Miriah Russo Kelly is a Connecticut native. After living overseas and working and studying on the West Coast, she has returned to her home state as an assistant extension educator and evaluation specialist in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources to enhance the impact of extension programs through her background in communications and environmental science.
Kelly received her master’s degree from Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in organizational communication. It was during her time at CCSU, where she also earned her undergraduate degree, that she met Dr. C Benjamin Tyson, a professor who introduced her to the field of environmental communication and the International Environmental Communication Association. She spent the next few years fostering her passion for the environment and ecology.
Traveling to New Zealand, Kelly completed evaluation projects for the New Zealand Landcare Trust. When she returned to the US, she worked as an ecology tour guide in the Colorado mountains. These experiences led her back to graduate school at Oregon State University (OSU), where she earned her Ph.D. in environmental science. At OSU she bridged her interests, studying communications and teaching public speaking, organizational communication and other communications courses while exploring the human dimensions of natural resource management and decision-making.
