Powers, Sammie

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Phone: (703) 993-6840
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Email: spower5 (@gmu.edu)

View Sammie Powers's curriculum vitae in PDF format.

Sammie Powers is an Assistant Professor of Recreation Management in the School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management at George Mason University. She comes to Mason from Penn State, where she worked in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and earned her doctoral degree. Within a larger framework of social-ecological systems, Sammie’s work focuses on parks, recreation, and conservation management, with emphasis on the interconnected components of equity, environmental sustainability, and health.

Dr. Powers conducts research focused on parks, recreation, and conservation management. Through a social-ecological systems framework, which underscores the complex, dynamic interactions between social systems (e.g., stakeholders, governance systems and structures) and ecological systems (e.g., natural resources), she examines the reciprocal relationships between equity, environmental sustainability, and health. Together, equity, environmental sustainability, and health form a dynamic feedback loop: equitable access can support environmental citizenship and sustainable resource management, which enhance both ecosystem and human health, reinforcing the resilience of both social and ecological systems. Through this line of research, she not only identifies and implements more equitable processes for engaging diverse stakeholders in planning and management, but also examines how advancing equity in parks, recreation, and conservation contexts can promote health and wellbeing (e.g., physical activity, belonging) and encourage environmental citizenship (e.g., volunteering, advocacy), and ultimately facilitate greater support for funding, policy, and advocacy related to conservation and sustainable resource management. 

Much of her recent and current research focuses on understanding landscape values and preferences, partnerships, management challenges and equitable actions, visitor experiences, belonging, and environmental citizenship behaviors, including environmental stewardship, advocacy, and activism. Dr. Powers uses quantitative, qualitative, spatial, and mixed-methods approaches. She conducts research with diverse stakeholders including, but not limited to, community members and organizations, stewardship or volunteer groups, community development corporations, conservation and environmental non-profits, land managers, and policymakers. Dr. Powers has authored numerous technical reports for local, state, and national organizations including needs assessments, outdoor recreation plans, provider assessments, social network analyses, stakeholder engagement plans, and visitor use studies.

Powers, S. L. & Trauntvein, N. (2024). Local nature-based recreation as a pathway to environmental citizenship. Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism, 47, 100810, 1-10. DOI: 10.1016/j.jort.2024.100810

Powers, S. L., Pitas, N. A., & Rice, W. L. (2024). Applying location quotient methodology to urban park settings with mobile location data: Implications for equity and needs assessments. Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 98, 128418, 1-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2024.128418

Daniels, M. J., Liu, H-L., & Powers, S. L. (2024). Infrared visitor counts: Data validation and algorithm development. Current Issues in Tourism. Online First. DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2024.2364758

Powers, S. L. & Son, J. S. (2024). Racial equity facilitators of active outdoor recreation in local parks and protected areas: Scale development, testing, and validation. Journal of Leisure Research. Online first. DOI: 10.1080/00222216.2024.2317280

Powers, S. L., Mowen, A. J., & Webster, N. (2024). Development and validation of a scale measuring public perceptions of racial environmental justice in parks. Journal of Leisure Research, 55(1), 1-24. DOI: 10.1080/00222216.2023.2183369

Powers, S. L., Pitas, N. A., & Mowen, A. J. (2024). Critical consciousness of systemic racism in parks among park agency directors and policymakers: An environmental justice tool for recreation and conservation leaders. Society & Natural Resources, 37(1), 24-47. DOI: 10.1080/08941920.2023.2250737

Pitas, N. A., Powers, S. L., & Mowen, A. J. (2022). Neoliberal conservation and equity in the context of local parks and recreation: Stakeholder perceptions on public-non-profit partnerships. Journal of Leisure Research, 53(3), 473-491. DOI: 10.1080/00222216.2021.1964927

Powers, S. L., Webster, N., Agans, J. P., Graefe, A. R., & Mowen, A. J. (2022). The power of parks: How intergroup contact in urban parks can support prejudice reduction, interracial trust, and civic engagement for social justice. Cities, 131, 104032, 1-13. DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2022.104032

Powers, S. L., Webster, N., Agans, J. P., Graefe, A. R., & Mowen, A. J. (2022). Engagement, representation, and safety: Factors promoting belonging and positive interracial contact in urban parks. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 69, 127517, 1-11. DOI: 10.1016/j.ufug.2022.127517

Powers, S. L., Trauntvein, N. E., & Barcelona, R. J. (2022). Municipal stakeholders’ perceptions of the importance and outcomes of multi-sector recreation partnerships. Managing Sport and Leisure, 27(4), 322-336. DOI: 10.1080/23750472.2020.1791235

• Recreation Management
• School of Sport, Recreation, and Tourism Management
• Sport and Recreation Studies
• Tourism and Events Management

• Park Management and Operations (RMGT - 302)
• Administration of SRT Organizations I (RMGT - 410)

• Human Behavior in Natural Environments (RMGT 402)
• Special Topics in Recreation Management (RMGT 480)
• Visitor Services (RMGT 533)
• Special Topics (RMGT 598)
• Thesis Preparation (SRST 595)