Mark Ortiz is a geographer with research interests spanning youth politics, social movement studies, storytelling methods, and environmental/climate justice.
He completed a PhD in Geography at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2022 and a B.A. at the University of Alabama in 2015. Mark is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University (PSU) and co-Funded faculty member within the Institute of Energy and the Environment and the Social Science Research Institute at Penn State. He is the Creator and Director of the Global Youth Storytelling and Research Lab (The GYSRL) a collaborative research ecosystem based at PSU that aims to bridge youth-centered research, education, storytelling, and policy advocacy. He also teaches undergraduate and graduate courses focused on climate justice and youth geographies.
Mark’s current research explores: 1.) Transnational youth climate justice advocacy; 2.) The evolution of youth engagement in multilateral institutions (e.g. the U.N.); and 3.) Environmental and climate justice in the U.S. South.
He has interviewed and worked with youth environmental and climate justice advocates from around the world - from the Pacific to the SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) region, to the U.S. South and beyond. Much of his work is built around a commitment to chronicling stories of advocacy among youth and community organizations in regions and communities most impacted by climate and environmental injustice.
