معرفی
Sarah Elizabeth Wolfe is Professor in the School of Environment & Sustainability at Royal Roads University, Canada, joining in January 2022 after serving as a tenured professor at the University of Waterloo’s School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability. A shamelessly interdisciplinary scholar, she integrates social & environmental psychology, cognitive-affective science, communication studies, and water governance to understand how emotions drive behaviour in the face of climate change, drought and flooding.
Education
- 2006 – PhD, University of Guelph
- 2000 – MA, University of Toronto
- 1999 – BA, University of Guelph
- 2008 – Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Waterloo
Research Interests
Wolfe’s program centres on emotions as levers of environmental action. She explores:
- Affective drivers of household- to governance-level climate and water behaviours
- Water, wastewater and climate communications that overcome psychological defenses
- Interdisciplinary environmental education, knowledge retention and behavioural intent
- Applications of Terror Management Theory to sustainability challenges
Publication Landscape
Wolfe has authored influential pieces in top journals (WIREs Climate Change, Water International, Water Resources Management) and Canada’s national newspaper The Globe and Mail. Her work moves fluidly between rigorous empirical studies—often deploying mixed-methods and cognitive-affective mapping—and high-impact policy commentaries that translate psychological insights for practitioners.
Scientific Awards & Grants
- Kelly New Teacher Award, Royal Roads University (2022)
- SSHRC Partnership Development Grant, PI, $197 200 (2021)
- SSHRC Insight Development Grant, PI, $72 274 (2019)
- SSHRC Insight Grant, PI, $125 650 (2018)
- SSHRC Connection Grant, PI, $22 000 (2014)
- SSHRC Insight Development Grant, PI, $74 884 (2012)
- SSHRC Standard Research Grant, PI, $41 770 (2011)
- SSHRC Doctoral Research Award, $59 000 (2003)
Advising & Collaborative Culture
Through the Society, Environment and Emotions Lab, Wolfe mentors a growing cohort of graduate researchers whose names appear on recent publications, fostering a non-hierarchical, inclusive and adventurous research culture. The Lab actively partners with universities (Waterloo, Victoria) and international organizations, leveraging SSHRC funding to investigate emotions, identity and pro-environmental behaviour.
Labs & Teams
She directs the Society, Environment and Emotions Lab at Royal Roads University, a multidisciplinary team investigating how emotions shape environmental decisions under conditions of rapid change and crisis.
