Dr. Justin Beall (he/him)
Postdoctoral Associate
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Justin’s interest in the human dimensions of natural resource use began while he was pursuing a B.A. in Environmental Science at The University of Florida, where much of his coursework focused on the intersection of society and the environment. Continuing to explore these interests, he completed an M.S. in Forest Resources at the University of Georgia. There, he studied the reasons why travelers choose sustainable tourism products (e.g., ecotourism) over other options. His interests began to broaden as he progressed through a PhD in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University, where his dissertation focused on designing and testing conservation communication strategies with audience characteristics in mind. Broadly, his research focuses on understanding the factors that influence pro-environmental behaviors and designing interventions that can promote both individual and collective action to address natural resource issues.
During his time at Virginia Tech, Justin will be working with an interdisciplinary team on a research project that aims to develop and test a socio-ecological model of sea-level rise along the mid-Atlantic coastal region of the eastern United States. He will examine how several factors (e.g., social, economic, psychological) might influence the decisions of coastal landowners in the face of sea-level rise (retreat, resist, or adapt). The research team will also examine how accounting for the decisions of coastal landowners influences the model. In his free time, Justin enjoys hiking, canoeing, songwriting, and performing music.