Director
Dr. Mio Katayama Owens is the Assistant Dean of International and Executive Programs in the Rausser College of Natural Resources at UC Berkeley. She earned her Ph.D. in the Department of Anthropology as an international student at UC Berkeley, specializing in Anthropology of Food and East Asian Prehistory. With ten years of managing anthropological fieldwork projects in Japan, Owens examined the long-term environmental impacts of food consumption behaviors and the role cultural factors play in societal definitions of food. After earning her Ph.D., Owens oversaw a variety of graduate student initiatives including business model development, revenue stream identification, public health, and impact assessment as an academic coordinator for an international nonprofit. She has taught Anthropology of Food and Archaeology courses at UC Berkeley and St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. At the Rausser College of Natural Resources, she leads the International and Executive Programs, collaborating with UC Berkeley faculty, staff, experts, and external stakeholders to effectively link academic and professional entities and develop professional programs in Berkeley and overseas. Together with the Academic Directors, Dean Emeritus and Professor J. Keith Gilless and Professor David Zilberman, Owens leads the internationally acclaimed Beahrs Environmental Leadership Program.
Program Administrator
Skyler Witherspoon
Skyler Witherspoon is the Program Administrator for International and Executive Programs (IEP) at the Rausser College of Natural Resources. They received their BA in Sociology from UC Berkeley, and they have been working at IEP since 2016. Skyler is a freelance copy editor and proofreader, as well as the finance coordinator for UC Berkeley's LGBTQ+ staff organization, LavenderCal. They have been volunteering with LavenderCal since 2021. They also volunteer as a moderator for Branching Out Book Club, the community-led successor of Life's Library, a 9000+ member international book club founded by John Green. Skyler reads and reviews electronic advance reader copies (eARCs) of books for publishers including Random House Ballantine Books, Disney-Hyperion, and Button Poetry, and they are a volunteer librarian for The StoryGraph.
Skyler is originally from Shasta County in Northern California, and they return there every summer to be a counselor at YMCA Camp McCumber. In their free time, they enjoy reading, writing poetry, acting, going to concerts, and creating digital art. They have poems published in several magazines and anthologies, including Sunday Mornings at the River, The Luna Collective, Inkfeathers Publishing, and Train River Publishing. You can follow their work at @skylerwitherspoon on Instagram. Skyler's pronouns are they/them or she/her, and they are based in Portland, Oregon.
IEP Staff
Annie Miller
Annie Miller has been part of the student staff in International and Executive Program (IEP) at the Rausser College of Natural Resources since the summer of 2021. Annie uses she/her/hers pronouns. Annie is currently studying environmental sciences and data science and plans to graduate in the spring of 2023. Annie enjoys reading mystery novels, baking, and walking around Berkeley. Annie has enjoyed working in the IEP office immensely and has learned invaluable skills. She is very excited to continue working with the amazing IEP staff.
Shannon Carlson
Shannon Carlson (she/her) joined the student staff for International and Executive Programs (IEP) at the Rausser College of Natural Resources in the summer of 2022. She is a rising third-year studying Environmental Economics and Policy and Sustainable Design. She is also a lead photographer at Innovative Design. Aside from photography, her hobbies include exploring Berkeley on foot, taking care of her houseplants, and reading.
Anna Alaverdian
Anna Alaverdian (she/her/hers) joined the student staff in the International and Executive Programs (IEP) at the Rausser College of Natural Resources in the summer of 2022. She is studying cognitive science and plans to graduate in the fall of 2023. She enjoys watching shows and going outside with friends and family.
Forrest Gleaton
Forrest Gleaton (he/him) is a Conservation and Resource Studies (CRS) major and joined the student staff of the International and Executive Programs at Rausser College of Natural Resources in the spring of 2022. His hobbies include playing games with his friends, listening to music, and cooking new recipes.