Susie Qashu is a doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona, where she studies human impacts in arid and semi-arid lands and coastal zones and the affects of these impacts on their environment. Currently she is investigating human behavior in marine protected areas in arid coastal zones. She is a TINKER Foundation summer research grant recipient and a US Peace Corps Fellow at the University of Arizona. Previously she worked as a National Park Service ranger, was an active participant in the National Park Service's Intake Trainee Management and International Affairs Programs, and worked with Chilean artisanal fishers.