Jonathan T. Isham, Jr.

214 Franklin Environmental Center
Middlebury College, Middlebury VT  05753
(802) 443–3238  jisham@middlebury.edu

Employment History

Department of Economics and Program in Environmental Studies, Middlebury College

Associate Professor, 2006–present
Luce Professor of International Environmental Economics, 2006–2009
Assistant Professor, 2000–2006
Lecturer, 1999–2000

•	On leave, 2009–2010  
•	Middlebury College Educational Affairs Committee.  July 2007–June 2009
•	Middlebury College Faculty Council.  January 2003–June 2003; July 2005–June 2007 
•	Salzburg Seminar Presidential Fellow.  July 2008
•	Northern New England Service Faculty Consulting Program.  2004–present
•	Middlebury College Environmental Studies Steering Committee.  September 1999–present 

Co-Founder and Principal
Brighter Planet, a climate-services company founded in Middlebury, VT.  2005–present 

Research Associate
The Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector, College Park, MD.  1994–1999

Research Assistant and Assistant Task Manager
The World Bank, Washington, DC.  1990–1994

Teaching Assistant and Teacher
Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, DC.
The Emerson School, Washington, DC.  1988–1990

Site Supervisor
East Bay Conservation Corps, Oakland, CA.  1987–1988

Appropriate Technology Specialist
United States Peace Corps, Cotonou, Benin.  1984–1987

Education

Ph.D., Economics, 2000.  University of Maryland at College Park
•	Dissertation:  “A Model of Technology Adoption with Social Capital.”
•	Specialized in environmental economics and development economics

M.A., International Studies, 1990.  Johns Hopkins University-SAIS
•	Concentrated in social change and development and international economics
•	William H. Foster Award for academic excellence and leadership
•	Olmsted Fellowship for academic record and leadership

A.B. cum laude, General Studies, 1984.  Harvard College
•	Concentrated in social anthropology
•	Harvard College Scholarship, Harvard National Scholar

Professional Awards 

•	Nominee for the 2010 Southern Economic Association's Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award
•	Semi-Finalist for the 2010 Baylor University Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching 
•	Winner of the 2006 Vermont Campus Compact Engaged Scholar Award for “engagement both in and outside the classroom.”  
•	Winner of the 2005 Marjorie Lamberti Faculty Appreciation Award for “excellence and dedication in teaching.”
•	Nominee (one of three statewide) for the 2005 Vermont Campus Compact Excellence in Teaching Award “for exemplary, innovative teaching using community-based learning.” 
•	Co-recipient, representing Middlebury College, of the 2005 Clean Air-Cool Planet Climate Champion Award for “advancing campus solutions to global warming.”  
•	Nominee in 2000 and 2003 for the SGA Faculty Appreciation Award for “excellence and dedication in teaching.” 

Professional Service

Board of Directors for Climate Counts, Brighter Planet and St. George’s School. 2009–present 

Editorial Board, Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future.  2008–present

Member, Climate Economics Task Force, Economists for Equity and the Environment.  2008–present; Governor’s Commission on Climate Change. 2006–2007

Blogger, The Daily Grist and Island Press.  2008–present 

Advisory Board for Focus the Nation, the National Teach-In for Global Warming, and Kids vs. Global Warming

Advisor to the Climate Project, Presidential Climate Action Project and 1Sky.  2007–present 

Associate, Brooks World Poverty Institute, University of Manchester.  2008–present

Referee for Agricultural Economics, American Economic Review, American Political Science Review, Contemporary Economic Policy, Economic Development and Cultural Change, Economic Enquiry, Economic Journal, Ecological Economics, Environmental Management, The Journal of African Economies, The Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, The Journal of Development Economics, The Journal of Development Studies, The Journal of Economic Growth, The Journal of Institutional Economics, The Political Science Quarterly, The Southern Economic Journal, and World Development

Reviewer for The Fraser Institute, The International Food Policy Research Institute, Island Press, Kluwer Academic Press, Kumarian Press, National Science Foundation, Oxfam America, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Rutgers University Press, Temple University Press, and Yale University Press

Invited talks for Addison County Regional Planning Commission, Cooperative Insurance of Vermont, Cornwall Historical Society, First Congregational Church of Cornwall, Green Mountain Global Forum, Lincoln Library, Middlebury Retired Clergy, Middlebury Cable Television, Middlebury Alumni College, Middlebury Elderly Services, Middlebury Rotary Club, Middlebury Area Land Trust, People of Addison County Together, Region Educational Television Network, Renewable Energy Vermont, South Hero Democratic Committee, Vermont Community Foundation, and Weybridge Farmers Club  

Publications 

Books and Journals 

Guest Editor of ‘Getting to 350,’ special edition of Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future.  2010.  Allen Press

Ignition: What Can You Do to Fight Global Warming and Spark a Movement.  2007.  Editor with Sissel Waage. Island Press 
   
Social Capital and Economic Development: Well-being in Developing Countries.  2002.  Editor with Sunder Ramaswamy and Thomas Kelly.  Edward Elgar Publications  

Journal Articles 

“The Promise of Deliberative Democracy.”  With Marian Herbick.  Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future.  2010. 1(5): 25–27 

“The Big Push for Clean Energy Innovation in the United States.”  With Rebecca Henderson. Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future.  2010. 1(5): 30–32 
 
“The Determinants of Water Connection and Water Consumption: Empirical Evidence from a Cambodian Household Survey.”  2008.  With Marcello Basani and Barry Reilly.  World Development 36(5): 953–968    

“Does Relationship Lending Still Matter in the Consumer Banking Sector?”  2007. With Jessica Holmes, Ryan Petersen (Middlebury ’03) and Paul Sommers.  Social Sciences Quarterly 88(2): 585–97 

“Is George Bailey Dead?”  With Jessica Holmes and Paul Sommers. 2007. Applied Financial Economic Letters 3(1): 19–24

“Local Environmental and the Creation of Social Capital: Evidence from Vermont.”  2006.  With Christopher McGrory Klyza and Andrew Savage (Middlebury ’03.5).  Society and Natural Resources 19(10)

“The Effect of Volunteering for Non-Profit Organizations on Social Capital Formation: Evidence from a Statewide Survey.”  2006.  With Jane Kolodinsky and Garret Kimberly.  Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Quarterly 35(3): 367–83

“Overcoming Information Asymmetries in Low-Income Lending: Lessons from the ‘Working Wheels’ Program.”  2005.  With Jessica Holmes and Jessica Wasilewski (Middlebury ’02).  Southern Economic Journal 72(2): 329–51

“The Varieties of the Resource Experience: How Natural Resource Endowments and Social Institutions Affect Economic Growth.”  2005.  With Michael Woolcock, Lant Pritchett and Gwen Busby (Middlebury ’00).  World Bank Economic Review 19(2): 141–74

“The Greening of Social Capital: An Examination of Land-Based Groups in Two Vermont Counties.”  2005.  With Christopher McGrory Klyza and Andrew Savage (Middlebury ’03.5).  Rural Sociology 70(1): 113–31
 
“Killington Mountain Resort: A Case Study of ‘Green’ Expansion in Vermont.”  2003.  With Jeff Polubinski (Middlebury ’03).  The Vermont Law Review 26(3): 565–92

“Institutional Determinants of the Impact of Community-Based Water Projects: Evidence from Sri Lanka and India.”  2002.  With Satu Kähkönen.  Economic Development and Cultural Change 50(3): 667–92.

“The Effect of Social Capital on Fertilizer Adoption: Evidence from Rural Tanzania.”  2002.  Journal of African Economies 11(1): 39–60

“The Forgotten Rationale for Policy Reform: The Productivity of Investment Projects.”  1999.  With Daniel Kaufmann. Quarterly Journal of Economics 114(1): 149–184 

“Civil Liberties, Democracy, and the Performance of Government Projects.”  1997. With Daniel Kaufmann and Lant H. Pritchett.  World Bank Economic Review 11(2): 219–42 

“Does Participation Improve Performance? Establishing Causality with Subjective Data."  1995.  With Deepa Narayan and Lant H. Pritchett.  World Bank Economic Review 9(2): 175–200
 
Chapters in Edited Volumes 

“Can a Mountain Ecosystem be Projected When the Law Protects Its Parts?  The Case of Vermont’s Act 250 and Killington Mountain.”  (Four chapters) 2009.  With Julia LeMense.  Mountain Resorts: Ecology and the Law, 269–328.  Janet Milne, Julia LeMense and Ross A. Virginia, Eds.  Ashgate Press

•	Chapter 15: “An Introduction to Killington Resort, Its Expansion Plans, and the Issues.”  
•	Chapter 16: “Vermont’s Act 250 and the Early Battles at Parker’s Gore East.”
•	Chapter 17: “Expansion in the Wake of Parker’s Gore East: The Interconnect, the Woodward Reservoir, and the Resort Village.”
•	Chapter 18: ‘Conclusion.”

“The Importance of ‘Exit and Voice’ in the Provision of Clean Water: Evidence from India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia.”  2003.  With Satu Kähkönen.  Democracy and Development, 98–120.  Sunder Ramaswamy and Jeffery Cason, Eds.  University Press of New England
   
“Social Capital and Well-being in Developing Countries: An Introduction.”  With Sunder Ramaswamy and Thomas Kelly.  2002.  Social Capital and Economic Development: Well-being in Developing Countries, 3–17.  Edward Elgar Publications

“Can Investments in Social Capital Improve Local Development and Environmental Outcomes? A Cost-Benefit Framework to Assess the Policy Options.”  2002.  Social Capital and Economic Development: Well-being in Developing Countries, 159–75.  Edward Elgar Publications.

“How Do Participation and Social Capital Affect Community-Based Water Projects?  Evidence from Central Java, Indonesia.”  2002.  With Satu Kähkönen.  The Role of Social Capital in Development: An Empirical Assessment, 155–87.  Christiaan Grootaert and Thierry Van Bastelaer, Eds.  Cambridge University Press

“The Social Foundations of Poor Economic Growth in Resource-Rich Countries.” 2001.  With Michael Woolcock and Lant H. Pritchett.  Resource Abundance and Economic Growth, 76–92.  Richard Auty, Ed.  Oxford University Press  

“How Policies and Institutions Affect Project Performance: Microeconomic Evidence on Aid, Policies, and Investment Productivity.”  2000.  With Daniel Kaufmann. The World Bank: Structure and Policies, 228–65.  Christopher Gilbert and David Vines, Eds.  Cambridge University Press

Other Articles and Reports

“How 350 has Sparked Hope.”  Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future.  2010. 1(5): p. 1

“Business, Faith and Climate Change: A Conversation with Mindy Lubber and Reverend Sally Bingham.”  Interview.  Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future.  2010. 1(5): 15–16
 
“ACES in the Hole.”  Solutions: For a Sustainable and Desirable Future.  2010. 1(1): 39–40  

“Agape and the New Climate Movement.”  April 9, 2008.  The Huffington Post

“Do the Impossible: Why Campus and Community Should Challenge Each Other to Act Locally and Globally.”  With Diane Munroe.  2005.  Proceedings of Greening of the Campus VI

“Some Strategies for a Melting Planet.”  OpEd article, The Providence Journal, February 17, 2005, The Rutland Herald and The Barre Montpelier Times Argus, February 13, 2005

Book review of Introduction to Environmental Economics.  Nick Hanley, Jason F. Shogren and Ben White. 2002. Oxford University Press.  Environmental and Resource Economics 23: 480–82

“Social Capital and Consumption among Agricultural Households.”  Middlebury College Discussion Paper Series (2002–02)

“Should We Bet on Private or Public Water Utilities In Cambodia? Evidence on Incentives and Performance from Seven Provincial Towns?”  2000.  With Mike Garn and Satu Kähkönen.  Middlebury College Discussion Paper Series (2002–19).  Paper contracted for the Water and Sanitation Division of the World Bank

“Can Investments in Social Capital Improve Well-Being in Fishing Communities? A Theoretical Perspective for Assessing the Policy Options.”  2000.  Proceedings of the 10th Biennial Meeting of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade 

“Choosing Better Technology: Does Social Capital Help?”  Insights 34: September 2000.  The Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex

Book review of Local Commons and Global Independence: Heterogeneity and Cooperation in Two Domains.  1996. Robert Keohane and Elinor Ostrom, Eds.  Sage Publications.  Social Science Quarterly 77 (4): 942–43

Recent Grants 

The Betsy and Jesse Fink Foundation (August 2009–June 2010), in support of sabbatical research

The Henry R. Luce Foundation (July 2006–June 2009) in support of three-year term as Luce Professor of International Environmental Economics

The S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation (May 2005) to support Ignition: What Can You Do to Fight Global Warming and Spark a Movement

Environmental Studies Research Assistance Grants (two) from the Program in Environmental Studies (May 2005) to support Ignition: What Can You Do to Fight Global Warming and Spark a Movement

Mellon Research Award (January 2005), under the Mellon Foundation’s Faculty Career Enhancement Initiative, to support  Ignition: What Can You Do to Fight Global Warming and Spark a Movement 

BPB Foundation; The Christian A. Johnson Foundation; The Schumann Foundation; Seventh Generation; the Vermont Campus Compact; and the following contributors from Middlebury College: The Ada Howe Kent Fund; The Alliance for Civic Engagement; The Charles P. Scott Spiritual and Religious Life Center; The Office of Environmental Affairs; Program in Environmental Studies; The Pooled Enrichment Fund; and The Rohatyn Center for International Affairs, for the January 2005 conference: “What Works?  A Melting Pot of Ideas for a Melting Planet.” 

Teaching Portfolio

Fall and Spring Term Courses

21st Century Global Challenges (ES380)
Conservation and Environmental Policy (ES211)
Environmental Economics (EC265)
Environmental Studies Senior Seminar (ES401)
Global Warming Solutions (FYS 1239)
Introductory Microeconomics (EC155)
Microeconomic Theory (EC255)  
Special Topics in Environmental Economics (EC465) 

Winter Term Courses

Focus the Nation (with Eban Goodstein, Lewis and Clark College.)  2007
Building the New Climate Movement.  2005
The Scientific and Institutional Challenges of Becoming Carbon Neutral (with Lori Delnegro.)  2003
Social Capital in Vermont.  2001 

Supervision of On-Campus Internships

Power Past Coal.  January 2009.
1Sky.  January 2008. 

Recent Student Awards

Sierra Murdoch (Middlebury '’10).  October 2009.  The Brower Youth Award from the Earth Island Institute for “her work to build a unified movement of grassroots activists battling coal.”

Elizabeth Kelly (Middlebury ‘09).  May 2009.  The Andrew E. Nuquist Award from the Center for Research on Vermont for Outstanding Student Research on a Vermont Topic. “The Implications of the Greening of Social Capital: Evidence from Bristol, Vermont.”  

Asher Burns-Burg (Middlebury ‘05.5).  May 2006.  The Andrew E. Nuquist Award from the Center for Research on Vermont for Outstanding Student Research on a Vermont Topic. “Empowering Environmentalism: A Socioeconomic Analysis of Energy Consumption; Awareness, Attitudes and Actions in Vermont.”  

Conferences and Training Programs

“Putting Schools to Work.”  Conference co-organizer.  The Island School, March 2011
 
“Getting to 350.”  Seminar series co-organizer.  The Gund Institute, University of Vermont, January–May 2010 

“Higher Education and the Greater Good: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century”   Workshop facilitator.  New England Regional Campus Compact Conference, University of Vermont, April 2010 

“How Our Nation's Colleges and Universities Can Generate Solutions for the New Green Economy.”  Workshop organizer.  The National Council on Science and the Environment Conference, Washington, DC, January 2010

“Getting to 350: Building Strategies for 21st Century Aspirations.”  Conference organizer.  Middlebury College, May 2009

“Building the Climate Movement.”  Designer and presenter for The Climate Project.  Washington DC and Boston MA, January 2008 

“Focus the Nation.”  Workshop co-organizer.  Middlebury College, September, 2006

“Learning from Our Students: How Can Service-Learning Improve Critical Thinking and Foster Long-Term Civic Engagement? ”  Workshop co-organizer.  Middlebury College, October 2005 

“Renewal: Reflection and Opportunity in an Age of Climate Crisis,”  The 2005 Middlebury College Clifford Symposium.  Conference co-organizer.  Middlebury College, September 2005 

“Service Learning and Environmental Studies.”  Workshop facilitator.  Sterling College, August 2005

“Finding Common Ground: An Exploratory Workshop on Vermont’s Future in the Age of Climate Change.”  Workshop organizer.  Middlebury College, May 2005

“Reclaiming Democracy: Engaging Students and Communities Through the Social Sciences.”  Co-facilitator.  Faculty Institute sponsored by the Campus Compacts of Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, Manchester, NH, May 2005

“Think About It!  Reflection in Service Learning.”  Workshop facilitator.  Norwich University, April 2005

“What Works?  New Strategies for a Melting Planet.”  Conference organizer.  Middlebury College, January 2005.  Featured on the front page of the Sunday New York Times (February 6, 2005.) 

Recent Academic Seminars, Lectures, and Interviews

“Issues and Impact: Coexistence and the Global Environment.”  Invited speaker and participant.  Luce Conference on Environmental Initiatives, Brown University, November 2010

“Sustainable Development – Is there Still Hope?”  Invited speaker.  Colby College, October 2010

“Building the Climate Change Movement.”  Invited participant.  Harvard University, April 2010

“Climate, Mind and Behavior Symposium.”  Invited speaker and participant.  The Garrison Institute, March 2010

“The Challenge of Getting to 350: On Accelerating Large Scale Clean-Energy and Carbon-Sequestration Solutions from 2010 to 2020.”  Solutions Seminar Series, The Gund Institute, University of Vermont, January 2010  

“Save the World, Get an A: Open-Source Learning for 21st Century Aspirations.”  Invited speaker, Franklin College,  Franklin, IN, November 2009  

“Greening Up Your Bottom Line.”  Invited speaker, Vermont Business Environmental Partnership, October 2009  

“Open-Source Learning and The Quest For Sustainability.”  Invited lecture,  2009 Leadership for Leadership in Sustainability, National Association of Independent Schools, June 2009

“Reflections on Earth Day.”  Keynote address, Earth Day Symposium for students from Baltimore-area independent schools, Baltimore MD, April 2009

“Cap and Trade vs. A Carbon Tax.”  Powershift ’09, Washington DC, February 2009 and the Climate Project Summit, Nashville TN, May 2009 

“Entrepreneurship in Climate Change: Fighting Global Warming with Brighter Planet.”  Yale School of Management, December 2008 

“Carbon Offsets: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.”  Invited lecture, Monterey Institute. October 2008      

“Satyagraha Leadership Retreat.”  Invited participant, The Garrison Institute.  April 2008
 
“Fanning the Flames: Some Next Steps for the World’s Climate Movement.” Howard E. Woodin Colloquium Series, Middlebury College, November 2007; Colby College, March 2007; St. Andrew’s School, April 2008; Earth Vision – Action for a Healthy Planet, April 2008, Washington, DC.
 
Radio interview with The Celsias Show.  March 26, 2008

“A Case for Geo-pragmatism in an Age of Climate Crisis.” Keynote Lecture, Washington College, February 2008

“Open-Source Learning: A Pedagogy for the 21st Century.”  Invited lecture for ConnectEd: A Conference on Global Education.  Monterey Institute. January 2008      

“Can Capitalism Save Our Planet” EarthBeat Radio.  December 11, 2007

“Facing Climate Change: One Community at a Time.”  Keynote Lecture, Vermont Planners Association, November 2007 

“How Ordinary Citizens Can Lead the Fight Against Global Warming.”  VPR's Vermont Edition. November 20, 2007 

“Humans, Machines and Weather.”  WFPL's State of Affairs.  November 6, 2007  

“Pro-Family, Pro-Jobs, Pro-Economy: The Right Way to Fight Global Warming.”  Class of ’65 Lectureship Series, Hanover College, November 2007 

Radio interview with WDEV’s Mark Johnson Show.  October 30, 2007  

“Ignition: What You Can Do to Fight Global Warning and Spark a Movement.”  New Canaan Country School, October 2007; Green Mountain College, May 2007; Granville (NY) High School, May 2007; Bowdoin College, April 2007

“Finding Solutions to the Climate Crisis.”  Invited panelist, Harvard University 25th Anniversary Symposium.  June 2007
  
“Ignition: The Birth of the Climate Movement.”  Invited speaker, The Sierra Student Coalition’s Climate Shindig, Kimball Union Academy.  August 2006

“John Dewey and the Middkids: What can We Learn from Middlebury’s Experience in the Movement to Stop Global Warming?”  Faculty Lecture Series, Middlebury College, April 2006

“Building the New Movement for a Sustainable Low-Carbon Future"  Invited speaker, Spring 2006 Seminar Series, The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, in conjunction with The Gund Institute For Ecological Economics, University of Vermont.  April 2006

“Does Relationship Lending Still Matter in the Consumer Banking Sector?”  Graduate research seminar, Department of Community Development and Applied Economics, University of Vermont.  March 2006

“Global Warming is Not an Environmental Problem.”  National Public Radio’s Open Source January 25, 2006 

“How can Climate Change Ignite Social Change?: Searching for a New Pragmatism in an Age of Climate Crisis.”  Invited lecture at Vassar College, October 2005  

“Refining Civic Engagement in a Liberal Arts Setting”  Invited panelist, Amherst College, September 2005    

“Doing the Impossible: How Campus and Community can Challenge Each Other to Think Globally and Act Globally.”  Paper presented at Greening of the Campus 6: Extending Connections, Ball State University, September 2005    

“How Students, Teachers and Community Members can Help to Solve the Climate Crisis.”  The Annual Gilbert Burnett Lecture, St. George’s School, Newport RI, April 2005  

“The Role of Communities in the New Climate Movement.”  Keynote Speech, The Third Annual Northeast Climate Conference, University Of Vermont, February 2005