Mark Bergstrom, Director
Mark Bergstrom is an accomplished scholar and award winning teacher in the Department of Communication; he has extensive administrative experience here at the U, he served 11 years as Senior Associate Dean as well as Acting and Interim Dean in the College of Humanities. Mark was the founding Director of the Environmental Humanities Masters Degree program, and was actively involved in the University’s acquisition of the Taft-Nicholson Environmental Humanities Education Center. He knows and understands the Center and has watched its growth and development from the earliest stages; he is a passionate environmentalist who has a deep understanding of the landscape of the American West and Montana.
Melissa Parks, Associate Director
Melissa is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication and the Environmental Humanities Program at the University of Utah. Her teaching and research interests span the areas of environmental and science communication, place-based pedagogy, and ecoculture. As the Taft-Nicholson Center Associate Director for Programming and Public Outreach, she is committed to providing impactful experiential learning experiences in Montana’s unique Centennial Valley. She is vastly grateful for the ongoing opportunity to contribute to the Center’s mission to bridge the environmental humanities, sciences, and arts.
Carol Bergstrom, Facilities Coordinator
After a career of over 20 years in Student Services at the University of Utah, Carol joined the Taft-Nicholson Center in 2017. As the Facilities Coordinator, Carol has a firm grasp of both the University’s administrative infrastructure and the Taft-Nicholson’s unique collection of buildings, which has proven to be an essential asset to the Center.
Esther Mathieu, Communications Specialist
Esther graduated from the University of Utah's Environmental Humanities Master's Program in 2024 and joined the staff of the Taft-Nicholson Center as an Education Fellow that summer. Following her work with the Education Team, Esther has taken on the Center's communications across platforms, applying writing, design, photography, and social media skills to keep our community up to date.