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Yale Program on Climate Change Communication

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People & Partners

A team of psychologists, geographers, political scientists, statisticians, pollsters, and communication scientists, we investigate how and why citizens in the US and around the world are, or are not responding to climate change, identify key audiences requiring tailored communications, and develop strategies to engage these audiences in climate change solutions.

Abel Gustafson
POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE
Abel Gustafson
POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATE
Abel Gustafson’s research develops more effective strategies for communicating science topics to the public. He has published research on how emotions, portrayals of uncertainty, motivated reasoning, and cumulative advantage each influence the ways in which different types of people respond to information about sustainability and sustainable tech. At the Yale Program for Climate Change Communication, Abel is helping to discover which messaging strategies are most effective when presenting information about climate change to various segments of the public. Abel received his PhD from the University of California – Santa Barbara, his MA from the University of Hawaii, and his BA from the University of Minnesota – Duluth.
Anthony Leiserowitz
Director
Anthony Leiserowitz
Director

Anthony Leiserowitz, Ph.D. is Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and a Senior Research Scientist at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University. He is an expert on public opinion and public engagement with the issues of climate change and the environment. His research investigates the psychological, cultural, and political factors that influence environmental beliefs, attitudes, policy support, and behavior. He conducts research at the global, national, and local scales, including studies in the United States, China, and India. He has served as a consultant to the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University), the United Nations Development Program, the Gallup World Poll, and the World Economic Forum. He is a board member of the KR Foundation and serves as an advisor to the UN Foundation, the Ad Council, Years of Living Dangerously, and the China Center for Climate Change Communication. He is also the host of Climate Connections, a daily national radio program and podcast. For a CV and more info, please visit his faculty page.

Bessie Schwarz
Strategist
Bessie Schwarz
Strategist

Bessie helps the community interested in addressing global warming understand how to use YPCCC’s tools and integrate YPCCC insights into their strategies and tactics, while gathering feedback to inform further research.  She comes to YPCCC with extensive experience designing, running and winning national and local grassroots campaigns, as the Field Director for Environment Colorado and as the Federal Field Coordinator with Environment America. In these capacities, she has overseen the generation of dozens of press conferences and hundreds of press stories and has helped designed the national and state field strategies for both of these organizations. Since 2009, she has also directed several record-breaking citizen outreach offices across the country, raising grassroots funds and building public support for clean water, clean energy and preservation.  Bessie received her BA from Carleton College where she studied Philosophy and Environmental Studies. After graduating, she joined Green Corps, the field school for environmental organizing, and was awarded the Sarah Forslund Scholarship. Bessie developed her love of the environment while visiting the Rocky Mountains growing up.

Eric Fine
Project Manager
Eric Fine
Project Manager

Eric is originally from New Jersey, but was mobile for fifteen years as an outdoor educator, taking people on Outward Bound expeditions throughout the Americas and Europe.  Watching glaciers recede in Patagonia over ten years inspired him to pursue a Masters of Environmental Science at Yale’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, which he finished in 2016.  His current focus with YPCCC is studying and improving the impact of the Yale Climate Opinion Maps as well as creating similar tools for other countries.

Jennifer Marlon
Research Scientist
Jennifer Marlon
Research Scientist

Jennifer is a Research Scientist in the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and produces the Yale Climate Opinion Maps for the YPCCC. Her research focuses on the social and physical dimensions of climate change, particularly extreme weather events and past climate changes. On the social (human dimensions) side, she uses surveys, experiments, and modeling to understand how people perceive and respond to hurricanes, heat waves, and other climate-related changes. On the physical side, she uses sediment records to reconstruct and understand past environments, including changes in wildfires, vegetation, and climate. Jennifer holds a PhD and MS in Geography from the University of Oregon, and a BS from the University at Albany, State University of New York. For a CV and more information, please visit her faculty page or personal website. Contact: jennifer.marlon at yale.edu.

Jon Ozaksut
Digital Director
Jon Ozaksut
Digital Director
Jon Ozaksut manages digital output for YPCCC. He joined in 2017 with 9 years of experience in the fields of digital marketing and advocacy through organizations such as Organizing for Action and Reverb.com. In his work, he has developed email programs, social media campaigns, and messaging strategies built around a user-centered experience and a desire to share stories in ways that resonate with audiences. Jon is inspired by the challenges inherent in communicating climate change, and eager to develop YPCCC’s methods of engaging with the broader online community. He received his BA in psychology from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and in his free time he has a passion for playing bass and drums.
Lisa Fernandez
Associate Director
Lisa Fernandez
Associate Director

Lisa oversees program management, operations, and outreach at the YPCCC.  She leads YPCCC’s international networking efforts, building a global network of climate communication scholars and practitioners. Previously, she worked in urban environmental conservation and sustainable development in the US and Latin America. She has served as a consultant to the United Nations Development Programme, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the World Bank. She was a Fellow at the World Wildlife Fund-USA and a City Planner implementing solid waste prevention policy for the City of New York. Lisa co-authored Toward a New Consciousness:  Values to Sustain Human and Natural Communities and Institutionalizing Sustainability in Higher Education.  She serves on the boards of the East Coast Greenway Alliance and the Farmington Canal Rail-to-Trail Association and concluded a 10-year term on the Connecticut Greenways Council in 2015.  Her passion is exploring as much mountain wilderness as she can in her tiny time on earth.

Lynsy Smithson-Stanley
Partnerships Director
Lynsy Smithson-Stanley
Partnerships Director

Lynsy manages YPCCC’s strategy for engaging with the climate and clean energy advocacy, media, and education communities. Her work at the nexus of behavioral science and strategic climate communication goes back 2011, when she was part of the founding team at Climate Nexus. In 2014, she joined the National Audubon Society as director of climate communications and strategy. Her work activating bird-lovers around the climate threat included developing a research program to engage conservatives, building grassroots advocacy infrastructure and overseeing the organization’s transition to modern data and data management systems. She has a Master’s in mass communication research from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and undergraduate degrees in journalism and humanities from the University of Missouri.

Martial Jefferson
Software Engineer
Martial Jefferson
Software Engineer
Martial Jefferson is a software engineer at YPCCC. Martial works closely with our data scientists and researchers to forward design and engineering of dynamic, data-driven prototypes, surveys, opinion maps, component libraries, and visualizations.

Martial holds a B.A. in Classical Civilization from Yale University and prior to joining YPCCC developed web and mobile software at IAC, Adaptly, PixieTV, Samsung Electronics, Hatch Inc/Wethos.co, and Ethershaft.

Matthew Ballew
Postdoctoral Associate
Matthew Ballew
Postdoctoral Associate

Matt specializes in social psychology, survey research, and data analysis. His research interests focus on attitudes, emotions, social influence, and environmental communication. He has researched the effects of different emotions on environmentally responsible behavior including the extent to which positive emotion-based communications impact behavior relative to negative emotion-based communications. As a Postdoctoral Associate, he assists with survey research design, implementation, and data analysis. Matt received his PhD in Psychology from Claremont Graduate University and his BA in Sociology from the University of Michigan.

Matthew Goldberg
Postdoctoral Associate
Matthew Goldberg
Postdoctoral Associate

Matthew is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. He is an expert in the social psychological subfields of attitudes and persuasion, motivated reasoning, and ideology. His research has focused on defensiveness and the methods by which people defend their beliefs. He has investigated several factors that influence belief defense such as argument quality, perceptions of public opinion, social network agreement, and language complexity. Matthew holds a BA in Psychology from Hofstra University and received his PhD in Psychology in the Basic and Applied Social Psychology program at The Graduate Center, City University of New York. Contact: matthew.goldberg@yale.edu.

Parrish Bergquist
Postdoctoral Associate
Parrish Bergquist
Postdoctoral Associate

Parrish is a political scientist focused on state politics and environmental policy in the U.S. Her research examines political representation, policy responsiveness to partisan politics, and the development and implications of elite and public attitudes for political conflict and policy outcomes. She earned her PhD in political science and urban and regional planning from MIT, her MS/MUP in environmental policy and urban and regional planning from the University of Michigan, and her BA in American studies and English from the University of Virginia. Read more about her research and work experience on her personal website.

Seth Rosenthal
Project Director
Seth Rosenthal
Project Director

Seth serves as research methodologist at YPCCC, with a particular focus on survey methodology. Before joining YPCCC in August 2013, he was Director of Opinion Research at Merriman River Group, where he specialized in election and issues-based opinion polling. Seth has also been the lead author of the annual National Leadership Index report published by the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School.  Seth holds a B.A. in psychology from Wesleyan University, and an A.M. and Ph.D. in experimental psychopathology from the Department of Psychology at Harvard. He was also a post-doctoral research fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. Seth has published research on narcissism, self-esteem, positive intergroup attitudes, and leadership.

Xinran Wang
Data Scientist
Xinran Wang
Data Scientist

Xinran analyzes the datasets gathered from national, state, local and international surveys and experiments. Originally from China, she joined YPCCC in 2017 and is excited to take a quantitative approach to understand environmental communications and opinions. She incorporates predictive modeling, data mining, visualization and mapping to provide statistical input for the ongoing studies. Xinran holds an M.A. in Quantitative Method in Social Sciences from Columbia University, and a B.S. in Math from University of California, Los Angeles.

AJ Hudson
Social Media Content Producer
AJ Hudson
Social Media Content Producer

AJ Hudson is a Masters of Environmental Science candidate at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. AJ comes to Yale after teaching high school biology and physics in Brooklyn for 5 years and helping found a high school in Brooklyn’s historically underprivileged Brownsville neighborhood. In 2017, AJ won a prestigious Fulbright teacher exchange award to fund travel to Japan where he worked alongside Japanese science educators to develop exciting new ways to teach environmental science. Before coming to Yale he attended Columbia University where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts with concentrations in Psychology and Ecology. At F&ES AJ is researching climate change solutions through carbon sequestration in tandem with education, women’s rights, protection of vulnerable species, and environmental justice. He hopes to one day write the textbook on climate change that students in Brooklyn (and other disadvantaged populations) will read, a book that currently doesn’t exist.

Alanis Allen
Social Media Producer
Alanis Allen
Social Media Producer

Alanis is a junior at Yale College, where she majors in Economics and Environmental Studies. She is interested in climate change and environmental justice, and in particular how climate change will disproportionately affect minorities and people in poverty. Over the summer, she worked as an administrative assistant for the New Haven Land Trust, an organization that seeks to involve the local community in stewardship of the local environment.

Angus McLean
Web Content Assistant
Angus McLean
Web Content Assistant

Angus McLean is a first-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. He is pursuing a specialization in Environmental Policy Analysis focusing on the intersection between agricultural policy and climate change. Prior to Yale, Angus conducted research on human-wildlife conflict in Australia and taught at an environmental education center in California. He holds a degree from Wesleyan University, where he double-majored in Environmental Sciences and Environmental Studies.

Bryanna Moore
Intern
Bryanna Moore
Intern
Bryanna Moore is a second-year Political Science major at Yale University. Last summer, Bryanna worked as an intern at YPCCC and the Yale Center for Business and the Environment. As an undergraduate, she operates in local education enrichment programs and mental health initiatives.

 

Chelsea Brett
Chelsea Brett

Chelsea Brett is a Master of Public Health candidate in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health. Prior to Yale, she worked as a freelance producer and community organizer in New York. She holds a B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at NYU.

Claire Lafave
YCC Content Producer
Claire Lafave
YCC Content Producer

Claire Lafave is a second year MEM/MBA candidate passionate about tackling climate change through regenerative agriculture initiatives. Before coming to Yale, Claire studied English and Environmental Studies at Williams College and went on to manage farm-to-school programming at three public schools on Martha’s Vineyard. She later taught at a project-based school in the Bay Area. Claire believes strongly in the power of effective communication to change our environmental narratives and behaviors.

David McCarthy
Social Media Manager
David McCarthy
Social Media Manager

David is a problem solver and a systems thinker that dances between the macro and micro to build holistic solutions to systemic issues. A creative and passionate humanitarian, he draws his inspiration from empowered communities that take action for themselves, as well as from vulnerable and powerless communities suffering the effects of climate change. Dedicated to serving vulnerable populations, he recently interned with the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in Apia, Samoa working on climate adaptation projects for small island developing nations (SIDS) within the Pacific. Prior to his arrival at Yale, he worked to end poverty and homelessness in Connecticut. He desires to utilize systems theory, advanced network theory, narrative building, and effective communication to diversify partners and engage with communities for strategic and innovative humanistic solutions to climate change.

Elise Gilchrist
Video Producer
Elise Gilchrist
Video Producer

Elise Gilchrist is currently pursuing her Master’s of Environmental Management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is interested in using strategic communication and storytelling to garner broad support for environmental initiatives. She previously worked as a media and communications specialist for nonprofit organizations promoting elephant conservation in Thailand and marine conservation in Mexico. Most recently she worked for a state agency in North Carolina that protects coastal land. After graduating she hopes to pursue a career translating science for the public and promoting organizations and businesses that are making a positive impact on the world.

Emily Tucker
Deputy Social Media Manager
Emily Tucker
Deputy Social Media Manager
Emily is a first-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She is pursuing a specialization in Environmental Policy Analysis with a focus on climate change. She is particularly interested in climate adaptation and using spatial information to analyze environmental questions. Prior to arriving at Yale, Emily worked as a Policy Analyst for the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, a community-based fisheries policy and advocacy organization. She holds a degree in Earth & Oceanographic Science and Environmental Studies from Bowdoin College.
Emma Gildesgame
Social Media Manager
Emma Gildesgame
Social Media Manager

Emma Gildesgame is a second-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies focusing on watershed management, coastal restoration, and community conservation engagement. She has a wide range of experience in environmental non-profit work, most recently developing interactive web maps and online mapping tools for the National Parks Conservation Association. As an interpretive specialist at an aquarium, Emma developed education programs for the public by drawing connections between charismatic animals and environmental issues like climate change, marine plastics, and sustainable seafood. She has also worked on coastal wetland restoration in the San Francisco Bay and as an outdoor educator and naturalist in New Hampshire, Colorado, and California. Her favorite places are mountain ridges, lakes, and kitchens.

Erik Lyon
Social Data Scientist
Erik Lyon
Social Data Scientist

Erik is currently in his second year at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies as a candidate for Master of Environmental Management. He comes to Yale with two years of professional experience in program management, communication, public outreach, and data analysis and visualization. As an economic analyst, he seeks to articulate connections between the economy and environment to add value to environmental businesses and organizations. This summer, Erik interned at the California Energy Commission.

Franz Hochstrasser
Research Assistant
Franz Hochstrasser
Research Assistant
Franz Hochstrasser is a Masters in Environmental Management Candidate ’18 at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Hochstrasser served 8 years in the Obama Administration, most recently as Senior Advisor to the Special Envoy for Climate Change at the US Department of State working on international climate negotiations and policy. Prior to that, he was Deputy Associate Director at the White House Council of Environmental Quality working on energy, environment and climate policy; and a Confidential Assistant and Legislative Analyst at the US Department of Agriculture. He also worked on both of Barack Obama’s Presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
James Larson
Instagram Producer
James Larson
Instagram Producer

James Larson is a Sophomore at Yale College majoring in Psychology with an emphasis in Neuroscience. Besides his work for YPCCC, James tutors local students as part of the Flyte Scholastics organization, and is the intramural sport secretary and social activities co-chair for Branford college.

Javier Román-Nieves
Consultant
Javier Román-Nieves
Consultant
Javier A. Román-Nieves serves as a visual communications and brand identity consultant for YPCCC. He joined the team as a graduate student of the Master of Environmental Management program at Yale F&ES, bringing nearly 10 years of experience in environmental communications with a focus on print applications, and having taught fundamentals and history of design at college-level in Mexico City and San Juan, Puerto Rico, his former hometown. Javier strives to combine his architectural design background with newly found skills in ecosystem conservation, GIS and social ecology, bringing these into a seamless place-based storytelling practice to enrich natural resource conservation via photography, graphic design and the written word. He also likes birds and stars.
Jill Capotosto
Social Media Producer
Jill Capotosto
Social Media Producer

Jill is a first-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Before coming to Yale, she worked in the nonprofit sector for four years, most recently as the communications assistant with a Vermont-based organization working on community-driven resilience building in the face of climate change. Prior to this, Jill worked for two years in Vietnam as the communications officer for an international nonprofit focused on addressing wildlife trafficking.

Jingjing Jiang
Chinese Social Media Producer
Jingjing Jiang
Chinese Social Media Producer
Jingjing Jiang is a candidate for both Master of Environmental Management and Master of Science in Environmental Engineering under the dual degree program between Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Tsinghua University. At YPCCC, Jingjing is helping to manage Chinese social media accounts on both Weibo and Wechat. Her academic interests include environmental communication and public engagement. Previously, she studied at Tsinghua University, where she double-majored in Environmental Engineering and English Language.
Jordan Schmolka
Digital Ads Assistant
Jordan Schmolka
Digital Ads Assistant

Jordan Schmolka is a junior at Yale College studying environmental justice. She is particularly interested in the creation, dissemination, and use of environmental knowledge and its relationship to social change. Before joining the YPCCC team, Jordan worked with Artspace New Haven to organize a set of environmentally-focused exhibitions as well as an environmental justice summit centered on activism and the arts. In her spare time, she enjoys visiting museums, working on crossword puzzles, and spending time with her dog, Satchmo.

Julia Sullivan
Social Media Producer
Julia Sullivan
Social Media Producer

Julia is a first-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Her academic interests include water resource management, land use, and climate change. Prior to attending Yale F&ES, Julia worked in conservation for four years–both in the non-profit sector and as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Panama. She holds a dual-degree in Environmental Studies and International Studies from American University.

Kate Donatelli
YCC Social Media Producer
Kate Donatelli
YCC Social Media Producer

Kate Donatelli is a first year Master of Environmental Management candidate from New Jersey. While at Yale, she plans to study environmental policy with a focus on land use and climate adaptation strategies. Before graduate school, she worked for The Trust for Public Land in New York City. She earned her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies from the University of Pittsburgh.

Kate Tewksbury
Social Media Producer
Kate Tewksbury
Social Media Producer
Kate Tewksbury is a Junior at Yale College, and she is majoring in Ethics, Politics, and Economics with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Law. She believes in YPCCC’s mission because she sees narratives as a tool that can compel people to take action against the climate crisis. On campus, she was a member of the Yale Women’s Ice Hockey team for two years. She is currently an active member of her residential college, Berkeley, where she serves as a College Aide. She was born and raised in New York City.
Kathryn S. Deeg
University of California Berkeley
Kathryn S. Deeg
University of California Berkeley

Katie Deeg is a PhD Candidate in Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley. She investigates materials for environmental and clean energy applications, such as carbon capture and hydrogen storage, via computational chemistry methods. She is working to build bridges between science and policy in order to enact research-based, forward-looking policies, especially in climate change and energy. With Dr. Jennifer Marlon and colleagues at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, she is investigating what demographics of Americans have changed their minds about global warming, and why, in order to study how to help Americans better understand the problem.

Katie Siegner
Social Media Manager
Katie Siegner
Social Media Manager

Katie is a second-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the School of Forestry, where she is studying climate change solutions with a focus on clean energy deployment. Given her interest in accelerating the transition to a zero-carbon economy, she interned for a utility-scale solar developer over the summer, and plans to pursue a career in the clean energy field. Before coming to Yale, she worked in the non-profit sector for 5 years, most recently as the Communications Coordinator for a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that advanced climate change education initiatives. In her free time, Katie can be found running, craft beer tasting, or experimenting in the kitchen.

Kelsey Hartman
Video Producer
Kelsey Hartman
Video Producer

Kelsey is a first year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She is pursuing a specialization in Ecosystems and Land Conservation and Management, and is interested in how people and institutions make decisions around sustainable natural resource use. Before coming to Yale, Kelsey did communications and project management for WWF’s Greater Mekong program. Most recently she spent a year in the littoral forests of southeastern Madagascar as a conservation research assistant doing biodiversity surveys.

Mingmin Feng
Chinese Social Media Producer
Mingmin Feng
Chinese Social Media Producer

Mingmin is in her second year at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, where she is pursuing a Master of Environmental Management with a focus on ecosystem conservation. She has several years of professional experience with environmental nonprofits, including three years as a researcher with the Nature Conservancy in Beijing. This summer, Mingmin interned with Conservation International, where she researched the governance of protected areas.

Natasha Wasim
Social Media Producer
Natasha Wasim
Social Media Producer

Natasha Wasim is a second year Master of Public Health candidate at the Yale School of Public Health with the Environmental Sciences Department. Her research interests are in climate health and the relationship between the environmental effects professional sectors, including the healthcare industry, and population health. She hopes that by identifying climate change mitigation strategies in occupational settings, prevention measures can be taken early for health disparities in the surrounding communities. Natasha was born and raised in Southern California and loves to cook, kayak, and play with her two dogs in her free time.

Nathan Empsall
Digital Advisor
Nathan Empsall
Digital Advisor

Nathan Empsall has worked with YPCCC for the past two years, offering professional advice on our overall digital strategy including email and social media. Nathan is a former digital strategist for the national Sierra Club and the official Barack Obama campaign email list, and is currently a dual-degree student at Yale Divinity School and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He is pursuing ordination as an Episcopal priest while also continuing to work as a freelance digital-campaign consultant. Originally from East Texas and North Idaho, he received his BA in government and Native American Studies from Dartmouth College, is a passionate fan of Americana, country, and bluegrass music, and is married to Diana Empsall who currently works for Yale Divinity School. Nathan also manages the Facebook page Episcopal Climate News.

Nora Heaphy
Digital Ads Assistant
Nora Heaphy
Digital Ads Assistant
Nora Heaphy is a sophomore in Yale College studying ecology and climate justice. She is interested in climate-induced displacement and global change ecology. Before joining the YPCCC team, she researched species delimitation in Mexican mangosteens at the Yale Peabody Herbarium. Nora organizes with Fossil Free Yale and Sunrise, a movement of young people to make climate change an urgent electoral priority and create millions of green jobs in the process.
Nour Mardini
Digital Ads Consultant
Nour Mardini
Digital Ads Consultant

Formerly a consulting biologist and marketing specialist, Nour is now pursuing her Master of Environmental Management degree at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. She is concentrating on climate change science and solutions, and is particularly interested in both the landscape-scale impacts of climate change and innovative solutions geared toward mitigation. Previously, Nour worked in Dubai as a digital marketing specialist, setting up comprehensive digital marketing campaigns across product lines. She also worked in California as a biologist, where she was involved in a wide range of environmental consulting projects in all phases of the project life cycle. Nour holds a Bachelor of Science in Molecular Biology from U.C. Berkeley.

Pallavi Sherikar
Social Data Scientist
Pallavi Sherikar
Social Data Scientist

Pallavi Sherikar is a first-year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Her academic interests include modeling interdependent climate risks, studying the role of social cohesion in climate protection, and applying a climate justice lens to adaptation financing. Before attending Yale, Pallavi worked as a Climate Resilience Fellow for the County of Alameda in California where she researched climate impacts on local operations and populations. While working for the county, she co-authored a guidebook for local government staff to catalyze adaptation implementation through a workshop model. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Economics & Policy from the University of California, Berkeley.

Prerna Bhat
Digital Ads Assistant
Prerna Bhat
Digital Ads Assistant

Prerna Bhat is a second year Master of Environmental Management student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is interested in conservation policy and management as well as environmental communication. This past summer, she worked at the Breakthrough Institute, an environmental think tank in Oakland, California, on understanding conservation and development organizations’ approaches to integrated landscape planning through spatial analysis. Originally from Austin, Texas, she did her undergraduate studies in evolutionary biology, with a minor in social anthropology, at Harvard College. Prior to starting at FES, she traveled to Madagascar and Malaysia on a Postgraduate Traveling Fellowship to investigate the intersection of sustainable cacao and vanilla with conservation goals and initiatives.

Robert Denniston
Social Media Producer
Robert Denniston
Social Media Producer
Robert Denniston is a junior at Yale College majoring in History with a certificate in Energy Studies. On campus, he’s the captain of the Club Alpine Ski Team and volunteers for the Yale Restaurant Rescue Project, an organization working towards food security in New Haven by connecting restaurants to food banks and teaching local children how to cook.
Shuran Yao
Data Scientist
Shuran Yao
Data Scientist

Shuran is in her second year at the Yale School of Public Health, where she is pursuing a Master of Science in Biostatistics. She has several years of professional statistical analysis experience, particularly as an actuarial analyst for the Aon Centre for Innovation and Analytics where she worked for three years before attending Yale. Over the summer, Shuran interned at McKinsey & Company.

Swetha Kolluri
Research Assistant
Swetha Kolluri
Research Assistant

Swetha is a Fulbright Scholar and a first year Masters of Environmental Management student at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Her academic interests include decision science, machine learning, and environmental economics. Prior to Yale, Swetha has worked with the Government of India and managed several rural development projects. She has 8 years of experience in rural livelihoods, sustainable agriculture, watersheds, NTFP value chain and education. She has also taken up several ICT interventions to improve the efficiency and reduce corruption in large-scale government programs. Swetha received Bachelors of Technology in Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering from JNTU and Masters in Rural Management from IRMA, in India. At YPCCC, Swetha is working on machine learning models to predict risk perception of heatwaves in the U.S.

Zhinan Chen
Chinese Social Media Producer
Zhinan Chen
Chinese Social Media Producer
Zhinan is a Master of Environmental Management candidate at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies interested in environmental anthropology, religion and ecology as well as sustainable development. Prior to attending Yale, she received her B.A. in Arabic and economics from Peking University in China. During her undergrad, Zhinan enjoyed observing and reporting cultures in the Middle East through months of studying in Oman, Morocco, and UAE. Nature and language are the two things that Zhinan loves the most. At Yale, she aspires to combine her expertise in Arabic with methodologies in environmental studies to understand water, energy and environmental impacts of Chinese investment in the Middle East.
Baobao Zhang
Yale University
Baobao Zhang
Yale University

Baobao is a PhD student in political science at Yale University. Her main interests include causal inference, survey methodology, and data visualization. She worked as a data consultant at Yale StatLab and a software engineer at Plotly. She graduated from Yale with a MA in statistics and a BA (cum laude) in political science. As an undergraduate, she worked in outreach and communications at the Connecticut Fund for the Environment.

Binbin Wang
Research Affiliate
Binbin Wang
Research Affiliate

Binbin brings decade of expertise and experience in climate change and sustainable development, working across media, NGOs, academia, and think tanks. She started her career as a reporter for China Central Television. In 2008, she joined Oxfam and tracked the UNFCCC process since 2009 as the China Climate Lead. As the first PhD in climate communication in China, Binbin co-founded the China Center for Climate Change Communication in 2010; the group conducted two national surveys on Chinese public perception of climate, partnering with YPCCC. In 2016, Binbin moved to School of International Studies, Peking University as the Post-Doctoral Research Fellow on global climate governance and China’s role based on her 8-year practice. Most recently, Binbin joined the new think tank, Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development, at Tsinghua University.

Brandi Shaw Morris
Research Affiliate
Brandi Shaw Morris
Research Affiliate

Brandi is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Management at Aarhus University in Denmark where she is working to understand how we might improve science communication through the use of stories. Her experimental research focuses on understanding the neurological and psychological mechanisms of influence, decision-making and risk perception in the context of climate change. Together with Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz and colleagues at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, she is investigating how messengers, values and identification influence risk perception among diverse audiences.

Prior to embarking upon her PhD, Brandi worked in private sector agencies as a marketing communication strategist. Her integrated campaign work included print, digital and short-film campaigns to raise awareness and funds for well-known charitable brands.

Breanne Chryst
Yale University
Breanne Chryst
Yale University

Breanne is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Statistics at Yale University. Her main research interests include network driven sampling and Bayesian inference. She is a consultant in the Yale StatLab and previously worked as a Data Scientist for Audible. Before coming to Yale, she graduated with a Bachelors degree in mathematics (cum laude) from the University of Utah. She has an interest in science education and outreach, especially as it pertains to environmental issues.

Connie Roser-Renouf
George Mason University
Connie Roser-Renouf
George Mason University

Connie Roser-Renouf is an Associate Research Professor at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. Her research focuses on understanding how diverse publics interpret and respond to information on the issue of climate change. The objective of this research is the identification of effective communication strategies to inform and engage audiences.

Connie earned her PhD in Communication Research at Stanford University in 1986. Prior to joining the Center at George Mason, she taught and conducted research at the University of California at Santa Barbara; the University of Denver; the University of Pittsburgh; and Humboldt State University.

Edward Maibach
George Mason University
Edward Maibach
George Mason University

Edward Maibach is a University Professor at George Mason University, and the Director of Mason’s Center for Climate Change Communication. Ed’s research – funded by NSF, NASA and private foundations – focuses on public engagement in climate change. Ed recently co-chaired the Engagement & Communication Working Group for the 3rd National Climate Assessment, and previously served as Associate Director of the National Cancer Institute, Worldwide Director of Social Marketing at Porter Novelli, and Chairman of the Board for Kidsave International.  Ed earned his PhD in communication science at Stanford University and his MPH at San Diego State University.

Erick Lachapelle
University of Montreal
Erick Lachapelle
University of Montreal

Erick Lachapelle is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Montreal (officially known as l’Université de Montréal). He holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Toronto, and is the principal investigator for the Canadian Surveys on Energy and Environment (CSEE) and Research Partner with EcoAnalytics. Broadly focused on the social and political responses to complex policy problems like climate change, his work examines the role of values, ideology, and contextual factors in shaping risk perceptions and public opinion, as well as the interactions among media, public opinion, and public policy.

Jagadish Thaker
National University of Singapore
Jagadish Thaker
National University of Singapore

JT (Jagadish Thaker) is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore. He recently received Ph.D. from George Mason University’s Health and Strategic Communication program, for research on the role of collective efficacy—people’s perceptions in their group’s collective abilities—in enhancing community’s adaptive capacity to climate change impacts.

His primary research interests are in the fields of health communication, climate change communication, media content analysis, and strategic communication campaigns.  He has served as a Graduate Research Assistant on a National Science Foundation grant, examining American broadcast meteorologists’ best practices to communicate climate science.  He also worked with Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz (Yale University) to conduct and analyze the first national sample survey of Indians’ beliefs, attitudes, and policy support about climate change, and other sustainability issues.  A paper that he co-authored won the top student paper award in the Applied Communication Division in National Communication Association (NCA) conference, San Francisco, 2010.

Prior to his Ph.D. degree, he also worked as English compere in All India Radio, and as a copy-writer in many advertising agencies, before a brief stint at teaching English in Nizam College, his alma mater.  He also holds a master’s degree in English literature from University of Hyderabad.

John Kotcher
George Mason University
John Kotcher
George Mason University

John recently completed his Ph.D. at George Mason University’s Science Communication program, and he currently works as a Post-doctoral Research Fellow in the Center for Climate Change Communication. His research broadly focuses on science, environmental, and risk communication through the use of surveys, experiments, and quantitative content analysis. More specifically, his research investigates the interaction between media and social identity in shaping attitudes toward contentious issues about science and scientists, with a particular emphasis on the issue of climate change. His work has examined ways to correct misperceptions about the scientific consensus on climate change, how the public responds to political advocacy by scientists, and the process through which reflecting on one’s core values (referred to as self-affirmation) can make individuals more receptive to risk information. He has a strong interest in applied communication research that can aid organizations in improving citizen engagement with and reducing political polarization on public debates about science.

Katharine Hayhoe
Texas Tech University
Katharine Hayhoe
Texas Tech University

Katharine Hayhoe is an accomplished atmospheric scientist who studies climate change and why it matters to us here and now. She is also a remarkable communicator: in 2014, she was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the top 100 Most Influential People in the world and by Foreign Policy as one of the top 100 Global Thinkers; her work was featured on the Emmy award-winning documentary series, The Years of Living Dangerously; and she won the American Geophysical Union’s award for climate communication. In 2016, she was named to the POLITICO 50 list of thinkers, doers and visionaries transforming American politics while in 2017 she was named one of FORTUNE’s world’s greatest leaders. She is a lead author for the U.S. National Climate Assessments and has served on the panels for the National Academy of Science, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and many other professional organizations devoted to understanding and communicating climate change. Katharine is currently a professor and directs the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. She has a B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Toronto and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science from the University of Illinois.

Leah Stokes
University of California Santa Barbara
Leah Stokes
University of California Santa Barbara

Leah Stokes is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and a faculty affiliate at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She received her PhD and MA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an MPA from Columbia University and a BSc from the University of Toronto. Her research examines public policy, public opinion and political behavior, with a focus on energy and environment. Her current book project studies interest groups’ role in changing US states’ energy policy, with a focus renewable portfolio standards and net-metering laws.

Matthew Cutler
Research Social Scientist
Matthew Cutler
Research Social Scientist

Matt Cutler is a sociologist with the Social Sciences Branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC). He provides analytical support to both the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils and is involved in the design and implementation of the Socio-economic Survey of Hired Captains and Crew in New England and Mid-Atlantic Commercial Fisheries. Matt is also working as an Agency Fellow with the JPB Environmental Health Fellows Program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (https://ehfellows.sph.harvard.edu/).

Prior to joining the NEFSC, he completed a postdoctoral appointment at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies where he studied public attitudes and beliefs about climate change as a member of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. His research more broadly has focused on public perceptions of climate change and other socio-environmental phenomena, such as environmental hazards and urban sprawl and development. Matt holds a BA in Political Science and Justice Studies, an MA in Justice Studies, and a PhD in Sociology from the University of New Hampshire.

Matto Mildenberger
University of California Santa Barbara
Matto Mildenberger
University of California Santa Barbara

Matto Mildenberger is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California Santa Barbara. A political scientist by training, Matto studies how ideology and emotions shape political bargains over climate policy. His work also focuses on the applications of complex systems theory to political science and environmental policy. Matto previously completed an MA (Global Governance) at the University of Waterloo, and an Hon. B.Sc. (Botany and International Relations) at the University of Toronto. He received his PhD from the Yale¹s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Nicholas Smith
University of Westminster, U.K.
Nicholas Smith
University of Westminster, U.K.

Nicholas Smith is a social-environmental psychologist with research interests in the perception and communication of risk issues. He was a postdoctoral research associate for the YPCCC working on a variety of projects exploring American public awareness and understanding of climate change. He is currently a lecturer in social psychology at the University of Westminster. He obtained his MSc in research methods and PhD in social psychology from University College London and his BA in environmental management from the University of Leeds.

Peter Howe
Utah State University
Peter Howe
Utah State University

Peter Howe has been an Assistant Professor of Human-Environment Geography at Utah State University since 2013.  His research focuses on the intersection of human perception and cognition with vulnerability and adaptation to climate change and natural hazards.  This research aims to improve the ability of individuals and communities to detect and effectively respond to environmental change.  Dr. Howe’s research also explores how spatial relationships influence risk perceptions and decision making, using methods including survey research, spatial analysis, geovisualization, and multilevel modeling.

Prior to joining USU, Dr. Howe worked as a postdoctoral associate with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication.  He received his PhD in Geography from Penn State University in 2012.  He also holds an MS in Geography from Penn State, and a BA in Political Science and BS in Geography from Arizona State University.

Sander van der Linden
University of Cambridge
Sander van der Linden
University of Cambridge

Sander van der Linden, Ph.D., is a University Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Social Psychology at the University of Cambridge, where he directs the Cambridge Social Decision-Making Lab. At Cambridge, he is also a Fellow and Director of Studies in Psychological and Behavioral Sciences at Churchill College. His research explores the psychology of social influence, risk, judgment, communication, and decision-making, with a particular focus on the psychology of climate change. His research has received numerous awards from institutions such as the American Psychological Association (APA), the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) and the International Association of Applied Psychology (IAAP).

Prior to Cambridge, Sander was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychology and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs at Princeton University and a visiting scholar (2012-2014) with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication at Yale University. He received his Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Teresa Myers
George Mason University
Teresa Myers
George Mason University

Teresa Myers is a Research Assistant Professor at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University. She is currently Co-Principal Investigator on a NASA grant investigating public trust in NASA’s climate change research, and public understanding of NASA’s web-based educational materials on climate change. She is also actively analyzing and publishing research using the Climate Change in the American Mind data and working with a team to evaluate the Climate Matters broadcast meteorologist engagement project. Teresa specializes in research methodology and advanced data analysis techniques in the context of communication and public opinion research, and has published on climate change, data analysis, and foreign policy.

Xiaoquan Zhao
Xiaoquan Zhao

Professor, Department of Communication, George Mason University

Center for Business and the Environment at Yale
Center for Business and the Environment at Yale

The Yale Center for Business and the Environment provides a focal point for research, education, and outreach to advance business solutions to global environmental problems.The Center joins the strengths of two world-renowned graduate schools – the Yale School of Management and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies – together with a network of internal and external thought leaders at the business-environment interface. Their work connects students, executives, academics, and policy-makers, and spans issues from environmental finance to corporate social responsibility.

Climate Nexus
Climate Nexus

Founded in 2011, Climate Nexus works to change the conversation on climate change and clean energy from an argument to a constructive search for solutions. Climate Nexus leverages all forms of communication to tell the stories of the people impacted by climate change and those driving the energy transition. Climate Nexus helps its partners achieve their communications goals: improving media relations, reaching new audiences, launching online campaigns, organizing events, coordinating activities across the larger community, and anything else they might need.

George Mason University – Center for Climate Change Communication
George Mason University – Center for Climate Change Communication

The mission of the Center for Climate Change Communication is to conduct unbiased public engagement research, and to help government agencies, non-profit organizations, and companies apply the results of this research, so that collectively, these groups can stabilize the planet’s climate. They use social science research methods – experiments, surveys, in-depth interviews and other methods – to find ways of effectively engaging the public and policy makers in the problem, and in considering and enacting solutions.

Hispanic Communications Network
Hispanic Communications Network

Hispanic Communications Network (HCN) works with nonprofits, universities, and government agencies to deliver cost-effective, culturally-resonant Spanish language media solutions for national and regional impact. Working closely with partners, HCN creates, produces and syndicates Spanish-language public interest media and educational campaigns that reach 90% of U.S. Hispanics via daily programming on the HCN national network of affiliated radio stations and through the “La Red Hispana” community outreach and engagement digital assets. These include a mobile app, website, live streaming/social media, video channels, and podcasts.

The China Center for Climate Change Communication (China 4C)
The China Center for Climate Change Communication (China 4C)

The China Center for Climate Change Communication (China 4C) was jointly established by the Research Center for Journalism and Social Development of Renmin University and Oxfam Hong Kong. It is the Chinese counterpart to the YPCCC and George Mason 4C.

The Pulitzer Center
The Pulitzer Center

The Pulitzer Center promotes in-depth engagement with global affairs through its support for quality international journalism across all media platforms and an innovative program of outreach and education.

Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy
Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy

The Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy seeks to advance cutting edge environmental thinking and policy analysis so that decisionmaking in the public, business, community, and personal realms promotes sustainability. The Center seeks to identify pressing environmental problems and advance effective policies, strategies, and decisionmaking tools in response. They seek to move the environmental debate beyond political and sectoral boundaries to enable integrated approaches to problem-solving.

The 11th Hour Project
The 11th Hour Project

The mission of The 11th Hour Project is to promote a fuller understanding of the impact of human activity within the web of interdependent living systems. This project aims to connect organizations with good information on how to develop a more responsible relationship with the world’s water, energy, and food resources.

The Endeavor Foundation
The Endeavor Foundation

Founded in 1952 by Christian A. Johnson, the Endeavor Foundation is dedicated to efforts that foster independent thought, ethical understanding, deep appreciation of the arts and reverence for the natural world.  The Endeavor Foundation pursues this objective primarily by supporting and catalyzing excellence in liberal arts education and related fields, and has supported the curricular and pedagogical development of a significant number of liberal arts colleges in the United States.  The Foundation has also made major contributions to the arts, to projects that assist independent states in the formerly Soviet-dominated region of Central and Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria, Estonia, Poland, Rumania, Slovakia and Ukraine, to Native American projects and to efforts that promote environmental awareness.  Endeavor was instrumental in the creation of the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC, and ECLA European College of Liberal Arts in Berlin, Germany.

The Energy Foundation
The Energy Foundation

The Energy Foundation’s mission is to promote the transition to a sustainable energy future by advancing energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The Heising-Simons Foundation
The Heising-Simons Foundation

Heising simons logoThe Heising-Simons Foundation works with its many partners to advance sustainable solutions in climate and clean energy, enable groundbreaking research in science, enhance the education of our youngest learners, and support human rights for all people.

The MacArthur Foundation
The MacArthur Foundation

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world.

NOAA
NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) works to keep citizens informed of the changing environment around them.From daily weather forecasts, severe storm warnings and climate monitoring to fisheries management, coastal restoration and supporting marine commerce, NOAA’s products and services support economic vitality and affect more than one-third of America’s gross domestic product. NOAA’s dedicated scientists use cutting-edge research and high-tech instrumentation to provide citizens, planners, emergency managers and other decision makers with reliable information they need when they need it.

NSF
NSF

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 “to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. With an annual budget of about $6.9 billion (FY 2010), they are the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America’s colleges and universities. NSF issues limited-term grants to fund specific research proposals that have been judged the most promising by a rigorous and objective merit-review system.

The Overlook International Foundation
The Overlook International Foundation

The Overlook International Foundation, based in San Francisco, California, provides support to organizations that are dedicated to educating and informing the public about global warming and to those taking concrete actions to reduce the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere.

The Skoll Global Threats Fund
The Skoll Global Threats Fund

The Skoll Global Threats Fund’s mission is to confront global threats imperiling humanity by seeking solutions, strengthening alliances, and spurring actions needed to safeguard the future.

The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment
The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment

The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment seeks to raise awareness around urgent environmental issues, and supports individuals and organizations working to find solutions. The foundation’s grantmaking supports communication and collaboration in environmental protection, with an emphasis on climate change.

TomKat Foundation
TomKat Foundation

The TomKat Foundation creates and partners with innovative organizations that envision a world with climate stability, a healthy and just food system, and broad prosperity. The TomKat Foundation embraces the inherent interconnectedness of these complex systems and believes that understanding the relationships between our financial practices, the impact of our energy usage, and the methods by which our food is raised and consumed is critical to the success of sustaining a healthy planet that is able to support generations to come.

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies
The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, founded in 1900, is the oldest institution of higher learning devoted to conservation and natural resource management in the United States. Now in its second century, the school’s research and teaching aim to provide unequalled education and training in the multiple dimensions of contemporary environmental issues toward developing solutions for a more sustainable future.

FES’ mission is to provide the next generation of national and international leaders with the knowledge, skills and experience needed to advance environmental decision making, formulate effective solutions to enhance environmental goals, and meet the challenges and opportunities of environmental management, in ways that provide broad, sustainable, resilient and equitable advances for human well-being in a complex and interdependent world.

Abigail Cheskis
Research Associate
Abigail Cheskis
Research Associate

Abby is a 2017 Environmental Studies graduate of Yale College. Her main work as a Research Associate entails supporting strategic communications and civil society capacity building through the use of Yale Climate Opinion Maps. Abby focused her undergraduate studies on climate change communication and sustainable food systems, and the knowledge that she brings to YPCCC stems from her coursework and prior work experience. As an undergraduate, Abby was a Research Assistant and Social Media Manager at YPCCC. She has also worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Head of Communications and Media Relations, the National Park Service, and George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication. In her free time, she enjoys riding her bike and knitting.

Adebanke Adebayo
Contributing Researcher
Adebanke Adebayo
Contributing Researcher

Mr. Adebayo is a doctoral student at the Department of Communication, George Mason University.

Allie Nelson
Contributing Researcher
Allie Nelson
Contributing Researcher

Allie is a doctoral student at the George Mason University Department of Communication.

Amanda Borth
Contributing Researcher
Amanda Borth
Contributing Researcher

Amanda Borth is currently project coordinator at the Forum for Climate Engineering Assessment at American University

Amber Collett
Research Assistant
Amber Collett
Research Assistant

Amber joined YPCCC in 2015 and is pursuing her Masters at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies with a focus on public health, greenspaces and community engagement. Prior to attending Yale, Amber was a communications consultant with Fourth Sector Consulting where she supported social networks and strategy for clients such as the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, the Center for Prevention at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, and more. She previously worked as the communications associate at Transit for Livable Communities/Bike Walk Twin Cities, where she managed innovative communications campaigns focused on strengthening the networks necessary to advocate for better bicycling, walking, and transit opportunities in Minnesota. Amber has also worked as an organizer with Green Corps and Minnesota PIRG on issues ranging from climate change, women’s initiatives, affordable higher education, water access rights, and transportation. In 2011, Amber was elected to the Hennepin County Soil and Water Board where she spent two years rebuilding the organization and strengthening the Board’s public visibility. Amber holds a BA in Environmental Studies and Russian Studies from St. Olaf College, and In her free time enjoys training for races of all kinds, bicycling, hiking/backpacking, camping, kayaking, canoeing, running, gardening and perfecting baking recipes. She is also an avid photographer, occasional woodworker, cyclocross newbie and coffee fanatic. Connect with Amber: @AmberCollett

Ann Robertson
Research Assistant
Ann Robertson
Research Assistant

Ann is a second year MEM student who recently joined YPCCC and assists Jennifer Marlon in her work studying historical wildfire patterns. Ann earned her BA in earth science from Vassar College in 2011, graduating with departmental honors, a minor in history, and recognition for distinctive senior research. Her undergraduate thesis used microscopic plankton shells in lake sediments to investigate paleoclimate trends in New Mexico. After college, Ann moved back to her hometown of Juneau, Alaska, and began working at NOAA’s Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute, where she participated in fisheries ecology research and bioenergetic analysis. In 2013, she earned the opportunity to join a marine research project in the Arctic. She spent two consecutive summers collecting fish, plankton, and oceanographic data along the Arctic Ocean coast in northern Alaska, and used this information to examine climate-driven shifts in the types of prey available to Arctic seabirds. Arctic issues are now her primary focus at F&ES, especially coastal management and marine policy. After graduating, Ann hopes to begin a career developing policy initiatives that will conserve Arctic ecosystems and promote sustainable development in polar regions.

Bonnie Frye Hemphill, MEM 2013
Bonnie Frye Hemphill, MEM 2013

Residing in Maine, Bonnie is the Coordinator for Businesses for Climate Action and a Consultant for the Natural Resources Council of Maine.  She sharpens the communications of nonprofit advocacy groups working for solutions to climate change, especially for profitable and practical business propositions. Prior to Yale, Bonnie worked for three years in Seattle at the nonprofit Climate Solutions; there she helped grow its Business Leaders for Climate Solutions network from 125 to more than 1000 clean-economy executives and entrepreneurs advocating for stronger climate policies. Bonnie is a native of Cary, NC, holds a BA from Middlebury College in Vermont, and enthusiastically pursues adventures and shenanigans whenever possible – from sledding the Presidential Range to canoeing across the Canadian Arctic, rafting the Grand Canyon, tossing Frisbees, quilting, and jumping into cold bodies of water.

Catherine Martini
Digital Strategist
Catherine Martini
Digital Strategist

Catherine is a Masters of Environmental Management candidate, focusing on international climate policy at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is currently a photographer for Yale F&ES and Science Communication Strategist for ParisAgreement.org, an NGO she helped launch at COP21 in Paris which contextualizes and visualizes core issues around the international climate negotiations and technical greenhouse gas inventory processes. Prior to attending Yale, Catherine received her B.A. in Political Science & Environmental Studies from the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. As a Digital Strategist at YPCCC, Catherine tracks analytics, and helps the team of research assistants succeed in executing social media campaigns through linking relevant YPCCC research to current events with innovative graphic design. In her free time, Catherine loves ballroom dance, photography, travel and is a member of Yale’s Forestry Club.

Claire Lafave
YCC Content Producer
Claire Lafave
YCC Content Producer

Claire Lafave is a second year MEM/MBA candidate passionate about tackling climate change through regenerative agriculture initiatives. Before coming to Yale, Claire studied English and Environmental Studies at Williams College and went on to manage farm-to-school programming at three public schools on Martha’s Vineyard. She later taught at a project-based school in the Bay Area. Claire believes strongly in the power of effective communication to change our environmental narratives and behaviors.

Dana Patterson
Digital Strategist
Dana Patterson
Digital Strategist

Dana is a passionate environmental leader currently studying her Master of Environmental Management with a focus on science communication and wildlife conservation at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is currently an Assistant Editor for Yale Environment 360, Social Media Ambassador for Yale F&ES and served as the Marketing and Communications Director for the 2016 Environmental Film Festival at Yale. Prior to attending Yale, she devoted the last decade to making positive environmental shifts in New Jersey communities. In her 5-year nonprofit role, she empowered dozens of individuals in environmental justice communities; taught thousands of students about wetlands, wildlife, and watersheds; and served a leadership role on a half dozen Community Advisory Groups providing technical guidance and community outreach on toxic site remediation. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Fairleigh Dickinson University and is a Board Member of FDU’s Institute for Sustainable Enterprise. As the Digital Strategist at YPCCC, she curates our social media platforms, designs digital graphics for media releases, tracks analytics, and assists the research team as needed. She is also a member of Yale’s Forestry Club and in her free time, she enjoys nature photography and bird watching.

Dani Schulman
Contributing Writer
Dani Schulman
Contributing Writer

Dani Schulman is a junior majoring in Environmental Studies and Human Rights at Yale University. Her academic works centers on themes of food justice, climate communications, Chinese environmental policy, and environmental economics. Outside of class, Dani serves as Co-President of the Yale Student Environmental Coalition, and spends her free time traveling, scuba diving, and singing jazz.

Darcy Dugan, MEsc 2009
Darcy Dugan, MEsc 2009

Darcy Dugan now lives in Alaska with her husband and son and works as the Program Manager for the Alaska Ocean Observing System.  AOOS is one of 11 regional ocean observing systems in the US funded by NOAA with the mission of improving access to marine data.  Darcy works with scientists and institutions who are monitoring Alaska’s coastal and marine environment, and helps shape the information into user-friendly data tools for recreationists, mariners, coastal managers, fisherman, industry, conservation groups, and other marine users.

Dylan Walsh, MEM 2009
Dylan Walsh, MEM 2009

Dylan is a freelance writer based in New Haven, CT. He contributed regularly to The New York Times Green blog until it closed in March, 2013. He now contributes to Elements at The New Yorker, as well as The Guardian environment blog. He has written for Yale Environment 360, The Huffington Post, and environment Yale, among other publications. Dylan writes about science and the environment. He is particularly interested in technology and people within the environment.  Until January of 2014, Dylan was an editor at The Solutions Journal. You can find irregular updates on his work at dylancwalsh.com.

Elham Shabahat
YPCCC/Pulitzer Center Fellowship Recipient
Elham Shabahat
YPCCC/Pulitzer Center Fellowship Recipient
Elham Shabahat is a graduate student in the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, studying conservation, environmental justice, and climate change adaptation. Previously, Elham worked in communications for various UN agencies such as UNDP, UNICEF and the World Bank. She is currently exploring the impact of climate change on mountain gorillas and local people living near gorilla habitat, as part of the partnership on climate change journalism between YPCCC and the Pulitzer Center.
Emily Connor
Research Assistant
Emily Connor
Research Assistant

Emily is pursuing a Masters of Environmental Management (2017) and is committed to exploring impacts of climate change and how management strategies can help societies improve resilience and better adapt to a changing future landscape. She is interested in studying water scarcity and relevant management solutions, with a particular focus in the Middle East. Prior to joining the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication, Emily worked as a contractor with the United States Agency for International Development on climate change communication and outreach. During her time there, she supported the White House-led partnership, Climate Services for Resilient Development, created with the goal of empowering developing nations to improve their climate resilience. Emily has also worked with National Geographic in Washington, D.C. on social media outreach and website development. She holds a BS in Geography and a BA in International Politics with a minor in Arabic from The Pennsylvania State University. In her free time, her interests include hiking and improving her nascent skiing ability.

Frances Moore, MEsc2009
Frances Moore, MEsc2009

Fran is currently based in Palo Alto, CA pursuing a PhD in Stanford University’sEmmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources. She combines methods from economics, climate science and psychology to understand how quickly and effectively farmers will adapt to climate change. This is a critical piece of understanding the actual climate change impacts people will face but has received very little research attention. Fran hopes the approach can help make climate change impacts more concrete and salient in communicating climate science.

Hodiah Nemes, Yale College 2013
Hodiah Nemes, Yale College 2013

Hodiah Nemes graduated from Yale College in 2013 with a major in Environmental Studies, concentrating in environmental rhetoric.  His senior thesis analyzed presidential rhetoric on climate change, with a special focus on the speeches of Bill Clinton.  As a senior, Hody was elected “Mr. Yale” by his peers for his outrageous impersonation of another president: George W. Bush. During college, he worked as a journalist for the St. Louis Beacon and a communications intern for Israel’s Green party. He now lives in New York City and writes for the Jewish Daily Forward newspaper.

Jack Rusk
Contributing Writer
Jack Rusk
Contributing Writer

Jack is a first year Master’s of Environmental Management student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Working in the built environment, he looks for synergies between his academic training in ecology and his professional experience in design. Currently, he works as a research assistant for Karen Seto, creating a hazard susceptibility model for the Himalaya region. Previously, Jack ran his own design firm in California. 

John Chung-En Liu, MEM/MA (International Development & Economics) 2009
John Chung-En Liu, MEM/MA (International Development & Economics) 2009

John Chung-En is a PhD candidate in sociology at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to entering his doctoral program, he received a joint master’s degree in environmental management and economics at Yale University, and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from National Taiwan University in his home country. In John’s dissertation, he looks into the construction and governance of carbon markets, and has conducted extensive fieldwork in the European Union.  During his time at YPCCC, John worked with Dr. Leiserowitz to examine environmental attitudes and behaviors in urban China. He is currently writing a paper on the climate change skepticism in China to continue this research agenda.

Kartikeya Singh, MEsc 2009
Kartikeya Singh, MEsc 2009

Kartikeya Singh, a PhD candidate at The Fletcher School and CIERP Junior Research Fellow, received his Master of Environmental Science degree at the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies at Yale University. His research interests include climate change and energy policy, innovation and the geopolitics of energy use. His Master’s thesis focused on effective management of access to energy for rural communities in India through decentralized renewable energy systems. Previously, Kartikeya was a consultant with the Environmental Defense Fund. He is the co-founder of the Indian Youth Climate Network (IYCN), which has served as a forum for voices of the budding youth climate movement across South Asia. He has been involved with international climate negotiations since the UN climate talks in Bali in 2007 and has served as part of the negotiating team of the government of Maldives at the climate talks from 2009 to 2012.

Kate Richard
Research Assistant
Kate Richard
Research Assistant

Kate is a 2018 Master of Environmental Management graduate from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. She is interested urban resilience and climate change adaptation planning. Before coming to Yale, Kate worked on university sustainability and food access programs. She has a BA in English and a BS in environmental science and policy from the University of Maryland. In her free time, she likes to read, play piano, and experiment with sourdough baking.

Laura Hammett
Research Assistant / Partnerships Coordinator
Laura Hammett
Research Assistant / Partnerships Coordinator

Laura is passionate about supporting environmentally sustainable and resilient development through a combination of creative community engagement, human-centered design, education, and social enterprise. As a Masters of Environmental Management candidate at Yale, Laura is focusing on issues of urban resiliency and climate change adaptation through studying urban ecology, climate and energy policy, risk analysis, and behavioral economics. Laura comes to Yale after six years in the environmental planning, international development, and communications fields. She spent three years as a project lead with consulting firm Marstel-Day, where she helped the U.S. Air Force resolve resource and land use challenges in collaboration with host communities in South Korea and Japan. Prior to that experience, she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Albania, working with a municipality on capacity building and community development projects while also leading a national environmental education network for high school students. Laura holds a Bachelors of Urban and Environmental Planning degree from the University of Virginia and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners. As a Research Assistant at the YPCCC, she manages outreach for the Yale Climate Connections daily radio program and assists with overall media strategy.

Lauren Boucher
Research Assistant
Lauren Boucher
Research Assistant

Lauren Boucher is a first year Master of Environmental Management student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Her academic interests include renewable energy, energy access, and international development. Prior to attending Yale, Lauren worked for a national non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. She organized and led professional development workshops that gave K-12 teachers interactive, interdisciplinary methods for teaching and communicating contemporary global and environmental issues in their classrooms. Lauren received her B.S. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from the University of Oregon and M.Ed. in from George Mason University. In her spare time, Lauren enjoys reading, crossword puzzles, and spending time outdoors.

Megan McVey, MEM 2012
Megan McVey, MEM 2012

Megan is currently a Senior Digital Associate at the Pew Charitable Trusts, and works with Pew’s environmental, creative, and multimedia teams on content packaging and strategy. She oversees content development, works with the distribution team on social media and email marketing, and advises Pew staff on incorporating digital communications techniques into their work.  Before Pew, Megan served as the Communications Manager at the U.S. Global Change Research Program, where she developed and implemented strategies for enhancing the Program’s web-based presence and overall communications effectiveness. She designed, launched, and managed the USGCRP website, implemented social media outreach strategies to increase engagement with those within the climate change communication community, and informed staff about online engagement and user experience best practices. She also served as the coordinator for the Communication and Education Interagency Working Group, which aimed to coordinate and enhance unified Federal strategies to communicate and educate about climate change science.

Rebeka Ryvola
Rebeka Ryvola

Rebeka is an FES Masters graduate most interested in the connections people have with nature. She studies climate justice, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and catastrophe response. She has carried out disaster forensic research for the Red Cross Climate Centre in Malawi, is Co Director of the Environmental Film Fest @ Yale, and co leads the Environmental Justice student interest group. The highlight of her week is usually “working” alongside grade 2 farmers at the Yale Farm, rockclimbing, yoga, or talking to her parents on the phone. Oh, and of course doing social media for YPCCC.

Sabrina Long
Social Media Intern
Sabrina Long
Social Media Intern

Sabrina is a rising junior in Yale College working on the social media team. Majoring in Computer Science and pursuing a certificate in Energy Studies, she is interested in understanding how data analysis and modeling techniques can be used to analyze public support of climate change adaptation. She is also passionate about graphic design, and is excited to use her experience to support the YPCCC’s social media presence. Sabrina is a member of the Yale Women’s Golf Team and enjoys cooking, rock-climbing, and hiking in her spare time.

Sam Inglis
Social Media Intern
Sam Inglis
Social Media Intern

Sam Inglis is a member of YPCCC’s social media team. He holds an MSc in Climate Change & Risk Management from the University of Exeter, UK. His research focuses on glacial hazards, mountain environments, and transboundary water resources. He currently writes for the website ‘GlacierHub,’ trying to increase awareness and understanding of the world’s rapidly disappearing glaciers. Sam is an active campaigner for climate action, and notably coordinated the ‘People’s Climate March’ in Hong Kong in 2014 – the only city of China’s 600+ to participate. He comes to Yale following a two month odyssey, having walked over 950 miles from the Vatican in Rome to COP21 in Paris for climate justice, alongside former Philippine climate negotiator Yeb Saño. Sam is a founder and the newly appointed Vice Chairperson of the Interfaith Climate Network in his hometown of Hong Kong, working to promote awareness of climate science within the local spiritual community.

Vinay Kumar
Social Media Intern
Vinay Kumar
Social Media Intern
Vinay is a Master of Business Administration student at the Yale School of Management. He has a specific interest in the convergence of climate change, environmental education, and impact investing. He has worked for more than five years across different cities in India and comes with an interdisciplinary experience cutting across the information technology, non-profit education and financial services industries. In his spare time, Vinay likes to read, and travel to places of historic and natural significance.