J.A., Klasic, M., Fencl, A., Lubell, M., Baker, E., Einterz, F. (2018). Drought Management and Climate Adaptation of Small, Self-Sufficient Drinking Water Systems in California. UC Davis Policy Institute for Energy, Environment and the Economy. A Report for California’s Fourth Climate Change Assessment.
London, J.K., Fencl, A., Watterson, S., Jarin, J., Aranda, A., King, A., Pannu, C., Seaton, P., Firestone, L., Dawson, M., Nguyen, P. (2018). The Struggle for Water Justice in California’s San Joaquin Valley: A Focus on Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities. UC Davis Center for Regional Change.
Ekstrom, J.A., Bedsworth, L., Fencl, A. (2017). Gauging climate preparedness to inform adaptation needs: local level adaptation in drinking water quality in CA, USA. Climatic Change. 10.1007/s10584-016-1870-3
Barron, J., Kemp-Benedict, E., Morris, J. de Bruin, A. Wang, G., Fencl, A. (2015). Mapping the potential success of agricultural water management interventions for smallholders: Where are the best opportunities? Water Resources and Rural Development. 10.1016/j.wrr.2015.06.001
Dermawan, A. Kemp-Benedict, E., Huber-Lee, A., Fencl, A. (2012). Testing a multi-scale scenario approach for smallholder tree plantations in Indonesia and Vietnam. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 10.1016/j.techfore.2012.10.021
Haidera , M., Alhakimi, S.A., Noaman, A., Al Kebsi, A. Noaman,A., Fencl, A., Dougherty, B., Swartz, C. (2011). Adapting to climate change-water scarcity for Yemen's vulnerable communities. Local Environment. 10.1080/13549839.2011.565465Education
Ph.D., Geography, University of California, Davis, 2019
B.A., International Relations and Environmental Studies (Honors), Tufts University, 2003Awards
Graduate Research Fellow, National Science Foundation (2014-2019)
Best Physical Geography Paper, California Geographical Society (2017)
Jeanne X. Kasperson Student Award, Association of American Geographers (2016)
White Family Graduate Student Award for Environmental Justice Research, UC Davis (2015)
Trainee, Climate Change, Water, and Society IGERT, National Science Foundation (2013-2015)