Any University of Michigan PhD student conducting research related to global sustainable enterprise and being advised by an Erb Institute faculty member or faculty affiliate is eligible to become a member of the Erb PhD community. Requests for addition to the community should be directed to the Managing Director of the Erb Institute.
Melissa Forbes
Precandidate - Joint Ph.D. in Public Policy and Sociology
Melissa Forbes is a PhD candidate in Sociology and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Melissa’s research interests include economic sociology, corporate governance, environmental policy, and corporate
environmental behavior. Her dissertation examines the ways in which organizational identity affects economic ties between shareholders and
managers engaged in climate change dialog as well as the role language and discourse play in changing institutions. She recently completed a
case study on Ford Motor Company’s long-term shareholder engagement with a group of Dominican nuns on climate change. Melissa is also actively involved in campus sustainability activities. She is a co-founder of the Erb PhD Colloquium and the UM Student Sustainability Initiative. Prior to coming to Michigan, Melissa received a B.A. in Political Science from Truman State University and a master’s degree in public service and administration from the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University.
Rebecca studies the effects of sustainability issues on the temporary teams present in the building industry. In particular, her work focuses on the social barriers to sustainable construction practices. Rebecca received her Master in Design Studies degree from Harvard University and Bachelor of Architecture degree from Carnegie Mellon University. She is a registered architect in two states, and practiced as a principal of Celento Henn Architects + Designers before returning to graduate school.
Kevin Hill is a doctoral candidate in the School of Natural Resources and Environment. For the 15 years prior to
beginning his doctoral studies, Kevin worked at the United Nations as an advisor in international environmental policy and
formulation, and most recently as a technical advisor with the United Nations Development Programme, where he continues
to undertake short-term consultancies. At U of M, Kevin's research interests lie in the institutional sustainability of environmental
policy and programmes in developing countries. His research focuses on the development and testing of criteria and indicators of
institutional sustainability through the emergent process of adaptive collaborative management during intervention design,
development, and implementation.
Eun-Hee is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Ross School of Business in the International Business/Business Economics Program. Her research interest lies in corporate social responsibility, environmental strategy, energy and sustainability, regulation, industrial organization. She is currently writing her dissertation, titled "Essays on Business and Climate Change," which study what motivates companies to take voluntary actions to address climate change, what are the consequences of these actions in terms of environmental performance and shareholder value, and how changes in the competitive environment might hinder incentives to take voluntary actions. She was born and raised in South Korea. Before coming to the U.S. as a Fulbright fellow, she worked as a researcher at the Korea Electric Power Research Institute. Eun-Hee received her B.S., M.S. degrees from Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, and M.A. degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Nicholas Powers is a doctoral candidate in the Ross School of Business, in the Business Economics program. His research interests include empirical analyses of firm response to environmental disclosure programs, analysis of the effects of state-level policies designed to encourage renewable energy, game theoretical modeling of the effects of disclosure on firm behavior, and more broadly, firm response to changes in traditional and informal environmental regulation. Before coming to Michigan, he spent three years at the World Resources Institute, working primarily on business education initiatives, including the BELL network and the Beyond Grey Pinstripes project. Before WRI, Nick worked at Patton Boggs LLP and was also a Peace Corps volunteer. He has a BS in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University, has studied abroad in France and Denmark, and has worked abroad in Belgium and Senegal. His personal webpage can be found at http://sitemaker.umich.edu/powersn/home.
Ethan has wide-ranging interests in environmental sociology and social theory. He is currently writing his dissertation on the politics of property rights and land use in the Western U.S. Ethan is a doctoral student in the Department of Sociology at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He has an M.A. in Politics from Princeton University, and a B.A. in Fundamentals: Issues and Texts from the University of Chicago. When not pursuing some kind of degree, Ethan has worked as a fundraiser for environmental groups, a research assistant on a study of bird behavior in Arizona's national forests, and a housekeeper at a backcountry lodge in Denali National Park. His ultimate ambition is to have season tickets to the Mets.
Nathan Wilson is a doctoral candidate in the Business Economics program at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Nathan was born and raised in St. Louis, MO and received a BA in history from Brown University, where his senior thesis examined the economic and social aspects of industrial strife in Ireland. After teaching English for a year in Dalian, China, Nathan continued his studies at the London School of Economics, earning an MS in Global Economic History. Nathan then entered the Presidential Management Fellows program, working at the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration as an Industry Economist. Nathan did his external PMF rotation at Resources for the Future, a non-partisan economic think tank focusing on environmental and natural resources economics. Nathan's research uses applied microeconomic and econometric techniques to examine the impact of strategic and exogenous uncertainty on firm strategies.
Lekha is a doctoral candidate in the School of Natural
Resources and Environment. Her research interests lie in natural
resource policy making in developing countries and the role of
institutions in water resource development. She is specifically
interested in governance and implementation issues of water use and
efficiency in ground water extraction in India. She uses the concepts
of civic connectedness and game theoretic models to study the above.
Prior to her studies in Michigan she worked in Prague at the Czech
University of Agriculture as a research technician for their rural and
regional development program. Lekha has an MSc in Environmental
Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and a BA in
Economics from Fergusson College, Pune, India.
Melissa Forbes is a PhD candidate in Sociology and Public Policy at the University of Michigan. Melissa’s research interests include economic sociology, corporate governance, environmental policy, and corporate
environmental behavior. Her dissertation examines the ways in which organizational identity affects economic ties between shareholders and
managers engaged in climate change dialog as well as the role language and discourse play in changing institutions. She recently completed a
case study on Ford Motor Company’s long-term shareholder engagement with a group of Dominican nuns on climate change. Melissa is also actively involved in campus sustainability activities. She is a co-founder of the Erb PhD Colloquium and the UM Student Sustainability Initiative. Prior to coming to Michigan, Melissa received a B.A. in Political Science from Truman State University and a master’s degree in public service and administration from the Bush School of Government at Texas A&M University.
Nicholas Powers is a doctoral candidate in the Ross School of Business, in the Business Economics program. His research interests include empirical analyses of firm response to environmental disclosure programs, analysis of the effects of state-level policies designed to encourage renewable energy, game theoretical modeling of the effects of disclosure on firm behavior, and more broadly, firm response to changes in traditional and informal environmental regulation. Before coming to Michigan, he spent three years at the World Resources Institute, working primarily on business education initiatives, including the BELL network and the Beyond Grey Pinstripes project. Before WRI, Nick worked at Patton Boggs LLP and was also a Peace Corps volunteer. He has a BS in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University, has studied abroad in France and Denmark, and has worked abroad in Belgium and Senegal. His personal webpage can be found at 
Nathan Wilson is a doctoral candidate in the Business Economics program at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Nathan was born and raised in St. Louis, MO and received a BA in history from Brown University, where his senior thesis examined the economic and social aspects of industrial strife in Ireland. After teaching English for a year in Dalian, China, Nathan continued his studies at the London School of Economics, earning an MS in Global Economic History. Nathan then entered the Presidential Management Fellows program, working at the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration as an Industry Economist. Nathan did his external PMF rotation at Resources for the Future, a non-partisan economic think tank focusing on environmental and natural resources economics. Nathan's research uses applied microeconomic and econometric techniques to examine the impact of strategic and exogenous uncertainty on firm strategies. 
Lekha is a doctoral candidate in the School of Natural
Resources and Environment. Her research interests lie in natural
resource policy making in developing countries and the role of
institutions in water resource development. She is specifically
interested in governance and implementation issues of water use and
efficiency in ground water extraction in India. She uses the concepts
of civic connectedness and game theoretic models to study the above.
Prior to her studies in Michigan she worked in Prague at the Czech
University of Agriculture as a research technician for their rural and
regional development program. Lekha has an MSc in Environmental
Sustainability from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and a BA in
Economics from Fergusson College, Pune, India.
