Dr. Mark Ortiz

Biography

Mark Ortiz is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University, where he is also a co-funded faculty member in the Institute of Energy and the Environment and the Social Science Research Institute. Mark holds a PhD in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completed in 2022, and a B.A. from the University of Alabama in 2015. His research interests focus on youth politics, social movement studies, storytelling methods, and environmental and climate justice. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses centered around climate justice and youth geographies. His current research explores transnational youth climate justice advocacy, the evolution of youth engagement in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, and the dynamics of environmental climate justice in the U.S. South. Mark has conducted interviews and collaborated with youth environmental justice advocates globally, particularly in the Pacific Southwest Asia North Africa (SWANA) region and the U.S. South, with a commitment to documenting the stories and advocacy of youth in communities affected by climate and environmental injustice.

Research Interests