Sandra De Urioste-Stone, Ph.D.

Sandra De Urioste-Stone is Associate Vice President for Research, and Professor of Nature-based Tourism in the School of Foret Resources. She was born and raised in Guatemala, where she obtained an undergraduate degree in Ecotourism. After completing her undergraduate education, she worked for a Guatemalan non-profit conservation organization. Dr. De Urioste-Stone earned her PhD in Natural Resources with an emphasis in conservation social sciences from the University of Idaho.

Since arriving at UMaine in 2012, Dr. De Urioste-Stone’s research has focused on (1) enhancing resilience of natural resource dependent communities, (2) engaging stakeholder partners in the research process, and (3) training the next generation of applied researchers by mentoring postdoctoral associates, graduate and undergraduate students. Dr. De Urioste-Stone’s research has addressed emerging socio-ecological problems faced by rural communities and underserved groups in the State of Maine, while maintaining international research efforts in Latin America and Asia. Her research has covered topics such as climate change adaptation in the tourism and forestry industries; adoption of innovative technology to respond to socioecological changes; and emerging one health issues such as Chagas, mosquito-borne and tick-borne diseases, and moose-tick-human interactions to list a few. As an applied social scientist, Dr. De Urioste-Stone’s work includes close collaborations with external and internal partners. Her research has been supported by over $12.4 million from grants awarded by the National Science Foundation, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the World Health Organization, among others.