Meet Our Education Advisors
The SolPods Education Advisory Committee brings together experienced educators and academic leaders who are dedicated to advancing student success and sustainability learning. With deep expertise in research, pedagogy, and global issues, they provide guidance on curriculum design, mentorship models, and educational strategy. Their insights ensure SolPods programs not only inspire, but also equip students with the skills and opportunities to thrive as future sustainability leaders.
Pamela Zeiser, Ph.D.
With a career spanning more than 20 years in higher education, Pamela A. Zeiser, Ph.D., is currently Director of Undergraduate Research at the University of Nevada, Reno. Previously a Professor of Political Science at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, she supervised numerous undergraduate research projects presented at academic conferences and published in undergraduate journals, supported Honors theses and portfolios, and worked closely with student services to ensure students thrive both in and beyond the classroom. As a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Zeiser possesses both deep expertise and a personal commitment to expanding opportunity for all students.
Dr. Zeiser taught courses on global issues, including the environment; international relations, including the Sustainable Development Goals; and comparative politics, including environmental issues in other countries. She is the author of Global Studies Research, which pioneers an integrative research method for interdisciplinary International Studies majors. Other areas of published research include global health, pedagogy/andragogy, and social media ethics. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the University of Nevada, Reno, and both a Master’s degree in International Studies and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Claremont Graduate University.
Michael Kraten, Ph.D., CPA
Michael Kraten, PhD, CPA has more than forty years of management consulting experience and twenty five years of higher education experience. He is currently serving as Technical Expert for Sustainability and Resilience at PKF O'Connor Davies and Director of Intellectual Content for the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council (SILC). In academia, he most recently completed a two year term as Director of Accounting Program Initiatives at the University of Houston, where he focused on developing innovative approaches to sustainability, entrepreneurship, Artificial Intelligence, and the "pipeline" challenge of attracting students to the accounting profession. Earlier in his academic career, he taught for the Universities of Connecticut and Massachusetts, Maastricht University, and elsewhere. He has also presented his work at Dartmouth College, Deloitte University, Harvard Law School, the Harvard Extension School, Johns Hopkins University, and Yale University.
Dr. Kraten began his career in the assurance and consulting practices of Deloitte. After serving as a Consulting Partner at BDO, then the world’s seventh-largest accounting firm, he went on to co-found several boutique consulting practices. In 2004, he founded Save the Blue Frog, a strategic consulting firm that helps clients navigate the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental sustainability. His consulting work has taken him to Bolivia, Canada, Great Britain, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, the Middle East, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Vietnam, including corporate training activities with the national energy companies of Bolivia, Iraq, and Vietnam.
Dr. Kraten has written extensively about the evolution of the “triple bottom line” and integrated reporting, the integration of sustainability metrics into management accounting and financial valuation activities, and the need to strengthen corporate governance practices. His award-winning business case and educational game “Save The Blue Frog” has been recognized for its immersive, experiential approach to integrating the fields of sustainability, financial modeling, risk management, corporate reporting, and corporate ethics.
Outside of work, he is on the Board of Directors of TXCPA Houston, and he also serves on the Leadership Council of TXCPA, the state-wide Texas Society of CPAs. He is also on the Editorial Advisory Board of the CPA Journal and the Advisory Board of the Center for Professional Accounting Practices at Fordham University in New York.