In this issue:

• Commencement
• PhD Defenses: Gus Greenstein, Gemma Smith
• Welcome New Joint MS 2023 Cohort
• New Collaboration Grants
• Student Connections: Spring Book Club, E-IPER Tea, E-IPER E(id)arth Day Community Dinner, Flower Walk, Pathway Mixer, Joint MS Student-Faculty Lunch, Joint MS-JD Dinner, Joint MS and PhD Group Dinners, Brews with E-IPER Alumni, Whale Watching, PhD Buddy Family Dinner, PhD Alumni Visit
• Alumni News, Awards & Honors, Publications & Presentations

On Sunday, June 18, 2023, we celebrated our first graduating class from the new Doerr School of Sustainability. Graduating students from the Class of 2023 were invited to participate and celebrate with faculty, friends, and family.

Joint/Dual MS 2022-2023 Graduates

Konadu Amoakuh (MS-JD), Christina Baladis (MS-MBA), Thilo Braun (MS-MBA), William Butcher (MS-MBA), Sabrina Devereaux (MS-JD), Daniel Gajardo (MS-MIP), John Foye (MS-MBA), Royce Gene (MS-MBA), Stephanie Grayson (MS-MBA), Hannes Harnack (MS-MBA), Alwin Hui (MS-MBA), Josh Kirmsse (MS-JD), Giorgi Koreli (MS-MBA), Ben Maines (MS-MD), Gustavo Marquez (MS-MBA), Abigail Mathieson (MS-MBA), Katelyn McEvoy (MS-JD), Eric Nevalsky (MS-MBA), Julia Park (MS-MBA), Alana Reynolds (MS-JD), Emily Rogers (MS-MBA), Amanda So (MS-MBA), Benjamin White (MS-MBA), Kyle Wolstencroft (MS-MBA), Devon Wilson (MS-JD), Claire Yerman (MS-JD), Amelie Sophie Vavrovsky (MS-MIP), Greg Zegas (MS-MBA).

PhD 2022-2023 Graduates

Jose Ricardo Urteaga Augier ‘22

“Examining factors that affect community participation in sea turtle governance: lessons learned from Eastern Pacific Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) conservation in El Salvador and Nicaragua”

Rachel Carlson ‘22

“Climate Resilience in the Coastal Zone: Coral Survival and Regrowth

in the Hawaiian Archipelago”

Gus Henry Greenstein ‘23

“Bureaucracy matters: organizational structure and performance in Brazil's protected areas agency”

Randall Thomas Holmes ‘23

“Strategies for Managing Naturally Occurring Contaminants on Groundwater Basins of the Central Valley, California”

Andrew Christer Hume ‘22

“Oceanic Influence and Sustainable Development of Large Ocean States”

Nathan Willis Ratledge ‘23

“The Economic Impacts of Energy and Climate Technology

in the Global South”

Gemma Elizabeth Smith ‘23

“Designing Diplomacy: Collaborative Governance in International River Basins”

Congratulations Class of 2022-2023! We are so proud of you and can't wait to see all the amazing things you'll do and accomplish! 

On April 17, Gus Greenstein successfully defended his dissertation, “Bureaucracy Matters: Organizational Structure and Performance in Brazil's Protected Areas Agency.”

Gus’s dissertation examines the potential to improve government agencies’ implementation of environmental public policy through more strategic resource deployment, using mixed-methods studies of personnel management and deforestation control in Brazil’s federal protected areas agency. Altogether, Gus’s dissertation demonstrates the value of “looking inside” of public environmental organizations to understand environmental outcomes.

Members of Gus’s Oral Examination Committee:

• Francis Fukuyama (Co-Advisor), Olivier & Nomellini Senior Fellow in International Studies at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Professor, by courtesy, of Political Science
• Leonard Ortolano (Co-Advisor), UPS Foundation Professor of Civil Engineering in Urban and Regional Planning, Emeritus, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Daniel Honig, Associate Professor of Public Policy, University College London
• Eric Lambin, George and Setsuko Ishiyama Provostial Professor, Earth System Science, Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment
• CHAIR: James Leape, William and Eva Price Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment, Co-Director, Center for Ocean Solutions

On June 8, 2023, Gemma Smith successfully defended her dissertation, “Designing Diplomacy: Collaborative Governance in International River Basins.”

In her dissertation, Gemma examines the governance of international river basins, and its human and environmental impact. Gemma’s research illuminates the complex dynamics between stakeholders in international collaboration and the implications for strengthening global river governance.

Members of Gemma’s Oral Examination Committee:

• Bruce Cain (Co-Advisor), Charles Louis Ducommun Professor in the School of Humanities & Sciences, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute, at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research & Professor at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
• David Freyberg (Co-Advisor), Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment
• Anita Milman, Professor, Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, Assistant Professor of Earth System Science, Center Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment and Assistant Professor at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
• CHAIR: James Leape, William and Eva Price Senior Fellow, Woods Institute for the Environment, Co-Director, Center for Ocean Solutions

Missed a dissertation defense?

You can now view recordings of them on our E-IPER website and You Tube channel! (Note, certain videos are private/unavailable at the request of the presenter. If you have any questions please contact E-IPER staff.)

E-IPER Website - PhD Alumni

E-IPER YouTube Channel

The awardees of this year's Collaboration Grants have been announced!!

The E-IPER Collaboration Grants provide an opportunity for E-IPER PhD and Joint MS students to leverage their unique skill sets to collaboratively address significant environmental challenges. Successful projects couple the research rigor of the doctoral student with the professional skills of the joint master's student. Students receive $10,000 for the project costs, as well as a stipend for the PhD students and one quarter of graduate tuition for the MS students.

Four innovative projects received awards through the 2023 Collaboration Grant. These projects attend to a broad range of important issues related to environment and resources including, energy equity, marine and coastal health, lithium supply, and decarbonization in India. Congratulations to all!

“Improving Distributional Equity of Residential Decarbonization

Upgrades in California”

Team: Jill Grey Ferguson (PhD), Ian Faucher (MS-JD),

and Meghan Wood (MS-MBA)

Advisors: Bruce Cain (Political Science), Michael Wara (Woods Institute),

and Jane Woodward (CEE)

“Ensuring A True Blue Recovery in the Caribbean: How to Effectively Evaluate Marine and Coastal Health Impacts of A Blue Bond Deal”

Team: Cat Lee Hing (PhD) and Joyce Lin (MS-MIP)

 Advisors: James Leape (COS) and Larry Crowder (Oceans)

“The Lithium Supply Chain in Mexico: An Opportunity

in Sustainable Development”

Team: Sergio Sanchez Lopez (PhD) and Daniel Sandoval (MS-MBA)

Advisors: Stefan Reichelstein (GSB) and David Rogers (E-IPER)

“Financing Electricity Decarbonization in India: Barriers and Solutions”

Team: Kirat Singh (PhD) and Sankalp Banerjee (MS-MBA)

Advisors: Ines Azevedo (ESE) and Alicia Seiger (Precourt Institute)

Spring Book Club

This spring, E-IPER PhD and MS students gathered to read and discuss The Paradise Notebooks, a short collection of naturalist essays, poetry, and prose that takes readers on a backpacking trip through the Sierras.

This short book is written by father, husband, teacher, naturalist, scientist, and all around incredible human Richard Nevle, a senior lecturer and the deputy director of the Earth Systems program here at Stanford, along with Steven Nightingale, a poet teacher, and author based in Nevada and California. This book is thoughtful, intimate, personal, and reflective, and is a wonderful departure from the weight of the academic grind.

E-IPER Tea

E-IPER Weekly Tea meets on Tuesdays in the suite. This event allows a chance to connect with friends, relax, socialize, and enjoy some tasty treats. Each week a different volunteer whips up a culinary creation to share with the group. Our wellness liaison, Ryan O'Connor, recently made shortbread inspired by the hit TV show, Ted Lasso.

E-IPER has also acquired stuffed animals to cuddle with while enjoying some good tea and great company, during a break or while busy working!

E-IPER E(id)arth Day Community Dinner 

On Earth Day, Anais Voski (PhD, 2nd) brought the E-IPER community together at the campus Lakeside Dining hall to taste and enjoy a special dinner. This day also marks the end of Eid al-Fitr / Ramazan Bayramı (the end of Ramadan), during which it is traditional to gather as a community, share a meal and connect.

Flower Walk

Students enjoyed spring at Filoli. The historic estate, only 20 minutes from Stanford's campus, is set on 16 acres of English-Renaissance gardens. April is the peak flower season with irises, wisteria, tulips, and wildflowers in full bloom. E-IPER's bird watchers also spotted an orange crowned warbler, red tailed hawk and three turkeys.

E-IPER Pathway Mixer

On May 17, E-IPER hosted the MS Pathways and PhD Research Mixer. It was an opportunity for students in both degree programs to meet each other around shared academic interests. Students spent 45 minutes meeting up in groups from energy to environmental justice and oceans to sustainable built environments, to name a few. Hoping that this spurs connections for future personal and professional collaboration.

Joint MS Student-Faculty Lunch

On Thursday, April 27, a group of new Joint MS-MBA students joined Prof. Bill Barnett, Marissa Mendoza (Associate Director of Student University Initiative on Business and Environmental Sustainability), and E-IPER staff members for lunch at the Stanford Faculty Club. This lunch supports faculty advising relationships with our MS student population. Prof. Barnett provided students with a brief overview of environment and sustainability classes at the Graduate School of Business, and students spoke about their career interests and aspirations.

Joint MS-JD Dinner

On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Prof. Buzz Thompson hosted a group of MS-JD students at his home for dinner. Prof. Debbie Sivas, and E-IPER staff members, Mele Wheaton and Clark Campagna, also joined the dinner. The evening provided an informal opportunity for MS-JD students to get together as a group with faculty and staff and to discuss issues of relevance in environmental law and science. After dinner, Prof. Thompson led the students in a discussion of the Joint MS-JD program.

Joint MS and PhD Group Dinners

Students enjoyed the group dinners organized by Katherine Playfair at various Palo Alto restaurants. E-IPER friends met up to improve the depth of relationships and community across Master's and PhD students.

Brews with E-IPER Alumni

Meghan Wood (MS-MBA) and Emma Krasovich Southworth (PhD, 1st) serve on the E-IPER Student Leadership Council as Alumni Liaisons. This year, they have kicked off some new initiatives, including a mentorship program, and have planned more events to bring students together with alumni. As a wonderful way to wrap up the year, E-IPER hosted the first ever Brews with Alums event at Barebottle Brewery in SF. There were brews, pizza, and lots of good conversation among students and alumni. With around 30 in attendance, the student-to-alumni ratio was fantastic, with nearly as many alumni showing up as our current number of E-IPER students across all programs (PhD and joint/dual MS)! From reminiscing about E-IPER and Stanford to discussing career paths, it was a great time! Stay tuned for future student-alumni events!

Whale Watching

16 E-IPER Master's and PhD students went whale watching in May with Professor Larry Crowder in Monterey Bay. They saw otters, Risso dolphins, hump-back whales, and a rare pod of Baird's beaked whales. The group enjoyed pizza overlooking the ocean at Stanford's Hopkins Marine Station.

PhD Buddy Family Dinner

A “family tree” of E-IPER buddies from across the years gathered for dinner at Taro San to share advice, reflections on the PhD process, and laughs.

PhD Alumni Visits

We were thrilled to continue to have alumni visit this spring quarter. Current MS and PhD students had the opportunity to meet with them over lunch and one-on-one meetings. Our visiting alumni included Marilyn Cornelius (PhD ‘13) and Andrew Hume (PhD ‘22). 

Marilyn supports leaders as a facilitator, coach, teacher, researcher, author and speaker. She is the founder of Alchemus Prime, an entity that functions as an integration engine. She also teaches courses based on her books, emboldening students to function at their highest potential.

Andrew works for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) within the World Bank Group. He coordinates the team investing in transboundary/regional coastal, marine, and freshwater projects.

Anela Arifi (PhD, 3rd) was announced as a member of the Doerr School of Sustainability Advisory Council. Advisory council members include leaders from the United States, India, China, and more who lend scientific, industry, nonprofit, entrepreneurship, and government expertise to the challenge of educating students, driving discoveries, and creating solutions at a global scale. The group's first meeting was held in June, with a focus on three key areas: identifying the greatest opportunities for global engagement, extending a Stanford education to the world, and finding opportunities for scalable solutions through the Sustainability Accelerator. See the full announcement of the Advisory Council here.

Jill Ferguson’s (PhD, 2nd) idea to create a one-stop application portal for California’s energy incentive programs has captured the attention of state lawmakers and was introduced in the legislature as Senate Bill 755. If passed, it could improve access to such programs for millions of residents, lower energy costs statewide, and help California and the nation move closer to meeting urgent climate goals. You can read more about it here.

Jill Ferguson and Ian Faucher getting ready to be the two witnesses to support the bill.

Gemma Smith (PhD, ‘23) attended and supported the organization of the UN 2023 Water Conference which led to a collaboration on a comment piece with future colleagues Andrea Gerlak and Bob Varady at the University of Arizona.

Nina Brooks (PhD, ‘20) will be starting a new job on July 1st as an Assistant Professor of Global Health at the Boston University School of Public Health.

Marilyn Cornelius (PhD, ‘13) is part of a team of researchers conducting baseline, midterm and endline evaluations of the first of its kind long-term climate resilience project in the South Pacific: the Green Climate Fund (GCF) - funded Vanuatu Community-Based Climate Resilience Project (VCCRP). As a Technical Specialist on the team, Marilyn is supporting all evaluation activities, including inception reports, interviewing and data analysis, workshops, reporting, team training and coordination for this 6-year, 32.7-million-dollar project. The VCCRP aims to support resilient community-based fisheries and agriculture in vulnerable areas of Vanuatu.

Rachael Garrett (PhD, ‘13) has started a new position as the Moran Professor of Conservation and Development, Department of Geography at University of Cambridge in October. 

Rachael has also become the co-chair of the Global Land Programme.

Andrea Lund (PhD, ‘20) started a new job in March as an epidemiologist in the Vector-Borne Disease Section at the California Department of Public Health. In this role, Andrea is managing, visualizing and analyzing data and supporting special projects related to climate change and health equity, all related to vector-borne diseases in California. 

Justin Mankin (PhD, ‘15) has been promoted to Associate Professor with tenure at Dartmouth beginning July 1.

Justin would also like to share that his first PhD student passed his defense and will be starting a new position in the fall as a postdoc at Stanford.

Emma Wendt (MS-MBA, ‘09) started a new job at the DOE's Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations, as a cross-sector strategist. Emma is primarily focused on programs supporting rural, remote, and mining communities. She is currently in Mid-Coast Maine and fully remote and would love to connect with others working with rural communities.

Philip Womble (PhD, ‘20) will be starting a new job as Assistant Professor in the University of Washington's Evans School of Public Policy beginning Fall 2024. Phlip will continue his postdoc with the Stanford Woods Institute until then.

Anela Arifi (PhD, 3rd), Oren Fliegelman (MS-MBA), Daniel Gajardo (MS-MIP, 23), Karli Moore (PhD, 2nd) and Nathan Ratledge (PhD, ‘23) were recognized with the Stanford Alumni Association’s 2023 Community Impact Award. Through this award, Stanford Alumni Association recognizes outstanding graduate students that have fostered a sense of belonging and inspired enthusiasm among fellow graduate students, enhancing the Stanford community through their exemplary leadership of a student organization, creation of an event or program, or other unique campus contribution.

Randall Holmes (PhD, ‘23) received a 2023 Centennial Teaching Assistant Award. The award recognizes teaching assistants for their distinguished service and strong commitment to student learning. During the 2022-23 academic year, Randall served as a teaching assistant to several core Joint and Dual MS and PhD courses. 

Gus Marquez (MS-MBA ‘23) and his company RockFix were award recipients of the Harvard President’s Innovation Challenge. The President’s Innovation Challenge is open to students and alumni from any and all 13 Harvard Schools, encouraging cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Hannah Melville-Rea (PhD, 1st) and Leona Neftaliem (PhD, 1st), were accepted to the 2023 Knight-Hennessy Scholars! Knight-Hennessy Scholars brings together scholars from around the world and from many disciplines to create a learning environment that will help prepare each for leadership in a highly diverse and complex world.

Jayson Toweh (PhD, 2nd) was accepted into the 2023 cohort of the Rising Environmental Leaders Program (RELP) of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment. Each year a group of graduate students and postdoctoral scholars learn to develop the leadership and communication skills they need to optimize the impact of their research.

Amélie-Sophie Vavrovsky (MS-MIP, ‘23) was named to the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 list for social impact. The list recognizes leaders with strong business acumen who are saving the world. Forbes recognized Amélie for founding Formally, “a legal tech company devoted to streamlining processes including visa and immigration applications.” As of now, the firm has raised $2.3 Million in funding and has supported thousands of users in the asylum application process.

Our alumni have been busy publishing!

Books

Marilyn Cornelius (PhD, ‘13) new book Being S.A.F.E. is about setting boundaries and communicating in mindful and empowered ways - skills that every professional should have – but often lack. This pocket guide gives you a crash course in mastering everything from your triggers to your posture and tone of voice, using a holistic framework for how to handle difficult situations. Marilyn's S.A.F.E. Framework contains guidance for how to align, prepare, manage, and execute boundary setting. 

Journal Articles

David Gonzalez (PhD, ‘21) and colleagues published a paper titled "Temporal trends of racial and socioeconomic disparities in population exposures to upstream oil and gas development in California" in GeoHealth. They received some good news coverage on this study from Inside Climate News.

Justin Mankin (PhD, ‘15) has two new paper publications with his graduate student to share:

Callahan, C. (G) & J. S. Mankin (2023). Persistent effect of El Niño on global economic growth, Science. Also wrote an op-ed in the LA Times. 

Callahan, C. (G), N. J. Dominy, J. M. DeSilva, J. S. Mankin (2023). Global warming, home runs, and the future of America’s pastime, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Also wrote a piece for The Conversation.

Alison Ong (PhD, 3rd) co-authored a conference paper titled “The Impact of CCAs on Decarbonization in California,” which assesses the contributions of Community Choice Aggregators to electricity retail competition and clean energy policy goals. The paper was also presented at the 2023 POWER Conference at Berkeley in March. 

Nicole Ulibarri (PhD, ‘15) has two new publications to share:

“Environmental justice, infrastructure provisioning, and environmental impact assessment: Evidence from the California Environmental Quality Act” in Science Direct. 

“Toward improved sediment management and coastal resilience through efficient permitting in California” in Springer. 

News Articles and Reports

Eeshan Chaturvedi (PhD, 1st) recently published an opinion piece titled “Climate change” on India's positioning in G20 and the importance of sustainability. The piece was published by one of India's largest Hindi Newspapers with close to 1.8 million daily active (print) readers. The English translated version of the article can be read here.

Frances Moore (PhD, ‘15) ​​contributed to two government reports while at the Council of Economic Advisers:

Chapter 9 of the 2023 Economic Report of the President on “Opportunities for Better Managing Weather Risk in the Changing Climate”. The report was in The Daily episode by the New York Times. 

A white paper on “Methodologies and Considerations for Integrating the Physical and Transition Risks of Climate Change Into Macroeconomic Forecasting for the President’s Budget”.

Presentations

Eeshan Chaturvedi (PhD, 1st) presented the Country Reports on Forest Conservation in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. The Regional Symposium on the Forest and Protected Areas Legislation and Jurisprudence: Bringing Law and Science provided an opportunity to connect with judges he could possibly interview later in the year to collect data on attitudes and the role that institutions play towards implementing domestic laws in their respective countries.

Bianca Santos (PhD, 4th) and Sabrina Devereaux (MS-JD) attended the 5th International Symposium on the Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Ocean from April 17-21 in Bergen, Norway, where Bianca presented “Spatial complexities in climate-driven habitat shifts of Pacific predators within and beyond national jurisdictions”. Bianca and Sabrina are working on a policy analysis assessing the North Pacific international governance framework for managing highly migratory marine species as part of their 2022-23 collaboration grant project. While much of this work relies on desk-based searches of government policy databases, the conference provided an opportunity to conduct informal interviews, fact-check data analyses, and learn from key stakeholders and other relevant participants in the international science-policy arena. This trip was also important as it helped to significantly inform project direction as well as refine data collection efforts. Bianca and Sabrina plan to finalize data analysis and submit a publication for peer-review this summer.

Bianca and Sabrina at the Mt. Floyen viewpoint during a student social event.

Bianca and Sabrina attended the welcome ceremony aboard the Norweigan tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, which just return from a journey circumnavigating the globe.

Bianca Santos would also like to share the following presentation:

“Social-ecological vulnerability and adaptive capacity of small-scale fisheries in Palau” at the 2023 Aquatic Sciences Meeting in Mallorca, Spain, on June 9.

Emma Krasovich Southworth (PhD, 1st), presented at the Data for Sustainability Conference (D4SC) where she was awarded First Place for Best Student Presentation! 

Emma’s presentation was about building the first harmonized dataset for nitrogen and phosphorus compounds from agricultural runoff in the US Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin. The paper is published in Nature Scientific Data.  

Edited by:

The E-IPER Staff

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