Nathan Chael (M.S. '19)
June 13, 2019
Nathan is a coterm in the Earth Systems M.S. program. He has been active in environmental public service since his childhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he first began hiking, camping, getting sunburned, and organizing community trips outdoors in New Mexico’s spectacular mountains and deserts. Nathan is motivated by the deep human impact of shared experiences of nature, and particularly loves to spend time outdoors with people with little or no past experience exploring nature. At Stanford, Nathan has remained involved in creating meaningful outdoor experiences by leading camping and backpacking trips through the SPOT and Stanford Outdoor Education programs, as well as through service on the Stanford Outdoor Council. Nathan is also a volunteer counselor for Camp Kesem Stanford, a summer camp for youth affected by a parent’s cancer, where as a senior he organized the outdoor leadership program trip for Kesem’s high school-aged campers. Within the Earth Systems community, this year Nathan has created and co-taught a seminar course alongside Earth Systems deputy director Richard Nevle that explores concepts shaping environmental politics and policy from a philosophical perspective. Nathan completed a B.A. in philosophy at Stanford in 2018 and, he hopes to become a professor of environmental law or an environmentally-focused social science so that he can continue to investigate and teach about the interlocking processes and politics of global social, economic, and environmental change.