Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 1-71 of 71 Results
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Anela Arifi
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2020
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsAnela researches the nexus between engineering, socio-economic, policy, and environmental components of energy systems. She currently focuses on the characterization of the scale and pace of integrating different energy systems with natural climate solutions.
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Eeshan Chaturvedi
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
SGSI Student Assistant, Vice Provost for Graduate EducationBioEeshan is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Climate Governance, and its correlations with policy, law, and earth systems. He holds an LLM in Environmental Law and Policy from Stanford Law School and has since worked with various domestic and international organizations on legal and management issues related to the environment and climate. In academia, he has held positions of Assistant Dean and Professor of Climate Governance and continues to engage with the various stakeholders in the climate space.
He enjoys discussions on neuroscience, astrophysics, and geo-politics in his free time. -
Safari Fang
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2020
BioSafari Fang is a Ph.D. candidate in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER). She is an interdisciplinary scientist and ocean conservation leader with proven experience and passion for connecting people from diverse backgrounds to facilitate deep, meaningful collaborations aimed at solving environmental challenges. Growing up next to a polluted Yangtze River in China, Safari aspired from an early age to work in environmental conservation, and she connects deeply with communities that live the real consequences of pollution and habitat destruction. Her current research focuses on aquaculture and fisheries, food security, and community-based marine conservation. Through her research and action, Safari is engaging diverse stakeholders in the global seafood system and fostering collaborations among sectors for the sustainable use of ocean resources.
Safari is an alumna of the Blue Pioneers Program, a leadership development program for ocean conservationists from Asia. She sits on the board of directors of Demos Education Hub, an environmental education and community development NGO in Hainan, China. Safari has lived and worked in several countries, including China, the U.S., Iceland, Germany, and France. She speaks fluent Chinese and English and enjoys reading, swimming, kayaking, hiking, whale watching, yoga, meditation, and creative writing. -
Sarah Fendrich
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
Student Employee, Social Sciences Division
SGSI Student Assistant, Vice Provost for Graduate EducationBioSarah is interested in the design and evaluation of decision support systems for local and regional-scale climate adaptation. Her research aims to explore the social and cognitive processes through which decision support systems — both digital decision support tools and the activities of regional climate resilience networks — shape adaptation planning and implementation, organizational learning, and environmental outcomes. She is specifically interested in supporting more adaptive and integrated water resources management. Sarah’s current work focuses on better understanding the collaborative landscape of federal decision support activities using social network analysis, as well as the decision-making and planning processes of local stormwater managers in coastal communities across the U.S. using a mixed-methods approach, including surveys, interviews, and document analysis.
Sarah holds a BA in cognitive neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to coming to Stanford, she worked on health care innovation and equity research at the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit and the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics. -
Jill Grey Ferguson
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
BioJill Grey Ferguson is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. Jill is also the co-founder of LibertyHomes, a nonprofit dedicated to scaling inclusive utility investment systems with robust consumer protections that make home energy upgrades accessible to all people without credit checks, upfront cost, or debt. Prior to starting LibertyHomes, Jill was a Truman-Albright Fellow at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy where she led the Rural Research Initiative. She has worked at the US Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy as a solar technology fellow and as a photovoltaic cell researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jill earned a bachelor of science in material science engineering from the University of Virginia.
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Madison Freeman
MBA, expected graduation 2024
Masters Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Spring 2023BioMadison Freeman is a Knight Hennessy Scholar pursuing a master’s degree in business administration at Stanford Graduate School of Business and a master’s degree in environment and resources at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability through the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. She focuses on innovative approaches to scale emerging climate solutions, especially those accelerating decarbonization of heavy industries and transportation.
Immediately prior to Stanford, Madison served in the Biden administration as a senior advisor on technology and innovation to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, where she led industrial decarbonization global initiatives including the First Movers Coalition. She spent three years in venture capital at Energy Impact Partners, a leading climate investment fund with strategic LPs across the utility and built environment space. At EIP, she developed investment strategy for new sectors explored by the firm, engaged strategic LPs, invested in hardtech startups and helped establish funds focused on backing underrepresented founders and deep decarbonization breakthroughs. She started her career in climate and innovation policy think tanks, at the Atlantic Council and Council on Foreign Relations. Madison founded and directed the NYC chapter of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute, was a 2021 Women Leader in Energy and Climate Fellow with the Atlantic Council, and her clean energy analysis has been published in outlets including NPR, Foreign Affairs, and The Hill. She graduated from American University with a bachelor's degree in international relations and economics. -
Felipe Galvis-Delgado
Masters Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Spring 2023
Master of Arts Student in International Policy, admitted Autumn 2022BioFelipe is an M.A. student in International Policy and an M.S. student in Environment and Resources. He focuses his studies on renewable energy development, electricity markets, climate finance, and the transition toward a clean energy economy in oil and gas dependent economies, such as his home communities of New Mexico and Colombia.
Most recently, Felipe worked for Pattern Energy, an international renewable energy developer, during which he worked on utility-scale wind, solar, and storage projects, including SunZia, the largest renewable energy project in U.S. history. Prior to joining Stanford, Felipe spent five years in Washington D.C. working on policy in the U.S. Congress, where he worked on several policy issues including international affairs, homeland security and climate-agriculture. During this time, Felipe managed his boss’ work in several Senate Appropriations Subcommittees and in the House Homeland Security Committee. Felipe also drafted several pieces of legislation that ultimately were enacted into law. Outside of work, Felipe was an active member of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association.
Felipe holds a B.A. in International Relations and Politics from Pomona College, where he was also a four-year member of the men’s soccer team. During his time at Pomona, Felipe studied European politics and economics for a semester in Florence, Italy, and conducted field work in Budapest, Hungary for his senior thesis on right-wing populists’ exploitation of migration crises. -
Rwaida Gharib
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2023
Other Tech - Graduate, Precourt Institute for EnergyBioRwaida “Rudy” Gharib is pursuing her PhD in environment and resources at the Stanford School of Sustainability. Her research focuses on environmental justice and the policy changes/financing needed to support the climate adaptation and resilience of vulnerable populations—specifically, those living in rural poverty, women and girls, and im/migrants/refugees.
Rwaida has worked in humanitarian aid and international development for more than 15 years, serving as an advisor to the World Bank Group, UN Development Programme (UNDP), and as a presidential appointee for the Obama Administration in various capacities. -
Ayako Kawano
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
BioAyako Kawano is a Ph.D. student at Stanford University. Her research interests include the impact analysis of air pollution on population health and climate change in low- and middle-income countries using remote sensing data and machine learning methods. Before coming to Stanford, she worked as a Data Scientist at UN Global Pulse and as a Program Manager at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
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Emma Krasovich Southworth
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
BioEmma is interested in exploring how we can promote the health of people and the environment in a changing world. Her research aims to measure, value, and predict the impacts of global environmental change on our ecosystems, environmental quality, and human health. She leverages different types and scales of data, including field collected ecological data to remotely sensed data to epidemiological data on human health outcomes, and she relates these datasets together by drawing on methods and tools from various disciplines, such as machine learning, causal inference, and exposure assessment. Her current research focuses on how changes to air quality, land use, and water quality, which are three resources that are critical to the functioning of healthy ecosystems have consequences for both the environment and human health. Emma is co-advised by Erin Mordecai and Marshall Burke, and she is a NSF Graduate Research Fellow, a Stanford EDGE Fellow, and a Stanford Data Science Scholar.
Prior to starting her PhD, Emma worked as a Research Analyst at the Global Policy Lab at UC Berkeley (now at Stanford). During her time at GPL, she was part of a project that aimed to identify land-based sources of nonpoint source water pollution in national-scale river systems in New Zealand and the US Mississippi River Basin. Emma completed her MPH in global and environmental health science and global health at Columbia University and received a BA in behavioral neuroscience from Colgate University.
When she isn’t at her desk, you can find her outside - most likely running or hiking up a mountain. She also co-founded a trivia company and loves to host trivia nights to bring communities together. -
Krish Mehta
MBA, expected graduation 2024
Masters Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Spring 2023BioPassionate about cleantech / climate entrepreneurship. Previously, manager for Model 3 program at Tesla, and Engagement manager at McKinsey's Sustainability practice.
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Karli Moore
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
BioKarli Moore, a member of the Lumbee Tribe, is from Prospect, North Carolina, and is pursuing a PhD in environment and resources at Stanford School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences. She earned bachelor's degrees in chemistry and agricultural business management from NC State University, master's degrees in agricultural economics (University of Arkansas) and rural development (Ghent University), and a graduate certificate in food policy from Arizona State University. Karli aspires to advance food sovereignty and economic development for indigenous communities through climate-smart agriculture that centers traditional ecological knowledge. She was a biodiversity coordinator at BASF, an economic fellow at the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, and a program officer at the Native American Agriculture Fund. Her work has helped guide the investment of more than $40 million for Native food systems over the past two years. She is a Udall Scholar, Park Scholar, and Mathews Medal recipient.
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Leona Neftaliem
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
BioLeona is pursuing a PhD in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at Stanford University. Her research lies at the intersection of urban ecosystem ecology and social-ecological systems, developing new, comprehensive lenses into urban biogeochemistry using a socioecological framework. She is a Knight-Hennessy Scholar and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow.
Before Stanford, Leona worked as a research technician at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, designing technologically innovative climate change experiments, and she earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology at George Washington University. -
Fridah Nyakundi
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
BioFridah Nyakundi is an E-IPER PhD student whose broad research interests include productive water use, intensification of smallholder farms, land-use change and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa. Fridah graduated with a bachelor in economics and statistics (2014) and a masters of arts in economics (2016), both from the University of Nairobi. Her thesis focused on sustainably optimizing extractive forests in Kenya by calculating the optimal rotation period of three tree species that are the most harvested in Kenya.
Before her PhD program, Fridah worked as a Senior Research Associate with the International Center For Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) within the Africa region. -
Ryan OConnor
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
Stanford Student Employee, Social Sciences DivisionBioRyan O’Connor is an Ocean Social Ecologist and current PhD Candidate in the Oceans Department, Environmental Behavioral Sciences Department, and the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program for the Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at Stanford University. Ryan’s research is based in Pacific Grove, CA and Baja California, Mexico, and focuses broadly on understanding how human societies interact with their local marine environments. His research employs an innovative blend of quantitative ecology and qualitative social science methods to elevate and highlight community voices and local ecological knowledge in ocean conservation. By understanding how a person's relationship to the ocean, personal history with nature, and social context shape individual perceptions of the marine environment, Ryan seeks to inform the co-production of sustainable ocean management programs. Ryan also teaches courses on human-ocean interaction, the history of the oceans, and ocean governance at Stanford and has supervised undergraduates on projects ranging from computer vision machine learning models for marine mammal monitoring to expert interviews of marine protected area officials. Ryan is also an Ethics in Society Fellow with the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society at Stanford. Learn more at https://ryanoconnorresearch.weebly.com
Prior to his work at Stanford, Ryan served as an officer in the US Navy working on international logistics policy research and development. Ryan most recently worked as an environmental policy consultant and geospatial project manager for AECOM Technical Services, helping to administer the National Flood Insurance Program, leading multi-hazard mapping, policy analysis, and legislative affairs efforts in support of disaster and climate resilience across the United States.
Ryan earned his Bachelor's Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia in 2017. -
Alison Ong
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2020
Master of Arts Student in Economics, admitted Autumn 2022BioAlison Ong is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program for Environment and Resources. Prior to graduate school, she worked at Energy and Environmental Economics Inc. (E3) in San Francisco and most recently was a Fulbright Scholar in Melbourne, Australia. At Stanford, Alison plans to focus her doctoral research on the distributional effects of energy policy through both an economic and regulatory lens.
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Maggie Poulos
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2023
BioLying at the intersection of marine socioecology and adaptive ocean governance, Maggie is drawn to the puzzle of how to capture an intangible value or worldview for marine protected area management. She studies how biocultural approaches, including indicator development, are mechanisms for the inclusion of localized social and cultural values in marine planning. Through a co-production of knowledge framework and related field research tools, Maggie aims to co-create applied research that makes marine policy a more diverse and equitable space for local and Indigenous communities. Before her time at Stanford, Maggie earned a Master of Public Policy from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Studies from Macalester College.
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Jessica Pullen
MD Student with Scholarly Concentration in Biomedical Ethics & Medical Humanities, expected graduation Spring 2025
Masters Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2020BioFuture health professional dedicated to improving human and planetary health
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Sergio Sánchez López
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
BioSergio is an environmental justice advocate. Originally from Mexico City, he has experience working in the public, private and non-profit sectors both in Mexico and the USA. He has drafted bills and policy proposals related to land management, natural resources, renewable energy, and indigenous communities. His research interests relate to how to accelerate the clean energy transition in an equitable, diverse, and inclusive way. He holds a bachelor's degree in international business from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education in Mexico, a J.D. from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, an LL.M in environmental law & policy from Stanford Law School, and is a former Schneider Fellow. Sergio is passionate about water sports and the beach.
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Bianca Santos
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2019
Other Tech - Graduate, Earth System ScienceBioBianca Santos is a PhD Candidate in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Her work focuses on integrating science, policy and society in the management of marine species in the Pacific. Utilizing both natural and social science tools, her research applies interdisciplinary methods from the fields of marine science, ocean governance and policy, and environmental decision-making. Current areas of active research include: (1) The future of ocean governance in the high seas, (2) Climate-driven habitat shifts of migratory species and its implications for fisheries management, and (3) Socio-ecological impacts of climate change on small scale fisheries in Palau. In addition to her research, Bianca is passionate about science communication and outreach.
Prior to Stanford, Bianca served as an International Activities Analyst as a 2018 National Sea Grant Knauss Marine Policy Fellow in NOAA Research’s Office of International Activities. She also worked with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to support issues related to spatial marine management. -
William Scott
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2019
BioWilliam Scott (he/him) is a PhD Candidate at Stanford University in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER). His research focuses on evaluating climate and energy policy to better understand how alternative approaches to decarbonization manage trade-offs between environmental, economic, and social objectives.
Prior to coming Stanford, William worked at the University of Ottawa's Smart Prosperity Institute (Canada) a research institute focused on improving public policy for environmental and economic outcomes. He also worked with United Nations Environment in the Economy and Trade Branch to support emerging economies seeking to integrate sustainability into their national development strategies. William holds a Masters of Environment from Griffith University in Australia and a BA from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, where he also played varsity football. -
Meghan Marjorie Shea
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2019
Research Assistant for Prof. Margaret Cohen, EnglishBioMeghan is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment & Resources, working to advance tools and methods for using environmental DNA (eDNA) to characterize marine biodiversity. Her work, at the intersection of biological oceanography and science & technology studies, seeks to center the human context of eDNA monitoring; she hopes to research both new scientific applications of eDNA as well as how stakeholders--from scientists to the general public--think about and engage with these applications.
Beyond her research, Meghan is a campus liaison for the Monterey Area Research Institutions' Network for Education (MARINE), co-founder of Stanford Ocean Networking And Research (SONAR), and co-organizer of the Stanford STS Graduate Workshop. She is also committed to teaching and mentoring the next generation of environmental scholars. In her free time, Meghan plays steel pan and accumulates house plants. -
Alyson Singleton
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
BioAly is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment & Resources, investigating the impact of large-scale global change on infectious disease transmission and broader health dynamics. Based on the concepts of One Health and Planetary Health, she focuses on the design and evaluation of win-win solutions that can synergistically benefit human and environmental health. As we anticipate widening disease disparities under increasing climate instability, her research aims to identify opportunities to prevent and mitigate these compounding harms. She approaches these topics by integrating novel computational methods, field-data collection, and epidemiologic techniques.
Prior to coming to Stanford, Aly was a Data Science Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where she developed analytic tools for outbreak detection and triage of multiple pathogens and supported the CDC’s Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response. She also worked at the People, Place & Health Collective at the Brown University School of Public Health while earning her undergraduate (BS, Applied Mathematics) and master's degrees (MA, Biostatistics). -
Veda Sunkara
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2024
BioVeda Sunkara (she/her) is an E-IPER PhD student interested in studying disaster adaptation approaches and equity in outcomes for flood-prone communities in the face of increasing extremes due to climate change. Prior to starting her PhD, she worked as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Floodbase (formerly Cloud to Street), where she built machine learning algorithms to create flood maps from remotely-sensed imagery, in-situ sensors, and physics-based models for disaster planning and parametric flood insurance. She seeks to combine her earth observation and machine learning expertise with community-centered research to co-develop the data necessary to enable long term adaptation and resilience to flooding. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Brown University.
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Jayson Toweh
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
BioJayson Toweh is an E-IPER PhD student focusing on identifying the health, environmental, and social impacts of climate change and creating co-benefits from developing sustainable energy transition.
He hold's a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan’s Program in the Environment and a master’s degree in Environmental Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His thesis focused on evaluating and mapping emission changes after installing scrubbers to coal power plants.
Prior to Stanford, Jayson worked as a Management and Program Analyst at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Inspector General, where he evaluated EPA's water programs and made recommendations for improvement. Jayson was elected and serves on the Harvard Board of Overseers, the university's governing board. -
Katie Wu
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2022
BioKatie is interested in using large-scale data analysis and AI to understand how infrastructure development impacts human and planetary health in urban contexts. Specifically, she focuses on improving social connectedness and well-being for climate resilience. She aims to develop adaptive decision support tools to identify and implement optimal development strategies prioritizing resource access, equity, human health, and nature.
Katie holds a Master of Engineering Management from Duke University, an M.S. in Medical Science from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and a B.S. in Animal Science with Distinction in Research from Cornell University. She is a Dean's Graduate Scholar, a Graduate Fellow at the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), and a Stanford Dalai Lama Fellow. -
Yunxiao Cherrie Zheng
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2024
BioCherrie Zheng (she/her/hers) is an E-IPER PhD student exploring the social and natural ramifications of NBS (nature-based solutions) carbon project developments. She is taking a community-oriented approach in her research and aims to empower local stakeholders to lead in the project development processes. Cherrie intends to create knowledge synergy across disciplines such as ecosystem management, environmental sociology, climate psychology, and environmental policy.
Prior to starting her PhD, Cherrie worked at South Pole, a climate solutions consultancy and carbon project developer, where she specialized in carbon and renewable energy certificates. She also worked in data insights and urban service advisory. Cherrie received her B.A. from Barnard College in Economics, with minors in Environmental Science and Psychology.
