Check Out Cohort Profiles for the 2023 Mentorship Program
Mentor and Mentee Profiles are now live for the 2023 Mentorship Program! Below you will find details and information on the participants this year:
Mentors
Brian Ambrette: Brian Ambrette is the Senior Climate Resilience Coordinator with the Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future in Maine. Brian supports the implementation of Maine’s four-year climate action plan with a focus on enabling community action that addresses risks to critical infrastructure and vulnerable populations as well as accelerating the transition to clean energy and energy efficiency. Previously Brian was the Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy in Maryland where his work included capacity building in rural coastal communities combining climate resilience and conservation. During that time, he served as a member of the Maryland Climate Change Commission’s Adaptation & Response Working Group. He holds a Master’s of Environmental Management degree from Yale University’s School of the Environment and a Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College.
Amanda Farris: Amanda Farris is the Senior Program Manager for the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership (MCAP). In this role, she helps to coordinate the MCAP program and several ongoing grants, collaborates with regional partners, translates climate data and information to support decision-making, and builds networks of climate adaptation practitioners. Amanda also works with researchers at the UMN Institute on the Environment to improve climate data visualization and communications. Prior to joining the MCAP team, Amanda worked with the Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments (CISA), an applied climate research team at the University of South Carolina Department of Geography. A key component of Amanda’s work is bridging the gap between climate science and stakeholder communities through network building. She served as lead organizer for the biennial Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference from 2014 to 2021. She has served on the Program Committee for the National Adaptation Forum since 2015 and has served as a mentor for the American Society of Adaptation Professionals’ (ASAP) Mentorship Program for two terms. More information is available at Amanda Farris | University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership (umn.edu).
Amy Bailey: Amy Bailey is the Director of Climate Resilience and Sustainability at the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). In this role, she identifies emerging approaches and solutions for climate change resilience and increases information sharing between cities, states, the federal government, and companies. Amy manages the Alliance for a Sustainable Future initiative and leads C2ES’s participation in the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) Climate READi Initiative. She also serves on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Advisory Board of Stanley Black and Decker.
Anna Marandi: Anna Marandi is based in DC and currently works at the Pew Charitable Trusts on state and federal flood policy. Before that, the bulk of Anna’s work centered around stakeholder engagement, developing equitable solutions with cities, providing technical support to cities and regional collaboratives, and a sprinkle of research and highlighting/sharing best practices. As a mentor, Anna loves supporting adaptation colleagues ranging from younger practitioners looking for early career guidance to people in the midst of a career change or other transition, and even those who have been working in the field much longer than me who are experiencing burnout and could use a thought partner. Anna is looking forward to connecting with this year’s cohort and to finding a great mentor-mentee match up!
Julia Chase: Julia Chase is the newly appointed Chief Resilience Officer for the City of San Diego, with over 8-year experience in climate planning in both the private and public sectors. Julia has led the development of climate change vulnerability assessment, the creation of adaptation and resilience strategies, and planning documents for local governments, and have extensive experience in stakeholder and community-focused outreach and engagement. Julia is passionate about climate resilience planning with a strong focus on equity outcomes and nature-based solutions.
Jonathan Cook: Jonathan Cook is a Senior Climate Adaptation & Resilience Advisor at USAID, where he has spent seven of the past nine years. Previously Jonathan worked for two years with the Global Commission on Adaptation, hosted at WRI in Washington, D.C. Jonathan has also worked on conservation and climate adaptation at WWF in Washington and overseas.
Clare Fogelsong: After 20 years working on natural resource and climate programs in the Public Works Department of the City of Bellingham, WA, Clare is transitioning to the Mayor’s newly formed Office of the Climate and Resiliency as the Climate Policy Manager. Bellingham has been at the forefront of climate action and advocacy. Clare’s work has included the completion of an Adaptation Strategy, a 2007 Climate Action Plan, and a 2018 revision of that Plan. As well as supporting a Climate Task Force of community members. Clare is currently managing adaptation programs in the areas of fire risk reduction, sea level rise, forest health, and water supply vulnerability. Plus we are working to bring our mitigation and adaptation plans into one document in 2023. Due to working for a small to medium size local government with limited staff, he has also had experience with a broad range of natural resource issues.
Dana Brechwald: Dana Brechwald is the Assistant Planning Director for Adaptation at the San Fr0ancisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Dana has directed BCDC’s climate adaptation program for the past four years, focused on transitioning from vulnerability assessments to adaptation action. Currently, Dana is implementing a series of region-wide actions to overcome adaptation barriers as identified in BCDC’s Bay Adapt Joint Platform. Dana’s passions are regionalism (working outside of single jurisdictional boundaries all bound by a single San Francisco Bay), diversity and inclusion in planning processes, decision-making, and outcomes, and collaborative problem-solving (with a particular fondness for the Collective Impact model). Dana believes in doing work that aligns with your values both in and outside of work and would love to work with you on showing up as your most authentic self to do transformative climate work.
Barbara Ewals: Barbara Ewals is the current Executive Director of the Initiative for Global Resilience (i4gr) – a global movement that advances partnership initiatives on resilience in all forms. i4gr assists all stakeholders to scale for impact – enhancing north-south and south-south cooperation through improved partnership mechanisms. Partnerships & Stakeholder Engagement have been at the forefront of her career. She was one of the key experts that were tapped by UN-ESCAP & UN University to validate the guidelines they were developing to assist member states, public & private organizations as well as civil societies in managing their partnerships to implement the UN’s 2030 Agenda. This guideline was then published and unveiled during UN-ESCAP’s Asia Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development 2018 – which is also the regional high-level forum for UN-ESCAP’s member states.
Kaitlin Harris: Kaitlin Harris has over a decade of experience in the climate adaptation and resilience field both in domestic and international contexts. Currently, Kaitlin works for Washington State as an Environmental Planner integrating climate change impacts and responses that center equity and justice into ecosystem recovery work.
Jamesine Rogers Gibson: Jamesine Rogers Gibson is a climate expert skilled in connecting people, ideas, and data to create a future where everyone can thrive. For nearly 20 years, she’s researched, shaped, and implemented cutting-edge strategies, policies, and initiatives to advance equitable climate mitigation and adaptation, economic inclusion, clean air, resilient clean energy and infrastructure, public health, and smarter land use and transportation systems. Her experience includes positions at all levels of government (U.S. Congress, federal, state, regional and local), two non-profits, and a foundation.
Jeffrey Meek: Jeffrey Meek is a sustainability and climate resilience professional. He has led a city sustainability office and a state transportation climate resilience effort. He is currently working for a firm supporting city and state climate action and resilience planning, and strives to ensure the ASAP JEDI statement is reflected throughout his work.
Jessica Cahail: Jessica Cahail is the Product Lead for EarthScan at Cervest, a climate intelligence company (and B Corp). Before joining Cervest, she was a Product Manager at Azavea, where she guided the development of Temperate, a vulnerability assessment and climate action planning tool for communities.
John Phillips: John is the Director of Integrated Watershed Management at Parametrix. He focuses on approaches to natural resources and infrastructure development in watershed planning, management, restoration, and climate change adaptation. Prior to Parametrix, John worked for King County, managing the Combined Sewer Overflow Control Program. Over his 23-year career, He has managed and developed the Green Stormwater Infrastructure (GSI) and Climate Change Adaptation programs. His climate work has been referenced in both the IPCC and National Climate Assessment reports.
Megan Holcomb: Megan Holcomb is trained as a climate scientist, biological systems engineer, and restoration ecologist. They have worked primarily in public research, state policy and funding, and private tech. Megan has deep experience in network science/systems theory; climate funding (grantor, grantee, grant writing); cooperatives, collaboratives, and consortium building; and cross-boundary negotiations (western US & international water resource management). Specialist in drought, water supply planning, forest health, water quality/quantity modeling
Jenna Jorns: Jenna (she/her) is the Co-Director for the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA) at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. She and the team at GLISA work at the boundary between climate science and decision making, striving to enhance Great Lakes communities’ capacity to understand, plan for, and respond to climate impacts now and in the future. Since joining GLISA in 2017, she was a co-author of the Midwest chapter of the 4th National Climate Assessment and serves as Co-Principal Investigator on two ongoing GLISA research projects focused on stormwater management and remote engagement in the Great Lakes and Gulf of Mexico. Previously, Dr. Jorns worked as a Policy Associate with The Climate Registry in Los Angeles to maintain existing and develop new greenhouse gas accounting policies and to improve energy efficiency and clean energy initiatives in Los Angeles with Global Green USA. She has a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Princeton University, where she studied the response of marine phytoplankton to increasing carbon dioxide concentrations. She also received a science, technology, and environmental policy certificate from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and a B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Chantal Madray: Chantal is a Climate Programs Manager at Second Nature. In this deeply collaborative role, Chantal manages intersectional climate action initiatives focused on resilience planning, cross-sector climate action, and climate justice and equity. She also manages the Acceleration Fund, a mini-grant program that fosters campus-community collaboration. Chantal enjoys working closely with Second Nature’s member institutions to understand challenges, identify opportunities, and develop tools and resources to advance their shared climate action goals.
Sushila Pandit: Sushila Pandit is a development practitioner with a decade-long experience in climate change, disaster management, and resilience, and had worked in various capacities like policy advocacy, technical lead, and program manager in leading organizations like Practical Action, CARE, and Mercy Corps. Sushila started their career as a young climate activist and was awarded international climate champion in 2009 and awarded a national award by the Nepal government in 2013. Also worked in the UNFCCC headquarters as an IUCN Global gender fellow. Currently, Sushila is working on their Ph.D. in climate adaptation policies.
Joel Smith: Joel Smith has been working on climate change vulnerability and adaptation for 35 years. He has worked in government but was a consultant for most of that time. Joel has also been involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and National Climate Assessment.
Tom Eisele: Tom Eisele is an urban planner, licensed architect, LEED Accredited Professional, and Certified Passive House Designer with 39 years of professional experience on building and planning projects around the world. Tom is a member of The American Institute of Architects, The Urban Land Institute, and The National Institute of Building Sciences. He has been a member of ASAP since 2019. From 2010 through 2019, and was Senior Policy Advisor in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Sustainability (MOS) and Office of Resiliency (MOR) drafting local laws amending the city’s construction codes, zoning resolution and environmental regulations. He is currently working on the development of the NYSERDA New York State Stretch Energy Code for 2023 and as a building sector advisor to the New York State Climate Impacts Assessment.
Mentees
Carol Anway: Carol Anway has a Ph.D. in physics. Carol worked a career at Boeing, on a team that advanced the field of lightning protection of aircraft. Carol is a person of faith, a Presbyterian. Their goal is to reach conservative people of faith in Montana by showing up and talking about global warming in a way that creates a safe environment for questions and discussion. Carol prepared a presentation and learned a lot in their first three events. Carol sometimes feels quite despairing about climate change and seeks both resources to support the presentation and encouragement to continue the work.
Areli Balderrama: Areli Balderrama is passionate about public health because of its challenge; it requires people to imagine a reality beyond their own and to carry out possible solutions to contemporary problems. A tenet of their career is that marginalized communities should collaborate to build healthy, equitable, and sustainable communities. Areli’s career in public health concentrates on housing and transportation issues; they firmly believe that to improve the quality of life, we must have safe and secure housing complimented by accessible modes of transportation. In Areli’s free time, they enjoy backpacking, hiking, traveling solo, and cycling.
Bharat Balyan: Bharat Balyan (he/him), is from Minneapolis, MN. He received a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience at the University of Minnesota in 2016. Following his undergrad, Bharat took a gap year and did a service year with MN GreenCorps, where he was placed at the Minneapolis Health Department. Post-GreenCorps, he completed a MPH in Global Environmental Health at the University of Minnesota in 2019. Bharat has been with the Climate and Health Program at CDC since February 2021, where his primary work has been researching the impact of drought on mental health. In his free time, he loves spending time playing disc golf, video games, board games, and roleplaying games like Dungeons and Dragons. He is a big sports fan, especially for the Minnesota Vikings and Minnesota Timberwolves (yes, it is a rough life being an MN sports fan). Last but not least, he is a proud cat dad of Jango, who may be the biggest belly rub fiend you’ve ever met.
Varun Bhat: Varun Bhat is from India. Varun’s primary research interest lies in creating contextual climate change policy frameworks for localities, including policymakers. Varun’s future career goals involve getting into academia as a professor, or doing some form of action-based research! In their spare time, Varun cooks, bakes, plays video games, or just hangs out with friends.
Marcella Bondie Keenan: Marcella is a proud Latine (she/they) and a Chicago booster. Marcella started out in traditional environmental consulting and then made a mid-career switch to environmental planning and policy. Marcella strongly believes that climate work cannot be done from a purely technical and environmental perspective, but must incorporate community wisdom and holistic perspectives. Marcella loves climate justice, nature-respecting solutions, and community collaboration.
Tanja Crk: Tanja Crk’s educational background is in conservation biology and international policy. Their professional background is in public sector environmental policy. Tanja is interested in the adaptation and resilience framework and policy implementation.
Damaris Borden: Damaris Borden recently graduated as a Master’s student who is looking to relocate to the D.C. area and is passionate about improving local and state policy in order to protect human communities at the urban-ocean interface. Damaris grew up in the US mountain west (Northern CA, NV, and ID), but since 2015 has been based in upstate New York, where they pursued a B.A. in Environmental and Urban Studies and an M.S. in Climate Science and Policy at Bard College. During this time, Damaris supplemented their education by participating in a series of internship programs — biology research in rural Western PA, visitor services for a wildlife refuge in coastal AK, citizen science and administration for a marine conservation and education NGO in the Florida Keys, climate change planning for a NYC park, and environmental justice work for an urban farm and EJ hub in Albany, NY. Damaris believes strongly in the power of cities as critical players in meeting climate mitigation, adaptation, and environmental justice goals, and hopes to build upon their varied professional background as well as her curiosity and communication skills to bring forth adaptive and just outcomes along the city-to-sea gradient. Some personal interests include hiking, caring for their ducks, sustainable fashion, creating multimedia art, and SCUBA diving.
James Holman: James Holman is currently working as a Civil Engineer in the Washington, D.C. Metro area. Throughout their career, they always have had a desire to do work with more meaning. As a professional, a couple of their most impactful projects were working in the cleanup efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and working on an innovative energy storage project in New York City. James realized they had a passion for helping people and wanting to build a more sustainable future in the face of climate change. James wants to learn more about sustainability and build the skills necessary to transition into this exciting field.
Josephine Justin: Josephine Justin is finishing their last year at UNC Chapel Hill as a Master’s of City and Regional Planning student specializing in land use and environmental planning. Josephine is also pursuing a Natural Hazards Certificate and is passionate about environmental justice, disaster resilience, and community engagement. Currently, they are working for the Southeast and Caribbean Disaster Resilience Partnership (SCDRP) as a Program Coordinator and also an intern with San Francisco’s Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Previously, they interned with the US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and also was an AmeriCorps California Climate Action Corps Fellow working with the City of Los Angeles’ Climate Emergency Mobilization Office. Since Josephine is in the process of researching and applying to jobs and other opportunities in the climate resilience and adaptation field in the Southeast and California, they would greatly appreciate the opportunity to connect and learn from ASAP Members!
Alanna Komisar: Alanna Komisar is an upcoming adaptation and resilience specialist based in Toronto, Canada. Alanna’s background is primarily in sustainability-related fields though she previously worked as a loss prevention engineer with an insurance company. Some recent highlights include creating resilience and adaptation guidance for commercial buildings, supporting creating community resilience hubs for vulnerable communities for an international non-profit organization, and serving municipalities to adapt to climate change. She’s garnering a lot of traction on operational and systems-based approaches. She’s anticipating starting her first project looking at climate resilience in post-disaster reconstruction in conflict zones in 2023. This is very exciting, but she’s particularly interested in connecting with someone with an international lens to support the transition from a domestic to an international focus. All fields are welcome. Though her background is in engineering, she’s interested in also exploring relationships with others from different backgrounds to garner different perspectives.
Allie Larman: Allie Larman, and is a recent graduate from the Community and Regional Development program at UC Davis. As a student, they had the opportunity to work on the National Climate Assessment, climate vulnerability studies, and with a local planning department. Allie is passionate about equitable climate adaptation and plans to pursue a career in the field. Allie hopes to receive mentorship support as they begin their career, and learn more about the field. In their free time, they work as a gymnastics coach and love to explore the outdoors!
Kate Leftin: Katie Leftin is finishing their Executive Master’s of Natural Resources with a certificate in Global Sustainability from Virginia Tech and has a sustainability internship with Inova Health System in Northern Virginia. In 2009 Katie received a Master’s of Social Work. During that program, Katie was a cofounder of the Environmental Social Work Initiative that raised awareness of how environmental health and justice issues affected vulnerable communities. After Katie’s MSW, they worked in clinical social work in a variety of healthcare settings but made a career change because Katie wanted to contribute to improving environmental conditions needed for communities to be healthier. Katie has been a part of ASAP for a year and a half and was part of the leadership team for Convening Climate Collaborators earlier this summer before their current internship began.
Camilla Lizundia: Camilla (they/she) is a 24-year-old urban planner and artist based in Philadelphia, PA. They work for Mural Arts Philadelphia as a campaign manager for an environmental campaign. They completed their Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning (’22) with a focus area in transportation planning and their Bachelor’s in the Environment (’20) from the University of Michigan. They have experience in academic research, transit technology, and environmental non-profits.
Ren Martin: Ren Martin was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. From a young age, they enjoyed creating artwork and studying about the environment. Ren seeks to help others through their work in the nonprofit sector, and continues to advocate for social, economic, and environmental justice in the areas of energy, agriculture, and democracy. Ren’s specialties lie in visual storytelling, communication, and environmental justice education. Now, as an Eco-Justice Program Coordinator, Ren aims to inspire people to create a more equitable and loving world for all.
John McClure: John McClure is a 25-year-old graduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing an MS in Environmental Justice, Policy, and Planning, graduating in Spring 2023. He received his BA in Environmental Studies and Anthropology from UC Santa Cruz in 2020 and then worked as an Environmental Justice fellow with National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center. John’s primary interests include climate adaptation and resilience planning and environmental justice policy and advocacy. After graduating John would like to move to the Washington DC area to work for an environmental NGO or research center focused on climate change solutions while centering equity and resilience. Ultimately, John seeks to better understand how we as humans can better adapt to the effects of climate change in an equitable and sustainable way, centering human stories and community engagement along the way.
Erin Minnigan: Erin Minnigan is the Director of Preservation & Planning for the Preservation Society of Charleston, the nation’s oldest, grassroots preservation organization (est. 1920). In this role, she oversees the Society’s planning and zoning advocacy and manages preservation programs. Bringing a wealth of experience in technical preservation, project review, and public process, Minnigan is passionate about maintaining the authenticity of Charleston’s unique historic environment by promoting managed growth and shaping compatible new development. Minnigan previously served as the Board of Architectural Review-Small Administrator for the City of Charleston, where she authored design guidelines for elevating historic buildings, and managed community revitalization projects for the City of St. Augustine, FL. She has contributed to and presented on a number of projects regarding community revitalization, designation of sites associated with underrepresented communities, and flood adaptation strategies for historic districts. Minnigan holds a B.A. in Historic Preservation & Community Planning from the College of Charleston and Master’s of Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Florida.
Shawn Miya: Shawn Miya has been in the Environmental Health and Safety field since 1998. Currently, they work at Indiana University as a Lab Safety and Laser Safety Specialist. Shawn received a Master’s of Public Health degree from IU in December 2021 and completed the Yale School of Public Health’s Climate Change and Health certificate program in July 2022. I have served on the City of Bloomington Commission on Sustainability since May 2022 and lead a working group whose mission is to create a Heat Management Plan to help mitigate and adapt to extreme heat.
Alexis Monti: Alexis Monti, is a recent graduate of Umass Amherst with degrees in Environmental Science and Natural Resources Conservation. She has held a series of internships as a Coastal Resilience Program Assistant, Newsletter and Outreach Coordinator, Forest Monitoring Technician, Sustainable Policy Analyst, etc. and is in the process of trying to find her next role. Alexis is originally from the Boston area but now lives in Fort Collins, CO as she finishes up her current role as a Harmful Algal Bloom Communication and Outreach Intern. Alexis is passionate about the climate adaptation field and is looking to find her footing within this area, perhaps as a sustainability coordinator, climate resilience specialist, or a hydrology technician. An ideal mentor for her would be someone who would be willing to share their story and could give advice or guidance on what steps to take to succeed/advance in the climate adaptation field. Linkedin
Dolly Na-Yameh: Dolly Na-Yemeh is a Climate Adaptation Specialist with the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Oklahoma. Dolly hopes to build a strong network of collaborators, researchers, and end users to facilitate efforts towards climate adaptation and actionable science. Her research interests include the impacts of extreme weather events, climate change and climate impacts, stakeholder engagement, science translation and climate adaptation.
Oliva Poon: Olivia Poon graduated in 2016 with a degree in Environmental Engineering, focused on remote sensing. Currently, she works with CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) as an account manager to support large, fortune 500 companies on their CDP Disclosure and Supply Chain engagement. This covers disclosure on emissions, targets, governance, climate-related risks and opportunities, and engagement with stakeholders. Her prior work experience is varied: she has worked with federal research organizations, a logistics startup, a sustainable coffee roastery, and a sustainable coffee ratings app. On the side, she enjoys playing tennis, snowboarding, and sewing.
Samantha Nuno: Samantha is a Mexican-American and first-generation student, born and raised in Sylmar in the Northeast San Fernando Valley. Growing up at her family home with five siblings, she has personally seen how climate change impacts like extreme heat and wildfires affect communities of color, many of which are already overburdened by high levels of air pollution. Her upbringing inspired her passion for climate resilience and environmental justice within her academic and professional career. Samantha recently graduated summa cum laude from UCLA in 2022 with a Master’s degree in Public Policy as well as cum laude from Scripps College in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Analysis. In her Grants and Programs Analyst role at Climate Resolve, Samantha writes grant proposals and accesses new funding opportunities and relationships for Climate Resolve and underserved communities (including municipalities, organizations, and tribes).
Josh Richardson: Josh Richardson (he/him) is the founder and director of a nonprofit focused on increasing climate resilience within faith communities as a means to increase overall community resilience, especially for individuals who typically are unable to access traditional resources. Josh has an M.S. in geology (aqueous geochemistry) and an M.A. in Public Ministry (this is essentially a justice and social change degree). Josh has worked in numerous environmental spaces including environmental geology/wetlands remediation, institutional sustainability, and education for social change. Josh also was raised in an Environmental Justice community and is a cancer survivor.
Suzette Risacher: Suzette Risacher is a disabled veteran trying to enter the workforce. Suzette volunteered with the Virginia Native Plant Society and graduate with a BS in 2021, and expects to graduate with an MS in Natural Resources in 2022. Suzette has not worked for over 23 years, so is rusty with the skill sets needed to gain employment. More importantly, Suzette is still trying to figure out the right fit or area of discovery to explore.
Sarah Saydun: Sarah Marie Saydun is a climate planner, participatory action researcher, and a firm believer in the transformative power of relationships. She has spent over a decade in Boston working with youth and organizing for social justice and is completing her Master’s in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts. She is excited to bring those experiences to inform her new role as a resilience and adaptation planner at Linnean Solutions. In her spare time, you can find her tending lovingly to her plants, attempting to roller skate, or devouring urban fantasy novels like N.K. Jemisin’s The City We Became.
Carey Schafer (she/her): Carey Schafer is a Project Coordinator for EcoAdapt, where her main job is to organize the National Adaptation Forum and other knowledge exchange programming. Previously Carey completed a one-year fellowship with the National Academies Gulf Research Program and worked with PLACE: SLR, an organization focused on helping communities plan for sea level rise on the Gulf Coast. Carey has an MS in marine science and a BS in environmental science.
Tanvi Sule: Tanvi Sule has a Master’s in Environmental Science & Studies (Resilience & Adaptation). Tanvi has experience in conservation( wetland, terrestrial, coastal ), sustainability, policy, resource management, and stakeholder engagement. A collaborative and inquisitive individual looking for opportunities that intersect adaptation and resilience, policy, sustainability, and community development. Tanvi’s interests include climate change mitigation, conservation, urban development reform, circular economy, energy efficiency, and resource management.
Tiana Noelani Thorp (she/her) Tiana Noelani Thorp is an engineer by trade but is also passionate about climate change activism, art, and the ‘Āina Back movement. Tiana is currently in the second year of her Ph.D. at the University of Delaware where she studies civil engineering with a focus on engineering & public policy as a Distinguished Scholar Fellow. She previously received a BS in civil engineering with a focus on structures from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and dual MS degrees (structural engineering and wood science & engineering) from Oregon State University. Tiana’s dissertation research focuses on saltwater intrusion induced deterioration of infrastructure. Her long term career goal is to make sustainable building materials available to all people regardless of their financial circumstances through policy initiatives and grassroots activism. Tiana is currently training to run a marathon for charity (Students Run LA) next March and is a proud dog parent. 🙂