Shari "Jack" Edelson

Shari Edelson (they / them) joined the PARC lab at Penn State University after a two-decade career in the field of public gardens and arboreta. They have long been fascinated by the interactions between people and landscape, and are focusing their PhD research on human impacts in parks and protected areas. Their current work examines the impacts of human fecal waste contamination in natural landscapes, focusing on strategies to effect behavior change.

Shari earned a BA in Philosophy from Goucher College, an MS in Public Horticulture Administration from the University of Delaware and Longwood Gardens, and a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Delaware.