Leisl Carr Childers

Leisl Carr Childers is an Associate Professor of History at Colorado State University (CSU), specializing in environmental history, public lands management, and the American West. She serves as a co-primary investigator on the USDA Forest Service History project and leads the Art of Ranching initiative with CSU Extension. Her research integrates digital methods, as seen in projects like the Nevada Test Site Oral History Project and My National Parks. Dr. Childers holds a Ph.D. from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and degrees from Pepperdine University.

Her research focuses on public lands governance, climate adaptation, and the intersection of rural communities with environmental policy. Notable works include The Size of the Risk (2015), which won the 2016 Spur Award, and contributions to edited volumes on Wallace Stegner and the American West Program’s 50th anniversary. She actively collaborates with organizations like the Public and Environmental History Center and the Climate Adaptation Partnership.

• Education: PhD, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; MA & BA, Pepperdine University
• Affiliations: Western History Association, American Society for Environmental History, National Council on Public History
• Community Engagement: CSU Extension partnerships, oral history initiatives, podcast appearances

Dr. Childers advises 1-2 graduate students annually in the Liberal Arts non-thesis track, focusing on public history and environmental history. Her teaching includes digital history methods and public lands coursework. She has secured grants for transdisciplinary research and co-leads the Forest Service History project documenting agency evolution since 1960.

• Key Awards: Western Writers of America Spur Award (2016)
• Media Contributions: PBS Frontline, High Country News, KNPR podcasts