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Shae Frydenland is a full time instructor who will spearhed the Climate and Society in Asia initiative. Nurul Wahyuni is teaching Indonesian as a Fulbright teaching scholar.

Dr. Shae Frydenlund’s research and teaching is motivated by an acute interest in the world of work and labor policy in Asia and the United States. She earned a PhD and Masters in Geography from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelors in Geography from Colgate University. Her early research focused on racialized labor hierarchies in the Chomolungma (Everest) mountaineering industry of Nepal. Shae’s doctoral research is an ethnography of Burmese refugee labor and its central role in municipal development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Denver, Colorado. 

Before joining the faculty at the Center for Asian Studies, Shae held a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral appointment at the University of Indiana and was Global Shifts Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Perry World house, where she conducted research on immigrant and refugee labor in the United States food system. 

Looking ahead, Shae’s next research project is a collaborative study of geothermal development and climate justice in Indonesia. In collaboration with indigenous Indonesian scholars and activists, the project critically examines the political economy of state climate policy, sustainable energy development, and their impact on indigenous livelihoods and labor.

At CAS, Shae is thrilled to be teaching courses that introduce students to the global political, economic, and cultural significance of Asia. This semester she is teaching ASIA 1000: Origins of Contemporary Asia, ASIA 2852: Environmental Politics, and ASIA 4500: Urban Asia. In the spring she will be teaching a new course – Gender, Capitalism, and Climate Change – as part of the new Climate and Society in Asia Certificate program.

Originally from Colorado, Shae spends her free time climbing, mountain biking, and competing in the Freeride World Tour Qualifier big mountain ski circuit.

Nurul Wahyuni is a Fulbright Indonesian Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Scholar and teaches Indonesian Beginning and Intermediate classes at University of Colorado Boulder. She studied her bachelor's degree in English Education at UIN Raden Fatah Palembang and later achieved her Language Master’s degree majoring in English Education at Sriwijaya University.

Nurul grew up in Qatar at an International school for 9 years and 6 months. She then moved back to her home country in Indonesia and started her studies and career there. She started her career as an English and Indonesian translator and is still active in the translating world. She then pivoted to being a TOEFL and English instructor at UIN Raden Fatah Palembang for more than 2 years. She also worked as an ESL Cambridge teacher at senior high school for more than 1 year before coming to the U.S.

Being raised at an international school in Qatar and exploring much about Indonesian culture and language made her keen to research about third culture kids, language, culture, and any areas related. Nurul loves to research and recently published her first research article at Indonesian Research Journal in Education (IJRE) regarding culture and language transition of third culture kids of Indonesian university students when re-entering and adjusting to their homeland, Indonesia.

Nurul recently moved to Boulder and is exploring various fun activities that it offers. Her favorite hobby is playing badminton and had won several competitions during her time at Qatar and Indonesia.