Dr. Joan Brehm
Professor & Department Chair
Office
SCH Schroeder Hall 332a
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Selected Research
Current Courses
SOC 477.001 Community Project Design And Management
Teaching Interests & Areas
Sociology of Natural Resources and Environment Sociology of Community Research Methods
Research Interests & Areas
Environment and natural resource sociology, sociology of community, research methods, demography, watershed health, place attachment. My research and teaching interests center around the interactions between human populations and the environment in which they live. My most recent research activities involve two specific areas of investigation. First, I am working with colleagues at Southern Illinois University on an interdisciplinary investigation of water quality and community capacity for planning and conservation with the overall goal of evaluating and communicating watershed and community health risks in eight subwatershed communities in Southern Illinois. Second, I am working on a social assessment of attitudes, values, and beliefs regarding water quality and watershed management in the Nippersink Creek watershed in Northern Illinois. This project is funded by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IL-EPA) 319 Program.
Ph D Sociology
Utah State University
Logan, UT
MS Sociology
The University of Montana
Missoula, MT
BA International Relations
The University of Minnesota
Minneapolis, MN
Outstanding Cross-Disciplinary Team Research Award
Illinois State University
2016
Janice Witherspoon Neuleib Award for Outstanding Scholary Achievement
Illinois State University, College of Arts and Sciences
2013
Research Innitiative Award
Illinois State University, College of Arts and Sciences
2008
Grants and Contracts
Advancing Research and Creative Scholarship Grant Track II
Joan Brehm, Melissa Heil, Eric Peterson, Noha Shawki, Guang Jin.
Illinois State University. July 2025 - June 2026
Revitalizing Urban Waterways: Floating Gardens as a Path to Social Sustainability on the Chicago River
Mike Hendricks, Alec Foster, Noha Shawki, Eric Peterson, Joan Brehm.
Illinois State University's Advancing Research and Creative Scholarship. August 15 2025 - September 30 2026
Mitigating Future Threats to Biodiversity: The Role of Headwater Streams and Land Management Practices in the Kaskaskia River Watershed
Joan M. Brehm, William Stewart, Cory Suski, Maria Chu.
Illinois Innovation Network. January 1 2021 - December 31 2021
Socio-cultural Drivers to Decline in Fish Catches of the Indian Ocean in Tanzania
Gideon Bulengela, Rose Mbwete, Joan M Brehm.
Western Indian Ocean Marine Sciences Association, Marine Research Grant Programme. 2021 - 2021
Social Assessment of Water Conservation Behaviors Among Farmers in the Lake Bloomington and Evergreen Lake Watersheds
Joan Brehm.
The Nature Conservancy. January 06 2017 - December 31 2017
Projections of Climate Change Effects on Lake Tanganyika (CLEAT).
Joan M. Brehm, Peter Staehr, Catherine O'Reilly.
Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DANIDA). January 1 2015 - December 31 2019
Lakes Bloomington/Evergreen Watershed Social Assessment
Joan Brehm.
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). August 1 2014 - July 30 2016
Nippersink Creek Watershed Social Assessment: Phase II
Joan Brehm.
Illinois EPA. May 2012 - May 2014
Nippersink Creek Watershed Social Assessment
Joan Brehm.
Illinois EPA. May 2009 - May 2011
Evaluating Watershed Health Risks Through Integrated Water Quality Analyses, Community Capacity Assessments, and Outreach Appraisals
Joan Brehm, Mae Davenport, Jon Schoonover, Karl Williard, Erin Seekamp, .
USDA/CSREES/NIWQP. January 2007 - January 2010
Book, Chapter
Social change and well-being in western amenity-growth communities
Richard Krannich, Peggy Petrazelka, Joan Brehm.
(2006), The Population of Rural America: Demographic Research for a New Century
Other
Your Agriculture - Your Water - Your Future: Executive Summary Report
Joan Brehm, Jennifer Swick.
(2017)
Your Water - Your Future: A Residential Household Survey to Assess Our Water Future: A Report on the Community Survey
Joan Brehm, Elias Peter, Brian W. Eisenhauer.
48, (2016)
Technical Report
Maintaining the Health of the Nippersink Creek Watershed: An Evaluation of Phase II Outreach Activities and Community Survey
Joan Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer.
(2014)
Presentations
Building the team: Conducting international transdisciplinary team-based research on Lake Tanganyika, East Africa.
Catherine O'Reilly, Peter Staehr, Ishmael Kimirei, Karsten Bolding, Joan Brehm, Gideon Bulengela, Johnny Haupt Larsen, Torben Lauridsen, Charles Lugomela, Huruma Mgana, Prisca Mziray, William Perry, Paul Onyango, Emmanuel Sweke, Dennis Trolle.
Association for the science of Limnology and Oceanography, Online, June 22, 2021
Sustainable management of Lake Tanganyika will require transdisciplinary approaches to improve food security
Catherine O'Reilly, Joan M. Brehm, Karsten Bolding, Gideon Bulengela, Johnny Haupt Larsen, Ismael Kimirei, Torben Lauridsen, Benjamin Lowe, Charles Lugomela, Huruma Mgana, Prisca Mziray, William Perry, Paul Onyango, Peter Staehr, Emmanuel Sweke, Dennis Trolle.
Association for the science of Limnology and Oceanography, Online, June 22, 2021
Beyond Rules and Regulations: Understanding the Cultural and Social Significance of Beach Seine Fishery on Lake Tanganyika
Joan Brehm, Gideon Bulengela, Paul Onyango.
Weathering extremes: African environmental politics in a destabilized world, Online, May 26, 2021
To Adopt or Not: Using Social Science in Watershed Planning to Promote the Adoption of Residential Best Management Practices (BMPs)
Brian W. Eisenhauer, Boyd Smith, Joan Brehm.
30th Annual Nonpoint Source Pollution Conferencve, Portsmouth, NH, April 19, 2019
Teaching Environmental/Natural Resource Classes in These Times
Joan Brehm, Carla Trentelman, Brian W. Eisenhauer, Rebecca Schewe.
24th International Symposium of Society and Resource Management, Snowbird, Utah, June 19, 2018
Water, Water Everywhere: Will There be a Drop to Drink in 20 Years in Bloomington/Normal?
Joan Brehm, William Perry.
College of Arts and Sciences, Main Street College, Normal, IL, November 2, 2017
To Adopt or Not? Revisiting the Complexities of Predicting Adoption of Residential Best Management Practices (BMPS)
Joan Brehm.
Utah State University, Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, Logan, UT, October 27, 2017
Attitudes and Motivations of Farmers for Adoption of Best Management Practices for Water Quality
Joan Brehm, Swick Jennifer.
The Nature Conservancy, Alphabet Soup Stakeholders Group, Alton, IL, September 22, 2017
Challenges for Predicting Adoption of Residential Best Management Practices (BMPs) for Water Quality in a Midwestern Landscape
Joan M Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer.
International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Umea, Sweden, June 21, 2017
Exploring the power of Agency in fishery: Reflections from fishing communities of Lake Tanganyika, Kigoma, Tanzania
Gideon Bulengela, Joan Brehm.
International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Umea, Sweden, June 21, 2017
To Adopt or Not? The Complexities of Predicting Adoption of Residential Best Management Practices (BMP) for Water Quality in a Midwestern Landscape
Joan Brehm.
Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology Brown Bag Research Presentation, Logan, UT, October 27, 2016
Challenges, issues and innovations in survey research methods
Joan Brehm, Kristin Floress, Linda Prokopy, J. Gordon Arbuckle.
International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Houghton, MI, June 24, 2016
Adoption of Residential Water Quality Behaviors in the Midwest: A Meta-analysis
Kristin Floress, Joan Brehm.
International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Houghton, MI, June 23, 2016
The Gap Between Knowledge and Adoption of Best Management Practices in a Midwest Water Rich Environment
Joan Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer, Peter Elias.
International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Houghton, MI, June 20, 2016
Your Water- Your Future: A Residential Household Survey to Assess Our Water Future
Joan Brehm, Peter Elias, Brian W. Eisenhauer.
Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo, Bloomington, IL, April 9, 2016
Techniques, Tips and Tools for Engaging Undergraduates in Research.
Joan Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhaure, Courtney G. Flint, Carla Trentelman, Rebecca Schewe, Tania Schusler, Linda Prokopy.
International Symposium of Society and Resource Management, Charleston, SC, June 15, 2015
Increasing Residential Adoption of Best Management Practices Over Time in an Urbanizing Watershed
Joan Brehm, Brian W. Eisenhauer.
International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Hannover, Germany, June 11, 2014
Assessing Residential Adoption of Best Management Practices in an Urbanizing Watershed
Joan Brehm.
United States, April 25, 2014
The role of social science in best management practice adoption and watershed planning
Joan Brehm.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Nonpoint Source Pollution Workshop: Nutrients and the Rural Landscape, Bloomington, IL, November, 2012
Identifying key factors in homeowner’s adoption of water quality Best Management Practices
Joan Brehm, Danielle Pasko, Brian W Eisenhauer.
18th International Symposium on Society and Resource Management, Edmonton, Alberta Canada, June, 2012