Kory Russel is an Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies at the University of Oregon. Kory teaches courses on sustainable and human-centered design, courses on water, sanitation and public health, as well as course in Environmental Studies. His primary research focuses on planning, designing, and implementing sustainable water and sanitation (WASH) services in low- and middle-income countries. He currently services as the Chair of the Container Based Santiation Alliance (CBSA) and is also the co-founder of the “re.source sanitation” research initiative originally funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation focused on low-cost sanitation services in dense informal settlements.

Kory was a PhD student in the Environmental Engineering & Science program of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and a member of the Poop Group. He focused his efforts on water supply and sanitation issues in rural Africa, specifically Mozambique. Additionally, Kory worked with fellow Poop Group member Sebastien Tilmans on a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation funded low-cost toilet development project in Haiti called re.source.

Kory was born and grew up in Oregon and attended high school in Papua New Guinea. He received a BS in Environmental Biology and MS in Environmental Science from Taylor University. He spent 3 years serving in the Peace Corps in Mozambique, where he assisted in planning and helped realize several nationwide projects that focused on women’s empowerment, skills training, HIV prevention and science education.