Erica Berejnoi
School of Sustainability
Arizona State University
PO Box 875502
Tempe, AZ 85287-5502
Biography
Erica Berejnoi is pursuing a PhD degree in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State University. Her research focuses on spirituality as the missing link between sustainability and happiness. The experience of spirituality, in its scientific essence, is a deep connection of everything in this universe at the quantum level, which includes us – humans. This prime energy holding the universe together is also what we are made out of, which suggests there is a deeper connection among humans with each other and nature. This connection is observed through the experience of love, compassion, empathy, and community hard-wired in humans’ brains. Erica’s work looks at spirituality as the process of reconnection within the self and with the people and environment around us to achieve lasting happiness and intrinsic motivations for sustainable behavior. Her work utilizes contemplative practices, dance, and movement to aid in the reintegration of the self. After finishing her post-graduate studies, she envisions to continue working on the nexus between spirituality and sustainability in the fields of science and the arts. She also envisions to use her skills to promote long-term sustainability in her home country, Bolivia.
Teaching Assistant Experience
- Cultivation of Inner Sustainability
- Sustainable World
- Sustainability & Enterprise
- Marketing
- Consumer Behavior
- Spoken Languages:
- Spanish (native); Mandarin Chinese (intermediate); Sign Language (elementary)
Education
- PhD, Sustainability, Arizona State University, 2020
- BS, Business Administration (Marketing concentration), Berea College, 2016
- BA, Asian Studies, Berea College, 2016
Expertise
Journal Articles
2020
Berejnoi, E., D. Messer and S. Cloutier. 2020. Cultivating spiritual well-being for sustainability: A pilot study. Sustainability 12(24):10342. DOI: 10.3390/su122410342. (link )
2018
Berejnoi, E., N. Rodriguez, J. Martinez, C. Sykes, C. Haugerud and S. Cloutier. 2018. The cultivation of inner balance. Solutions 9(4):. (link )
Biel, B., D. LaScola, E. Berejnoi, S. Cloutier and J. D. MacFadyen. 2018. Does inclusivity really matter? The importance of diversity and inclusion in farm-based internship programs. Solutions 9(4):. (link )
Cloutier, S., E. Berejnoi, S. Russell, B. Morrison and A. Ross. 2018. Toward a holistic sustainable and happy neighborhood development assessment tool: A critical review of relevant literature. Ecological Indicators 89(Jun):139-149. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.01.055. (link )
2017
Cloutier, S., A. Karner, H. L. Breetz, P. Toufani, N. C. Onat, S. Patel, S. N. Paralkar, E. Berejnoi, B. Morrison, J. T. Papenfuss, A. D. Briggs and C. Carlson. 2017. Measures of a sustainable commute as a predictor of happiness. Sustainability 9(7):1214. DOI: 10.3390/su9071214. (link )
Musikanski, L., S. Cloutier, E. Berejnoi, D. Briggs, J. Davis, G. Strasser and S. Russell. 2017. Happiness Index methodology. Journal of Social Change 9(1):4-31. DOI: 10.5590/JOSC.2017.09.1.02. (link )
Musikanski, L., C. Polley, S. Cloutier, E. Berejnoi and J. Davis. 2017. Happiness in communities: How neighborhoods, cities and states use subjective well-being matrics. Journal of Social Change 9(1):32-54. DOI: 10.5590/JOSC.2017.09.1.03. (link )
Book Chapters
2019
Berejnoi, E., R. Ulluwishewa, S. Cloutier, L. Gibbons, S. Puga, A. Uthumange and R. Phillips. 2019. Chapter 11. Spirituality: The missing link of sustainability and happiness as a framework for holistic development. Pp. 203-224 In: Kee, Y. and S. J. Lee eds., Perspectives on Community Well-Being. Springer International Publishing. ISBN: 978-3-030-15115-7.