Early Career Network Profiles

Loan Diep

• Location: New York, NY

• Affiliation: Postdoc Fellow, The New School

• Keywords: Green Infrastructure, Environmental Justice, Political Ecology, Water and sanitation, Urban Rivers, Informal settlements

My work is centered on the context of informal settlements in cities of the “Global South”. My PhD was about the politics of green infrastructure in favelas in São Paulo, Brazil. I am interested in questions of equity and environmental stewardship. I also work on policy and advocacy, and explore NBS’ institutional context. I am currently co-leading NATURA’s Global NBS Roadmap project. Email

Yeowon Kim

• Location: Ottowa, Canada

• Affiliation: Assistant Professor, Carleton University

• Keywords: Resilient Infrastructure; Urban Flooding; Safe-to-fail

My work integrates quantitative and qualitative modeling and assessments to advance urban systems science and improve future resilience and sustainability across diverse cities. I research ways to improve infrastructure design and development strategies by linking safe-to-fail theory, hydrologic models, ecosystem science, infrastructure vulnerability analysis, decision support tools, and practitioner workshops.

Alysha Helmrich

• Location: Tempe, AZ, USA

• Affiliation: UREx SRN; ASU

• Keywords: infrastructure resilience; deep uncertainty; complexity

I am a PhD candidate in Civil Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering. (LinkedIn)

Marissa Matsler

• Location: Corvallis, OR, USA

• Affiliation: Post-doc at University of Maryland, College Park; UREx SRN alum; co-lead of DesignForJustice TWG

• Keywords: green infrastructure policy; urban governance; infrastructure equity; SETS framework; interdisciplinarity

Dean Bell

• Location: Bristol, England (UK)

• Affiliation: Centre for Sustainable Planning and Environments, University of the West of England; Forest Research (UK); GreenBlue Urban

• Keywords: Urban forestry; arboriculture; green infrastructure; SuDS; tree pit design; ecological engineering

I am a PhD candidate in urban forestry, investigating the role of engineered tree pit solutions in urban tree survival and ecosystem services delivery in hard landscapes. (LinkedIn)

Lelani Mannetti

• Location: Atlanta, GA

• Affiliation: Postdoctoral Research Associate, Urban Studies Institute, Andrew Young School of Policy Analysis, Georgia State University

• Keywords: complex social-ecological systems, co-produced scenarios, natural resource policy and governance

Conservation ecologist working on novel frameworks for transformative change under climate uncertainty. Research interests include transdisciplinary approaches to foster inclusive governance for just and sustainable futures, in both rural and urban systems, and across local, national, and global policy spheres.

Luis Ortiz

• Location: New York, NY (USA)

• Affiliation: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The New School

• Keywords: urban climate, climate modeling, extreme heat, energy, climate impacts, land-atmosphere interactions, geospatial analysis

Researcher in urban climate, energy, and their interactions and impacts on infrastructure and people. Interested in evaluating how changing cities interact with a changing climate, and how these interactions intensify or mitigate impacts from the climate signal.

Stephen Elser

• Location: Tempe, AZ (USA)

• Affiliation: UREx SRN; ASU

• Keywords: green infrastructure, urban ecological infrastructure, ecosystem services, futures, scenarios, extremes

I’m a PhD candidate and I study how social, ecological, and technological factors influence how the ecosystem services from urban ecological infrastructure are perceived, provided, and prioritized in future visions. Interested in a career in science policy. (LinkedIn)

Michele Clark

• Location: Tempe, AZ (USA)

• Affiliation: Postdoctoral Research Scholar in Earth System Science for the Anthropocene (ESSA); ASU

• Keywords: Conservation ecology, social-ecological systems, ethnoecology, ethnobotany; diversity, equity, and inclusion

Abraham Bugre

• Location: Accra, Ghana

• Affiliation: PhD Candidate, Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana

• Keywords: Sustainable Cities, Urban greening

(LinkedIn)

Yuliya Dzyuban

• Location: Singapore

• Affiliation: Postdoc, Cooling SIngapore, UREx SRN

• Keywords: thermal comfort, urban climate, extreme heat, heat perception

I am interested in interdisciplinary mixed-method work that investigates thermal comfort and thermal perceptions in hot urban settings

• Email

Elizabeth Hiroyasu

• Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

• Affiliation: The Nature Conservancy CA

• Keywords: conservation planning, sustainable development, disaster resilience, invasive species

I use both ecological and social science approaches to understand how nature-based solutions can be used to create multibenefit solutions.

Email

Katinka Wijsman

• Location: New York City & Amsterdam

• Affiliation: The New School

• Keywords: Coastal resilience, Infrastructure politics, Environmental and social justice, Interdisciplinary and feminist approaches

Environmental social scientist specialized in global and comparative politics with a focus on environmental and ecological questions. My research is focused on three interrelated fields of inquiry: the transformation of responsibility arrangements under climate change, the assemblage and governance of ecosystems, and the spatial and temporal dimensions of environmental politics.

Email

Ffion Atkins

• Location: Cape Town, South Africa

• Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher in Urban Ecology, University of Cape Town

• Keywords: Urban Metabolism, Complex Systems, Coastal Cities, Water, Nitrogen, Equity.

My current research lies at the intersection of urban metabolism and ecology to support decision making. I quantify urban resource flows by integrating the socio-economic and physical/ecological components of urban systems. I am particularly interested in coastal cities and nature-based solutions for water and coastal management in an African context.

Email

Vinicius Taguchi

• Location: Minneapolis, MN / Raleigh, NC, USA

• Affiliation: University of Minnesota

• Keywords: stormwater, pond, phosphorus, downspout disconnection, green infrastructure, green gentrification, environmental justice, flooding

My current research centers around urban stormwater ponds and their ability (or inability) to retain phosphorus. More broadly, I am passionate about the role of green infrastructure in creating sustainable cities, and I am adamant about understanding and accounting for potential unintended consequences (gentrification, ponds leaking phosphorus, and more).

LinkedIn

Email

Geneva Gray

• Location: Raleigh, NC, USA

• Affiliation: North Carolina State University, UREx-SRN

• Keywords: modeling, extreme precipitation, downscaling, climate data, applied climate science

I enjoy programming, statistical analysis, numerical weather models, and a warm cup of tea on a rainy day.

Email

Aloke Majumdar

• Location: Raleigh, NC, USA

• Affiliation: India

• Keywords: Nature-Based-Solution, Climate change adaptation, Environmental justice, Peri-urban sustainability, Participatory appraisal.

I enjoy programming, statistical analysis, numerical weather models, and a warm cup of tea on a rainy day.

Email

Clair Cooper

• Location: UK

• Affiliation: PhD Candidate

• Keywords: Nature-based solutions, Health & Well-being, Environmental Justice

I enjoy programming, statistical analysis, numerical weather models, and a warm cup of tea on a rainy day.

Email

Charlyn Green

• Location: Atlanta, GA, USA

• Affiliation: Georgia State University

• Keywords: Nature-based solutions, Health & Well-being, Environmental Justice

Climate resilience, well being and thriving, problem solving, social welfare policy

Email

Kevin Vega

• Location: Zurich, Switzerland

• Affiliation: ETH Zurich

• Keywords: urban biodiversity, green infrastructure, green equity, environmental justice

Post-doc working on the importance of small informal green spaces in cities and networks of green infrastructure, as well as how these services are unequally distributed.

Email

Matthew Smith

• Location: Washington, DC

• Affiliation: Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Biology, Florida International University

• Keywords: Coastal resilience, natural infrastructure, hybrid engineering, biogeochemistry

I’m an ecosystem ecologist interested in developing interdisciplinary strategies for climate ready communities and coastlines. Currently a NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Fellow working with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Institute for Water Resources and the Coastal States Organization.

Email

Roxana Sánchez

• Location: Sonora, México

• Affiliation: NA

• Keywords: Resilient cities, environmental justice, sustainable development, urban climate, geospatial analysis.

Bachelor in environmental science engineering. Currently interested in pursuing a masters degree in sustainability, environmental management or environmental policy. Active volunteer member in national and international ONGs regarding climate change information.

Email

Cassandra Murphy

• Location: Maynooth, Ireland

• Affiliation: GoGreenRoutes

• Keywords: Nature Connectedness, Mental Health, Wellbeing, Sustainability

PhD researcher with a background in psychology looking at how nature connectedness in urban settings can improve wellbeing and sustainable behaviour.

Email

Eric Butler

• Location: Portland, Oregon, USA

• Affiliation: GoGreenRoutes

• Keywords: Urban landscapes, forests, biodiversity, connectivity and fragmentation, land conservation, research-management relationships, geospatial and GIS

Recent-ish MS graduate figuring out what I’d like to do long-term.

LinkedIn

Nishant Kumar

• Location: Delhi, India | Oxford, UK

• Affiliation: Postdoctoral Researcher (Wildlife Institute of India) | Visiting Fellow (University of Oxford)

• Keywords: People, Animals and Waste Systems’ Web (www.PAWS-Web.site), Animal Ecology & Behaviour, Human-Animal conflicts, Waste dynamics, Social Ecological Technological Systems

In tropical-cities, waste and ritually offered food act as subsidies for animals, creating new interactions between humans and other animals, both free-ranging and domestic. I work on how human-animal interfaces, carved by local cultures, built environments and socio-economic pressures, are being affected by unprecedented increases in poorly disposed solid-waste within fast-growing human-dominated tropical landscapes.

LinkedIn

Urvi Gupta

• Location: Delhi, India | Oxford, UK

• Affiliation: Wildlife Institute of India

• Keywords: urban biodiversity, wildlife conservation, human-animal interactions

I am studying the urban ecology of raptors in a developing city and how people’s perceptions impact it. Simultaneously, I study how commensal species shape people’s attitudes towards wildlife and conservation. Currently looking for PhD positions

Email

Navneet Kumar

• Location: Delhi, India

• Affiliation: CEO:- www.exnihilo.in ; PAWS-Web Network [www.Paws-Web.site]

• Keywords: Marketing Strategy, Brand Specialisation

I am a management professional who contributes on aspects of PAWS-Web project coordination and management. I am interested in developing entities on the cultural and behavioral aspects of PAWS that relate to urban dynamics in the Global South.

Email

Alex Putzer

Location: Pisa, Italy + Bos/Phil/NYC, USA

Affiliations: School of Advanced Studies Sant’Anna, MIT, UPenn, New School

Keywords: rights of nature, ecological jurisprudence

Phd in rights of urban nature, how to apply a non-anthropocentric ethics to an anthropogenic world. Email

ZBIGNIEW GRABOWSKI

Location: Mansfield, CT / Munich

Affiliations: Assistant Professor, University of Connecticut, Urban Systems Lab @ The New School / Urban Green Infrastructure Research Training Group @ Technical University of Munich

Keywords: Infrastructure, Equity, Justice, Social-Ecological-Technological Systems, Biocultural, Conservation, Restoration, Transformation

I work on the governance of infrastructure and ecosystems. I am interested in the emergence of sustainability transitions and associated knowledge systems and how they are applied in transformative settings.

Mariana Hernández-Montilla

Location: Dublin, Ireland

Affiliations: Trinity College Dublin

Keywords: Nature-based Solutions, Global South, transformative adaptation, science-policy interface, sustainability.

I am interested in understanding socio-ecological systems, conflicts, and complexities to improve conservation projects in developing countries. I have been involved in projects focused on biodiversity conservation, human-nature relationships, resilience, climate change on threatened species and ecosystems. Also, I have experience connecting people through science communication and photography. LinkedIn

Location: Singapore/Melbourne

Affiliations: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Nanyang Technological University (NTU Singapore)

Keywords: Citizen science, community participation, floods, disaster risk reduction, adaptation, constructed wetlands, water sensitive design, informal settlements, global south

My research focuses on climate change adaptation and community-based disaster risk reduction using nature-based solutions. My recent publications examine participatory methods (such as citizen science) and interrogate how communities can contribute to more nuanced and democratic decision making in the realm of nature-based solutions. Email

LHanna A. Rauf

Location: Singapore

Affiliations: Resilient and Inclusive Cities Lab @ Nanyang Technological University (NTU) Singapore

Keywords: Informal Urbanism, Participatory methods, community-based adaptation, green infrastructure

I work on exploring the potentiality of NbS in informal settlements. Email

Laura Costadone

Location: Helsinki

Affiliations: Senior Researcher @Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE)

Keywords: Greening plans, Participatory methods, Nature-based Solutions, Ecosystem Services, Climate Adaptation

My research focuses on identifying ways to enhance resilience in urban environments. I co-design and co-create pathways to uptake and implement urban sustainable development goals by engaging directly with municipalities, practitioners, decision-makers, and citizens. Email

Natalie Pierson

Location: New York City, USA

Affiliations: The New School

Keywords: Urban Environment, public health

Natalie is a research assistant working with the NATURA project. She is an undergraduate completing her final year at The New School, double majoring in Interdisciplinary Science and Environmental Studies. She is interested in the intersection of urban environments and public health from the small scale (cellular processes) to the large scale (social change and policy). Natalie hopes to channel her love of science into equitable health and justice practices. Email