Social science for land, sea and the people within them.
Silver Seal Consulting is the human‑dimensions research practice of Alyssa Thomas, PhD — survey, interview and focus group research for natural resource management, recreation, wildfire and conservation.
10+
Years post‑PhD
5
Countries worked in
Qual + Quant
Mixed methods
PhD
Environmental studies
A social science practice for land, water and wildlife.
Silver Seal Consulting, LLC
Human dimensions research
"As a social scientist I study people — the human dimensions of things."
Silver Seal Consulting is a social science consultancy working across natural resources management — terrestrial and marine — as well as recreation, wildfire and conservation. Right now the practice is one person: Alyssa Thomas, PhD, with more than ten years of experience beyond her doctorate.
That experience spans national and international NGOs, the USDA Forest Service, and partnerships with professors at universities in several countries. The through‑line is the same in every setting: understanding how people relate to the places and species being managed.
How do people recreate — what do they do, which sites do they choose, and why? How do businesses view sharks, and how important are they to their work? These questions sound simple. Answering them well is what turns a management plan into one that actually holds.
Focus areas
Recreation · Wildfire · Conservation
Settings
Terrestrial & marine
Clients
Agencies · NGOs · Universities
Based
East Lansing, MI · Working worldwide
Alyssa Thomas, PhD
I earned a PhD in environmental studies from Victoria University of Wellington. I have had a passion for the environment and wildlife for as long as I can remember.
A trip to Kenya during college made me realise the importance of the human aspect — seeing how close communities were to national parks, how they depended on income from tourism, and how some still hunt. Since then I have focused on the human dimensions of natural resource management.
That work has taken me around the world: New Zealand, Belize, Fiji and Vietnam. Working for the Forest Service I gained an interest in wildfire and recreation, and in their connections with both people and the environment.
Human dimensions research,
end to end.
Work is undertaken alone or as part of a team, including interdisciplinary teams. Every project is scoped to the question, the population, and the timeline — there is no standard price list, because there is no standard project.
Survey & questionnaire design
Questionnaires built for the question at hand — in person, online, or by mail — across a wide range of subjects and audiences.
Focus groups & group discussions
Facilitated in person or virtually, designed to surface the reasoning behind people's choices, not just the choices themselves.
Interviews & key informant research
Structured and semi‑structured interviews with the public, stakeholders, and key decision makers.
Field team training & oversight
Training assistants and staff to carry out data collection, with oversight of implementation from first pilot to final response.
Qualitative & quantitative analysis
Mixed‑methods analysis, including work with pre‑existing data or information that needs to be made sense of.
Reporting & presentation
Comprehensive written reports, with virtual presentations or briefings — however the client would like to receive the results.
Studying the human
dimensions of things.
Natural resource decisions are decisions about people: how they recreate, how they make a living, what they fear, and what they are willing to change. Good social science makes those dimensions visible early enough to matter.
— Alyssa Thomas, PhD
01
Start with the question, not the method.
Survey, interview, focus group or existing data — the design follows what you actually need to know, and who needs to be heard to know it.
02
People are the missing variable.
Ecological data rarely explains an outcome on its own. Understanding how people use, value and decide about a resource is what makes management work.
03
Rigour that travels.
Instruments are piloted, field teams are trained, and analysis is documented — so results hold up to review, funders, and peer scrutiny.
04
Findings you can act on.
Every project ends in a comprehensive written report, with presentations or briefings in whatever form is most useful to the client.
Current and past research.
A selection of the work — studies led independently and as part of interdisciplinary teams, for agencies, NGOs and university partners.
Shark tourism & coastal business perceptions
Marine · International
How operators and coastal businesses view sharks, and how those views shape their livelihoods and support for conservation measures.
- Key informant interviews
- Operator survey
- Thematic analysis
Recreation site choice & visitor behaviour
Terrestrial · United States
What people do on public land, which sites they choose and why — visitor use research supporting management and planning decisions.
- On‑site intercept survey
- Online panel
- Statistical modelling
Wildfire, risk and community response
USDA Forest Service
Human dimensions of wildfire — how residents and land managers understand risk, mitigation, and the trade‑offs between them.
- Household survey
- Focus groups
- Mixed‑methods synthesis
Community livelihoods & protected areas
New Zealand · Belize · Fiji · Vietnam
Fieldwork with communities living alongside protected areas, examining dependence on natural resources and tourism income.
- In‑country fieldwork
- Semi‑structured interviews
- Reporting
Have a proposal, or a project that needs a social scientist?
Scope, methods and cost depend on the question, the population, and the timeline — there are no set prices. Tell me what you're planning and I'll come back with an approach and a quote.
Scientific publications and reports.
Peer‑reviewed articles, book chapters, technical reports and presentations across recreation, wildfire, marine and conservation research. Full citations and a CV are available on request.
Scoped to your question, never templated.
For agencies, NGOs, universities and consultancies
I work independently or as part of a team — including interdisciplinary teams — on funded research, grant proposals, and collaborative projects.
Full study
Design, data collection, analysis and reporting.
Team member
The social science component of a larger project or proposal.
Analysis only
Existing data or information analysed and written up.
No set prices · Costed per project
Let's talk about your project.
Whether you're writing a proposal, planning a study, or sitting on data that needs analysing — send the shape of the problem and I'll reply within two business days.
- alyssa.s.thomas12@gmail.com
- (541) 350‑8009
- East Lansing, Michigan · Working worldwide
- linkedin.com/in/alyssa-thomas