Cires ITG Sustainability and Storytelling Lab Student Assistant

The Sustainability and Storytelling Lab (SAS Lab) with Inside the Greenhouse (ITG), which is housed in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), is accepting applications for Undergraduate or Graduate Research Student Assistant for the fall 2026 semester. The fellowship will be active from August 26, 2025-December 11, 2026, as hourly pay in the Student Assistant II range, pending experience ($17.60-$35.40) for a maximum up to $1600 (approximately 90 hours or 6-7 hours/week).

This fellowship supports experiential education as a valued research approach. It will involve critical thinking and developing communication capacities through: abstract thinking about sustainability (e.g., how to represent air pollution?) and storytelling (e.g., what is desire-based research and how can we amplify community-based solutions?); active experimentation (e.g., how can we co-design a StoryMap that follows our understanding of best practices?); concrete experiences (e.g., co-creating digital stories to amplify community voices); and reflection (e.g., what did you learn from this research?).

Responsibilities and expectations include:

Prior coursework or training with Dr. Boykoff (CIRES Fellow, ITG Co-Director), Dr. Pezzullo (ITG Co-Director, SAS Lab Director), Dr. Safran (ITG Co-Director), Dr. Osnes-Stoedelke (ITG Co-Director), and/or Warren Cook, MA (ENVS intern coordinator and SAS Lab Associate Director) required for consideration as background in creative climate communications and/or environmental communication. Supervisors for this fellowship will be Prof. Boykoff (as a CIRES Fellow) and Prof. Pezzullo (as the SAS Lab Director and primary point of contact).
Work with CIRES staff (Lin Yang, lin.yang@colorado.edu) for payment paperwork.
Provide a headshot and related information for publicity (SAS Lab website, annual report, LinkedIn) to Dr. Pezzullo.
Fulfill the primary expectations for a SAS Lab Research Fellow this semester:
attend and participate in weekly one hour SAS Lab fellow meetings in person in CASE on CU Boulder campus to build a research community and gain a lab experience, including regular feedback and mentorship from Dr. Pezzullo. Day and time to be determined during regular work hours Monday through Friday; availability at a common time required. Your research findings should be presented at least twice.
Develop in depth sustainability and storytelling skills and experiences (individually or, when appropriate, as a pair or group) related to the SAS Lab’s Colorado Environmental Justice Digital Storytelling Project, a partnership with the Office of Environmental Justice in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Research may potentially involve: (a) reading research on environmental justice and/or storytelling; (b) coauthoring and fact checking an ArcGIS StoryMaps as a mode of storytelling; (c) researching for StoryMaps related to environmental justice (such as: open access photographs, policies, etc.); and (d) interview-based research (conducting interviews in person or remotely and audio editing).
Provide feedback (beta testing) for usability and accessibility on related sustainability and storytelling initiatives, such as digital toolbox on information integrity, a public art exhibit about data + storytelling, podcast or radio episodes, a digital tour of plastics on campus, and/or related events or programs.
Incorporate feedback from community partners, who serve as advisors and collaborators; exceptional work will be shared by the Office of Environmental Justice in the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on their website, which serves as leaders and partners in this project.
Reflect towards the end of the semester in an oral discussion, a survey, and an approximate 300-word social media post (with photo of yourself &/or work equipment/space) for ITG/SAS Lab publicity (website, newsletter, etc) about your work’s value to your educational and/or professional goals.

Application Process:

To apply as a Sustainability And Storytelling Lab Undergraduate Research Fellow with ITG/CIRES, please email Prof. Phaedra C. Pezzullo (phaedra.pezzullo@colorado.edu):

(1) your resume; and

(2) a cover letter (no more than two pages) explaining:

What course(s) you already have taken related to this fellowship (including with the faculty who are relevant in letter “A” in the fellowship description)
Which relevant skills/experience/knowledge you already have (and wish to develop further) related to the the fellowship description (ex., I’ve edited an audio clip, designed a StoryMap, won a storytelling award, studied environmental justice, fact checked in another class, lived in Colorado, etc.; please, provide evidence of work such as hyperlinks or a portfolio). The Research Fellowship is designed for students with expertise to further develop research; if you have no exceptional experiences in 2a-d noted above, consider a SAS Lab internship role instead for credit and a stipend (for a description of that option, go to: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S5RmPjIs2QlaMsunnqVc3FuF-IIa-rpQ/view?usp=sharing).
Why you are interested, that is, what you hope to gain out of the fellowship, considering how this position aligns with your personal, educational, and/or career goals (this will help figure out if the fellowship can support what you want to learn)
When in your fall schedule you are available for one hour meeting time slots Monday-Friday 9am-5pm in CASE; please, also include how many hours on average you have capacity to provide (minimum is 4 hours, maximum is 6-7 hours)

Prof. Pezzullo will begin reviewing applications August 10, 2026, conduct 15-minute Zoom interviews, and accept applications until all positions are filled. Before the interview, SAS Lab expectations will be shared supporting inclusivity, asking questions, avoiding AI use, and more. To learn more about the lab, visit: https://www.colorado.edu/lab/sas/
For more about Prof. Pezzullo, visit: https://phaedracpezzullo.com/
For more about CIRES, visit: https://cires.colorado.edu/

Note: though a time will not be chosen until after applications are reviewed, the lab most likely will meet during one of the following times: Mondays some hour between 3:15-5 pm; Tuesdays or Thursdays at 11am or between 12:30-4:30pm; or Wednesdays 11am, 2pm, or 3:35pm.