Patrick Kelly

S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture & Natural Resources

Environment & Society (ENVS)

Patrick Kelly is a Ph.D. Candidate of Environment and Society in the S.J. & Jessie E. Quinney College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, expected to graduate in Spring 2026. He earned his M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education from Alaska Pacific University and his B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Florida State University. Since 2019, he has served as an instructor of record, teaching courses in environmental science, science communication, nonprofit management, and experiential education. He has been recognized multiple times for teaching excellence, including Graduate Student Teacher of the Year at both the department (2025) and college (2022-2023; 2025-2026) levels. In addition to his USU work, Patrick has an extensive record of educational leadership, including work as Director of Education at Stokes Nature Center, Youth Programs Manager at the Denali Education Center, service as Northwest Region Council Chair for the Association of Experiential Education, and a volunteer adaptive snowboard instructor teaching people living with disabilities. Additionally, he has mentored undergraduate researchers, resulting in student coauthorship on peer-reviewed scholarship, and held elected Graduate Student Council roles as both department representative (2022-2023) and college Chair (2023-2024). He lives in Cache Valley with his wife, daughter, and three dogs.