Leon Mach, Ph.D.
Leon Mach, Ph.D.
Resident Lecturer in Environmental Policy and Socioeconomic Values
About
Professional Activities
- 2016 - present
- Founding Member, International Association of Surf Academics
- 2015 - present
- Co-Founder, SeaState LLC
- 2014 - present
- Associate Director, Center for Surf Research
Faculty Profile
I am from Baltimore, Maryland and never really left the state before I studied abroad at the University of Wollongong in Australia as an undergraduate. This experience was incredibly formative. I met some of my best and closest friends (as well as distant relatives), found an intellectual curiosity for international development, and fell in love with surfing. After taking some time to travel and surf, I decided to pursue MA research on surf tourism impacts using sustainable tourism as a theoretical framework. During my doctoral studies and beyond, I continue to examine surf tourism resources as comprised within a socio-ecological system and interrogate the effectiveness of user driven governance models attempting to ensure local benefits and minimal ecological harm. I have conducted research on surf tourism governance in Peru and Costa Rica and I am excited to continue this line of inquiry along with SFS students in the field using Bocas del Toro as a case study.
When not teaching with SFS, I run surf themed, short term study abroad programs with a company I started called SeaState. The goal of this platform is to use my field research as a teaching tool for undergraduate students – to give them the tools, as well as, inspire them to pursue research that aligns with their passions.