Lara J. Hansen, Ph.D.
Chief Scientist and Executive Director

Lara Hansen has directed research on the biological effects of global change (including UV-B and global warming) since 1990.  Her primary focus is the redesign of conservation strategies to incorporate responses to climate change.  She has directed a variety of projects around the planet exploring this issue, from coral reefs to mountain glaciers, from tigers in mangrove forests to polar bears in the Bering Sea. She was the lead author/editor of a key text on the issue of natural system adaptation to climate change, Buying Time: A User's Manual for Building Resistance and Resilience to Climate Change in Natural Systems.  This manual lead to the development of an engaged stakeholder process to help resource managers and conservation practitioners create adaptation strategies applicable to their own workplans. This approach is employed in Climate Camp workshops. She is currently keenly engaged in developing the field of adaptation, building its capacity and getting it implemented. Lara was the Chief Climate Change Scientist for World Wildlife Fund leading their Impacts and Adaptations program from 2001 to 2008. In July 2008 she founded EcoAdapt, an organization with the primary goal of assisting in the development and implementation of adaptation strategies in response to climate change. In addition to her research and science experience, she also explains the effects of climate change to a broad array of audiences, including the U.S. Senate, media outlets and academic institutions (kindergarten through graduate school). She has also served on the Nobel Peace Prize awarded Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for over five years. Her work has been recognized with award of a Switzer Environmental Fellowship (1995) and an EPA Bronze Medal (2002). She earned her Ph.D. in Ecology at the University of California, Davis and her B.A. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her post-doctoral research was with the US EPA, Office of Research and Development.

Jennifer Hoffman, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist and Director of Projects

Jennie Hoffman first investigated the biological effects of global change in 1992, when she joined a project looking at the effects of ozone depletion on Antarctic sea urchin embryos. She has since expanded her work to include interactive effects of warming and ultraviolet radiation on marine organisms, climate change vulnerability assessment, and adapting conservation for a changing climate. In addition to her peer-reviewed scientific papers, Dr. Hoffman is author or co-author of several books and reports, including Buying Time: A User's Manual for Building Resistance and Resilience to Climate Change in Natural Systems, published by WWF in 2003.  The User’s Manual lead to the development of Climate Camp workshops, a participant-driven process to help resource managers, conservation practitioners, and others create adaptation strategies applicable to their own work. Jennie has helped lead multiple Climate Camps for participants from around the globe. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Washington in Ecology and her undergraduate degree in geology and biology from Brown University. After five years of working with the WWF-International Climate Change Programme’s Impacts and Adaptation program as a consultant and employee, Jennie has recently joined with Lara Hansen and Eric Mielbrecht to form EcoAdapt.

Eric Mielbrecht, M.S.
Senior Scientist and Director of Operations

Eric Mielbrecht, an EcoAdapt founder, specializes in assessing anthropogenic stresses and the risks they pose to a variety of natural resources. He is particularly interested in bridging the gap between research and resource management decision-making processes and focuses on synthesizing research findings for stakeholders. Recent work includes investigating relationships between water quality and resilience to climate change stressors in marine systems for resource users and managers in Florida under a NOAA SARP grant, and the report, Unnatural Disaster: Global Warming and Our National Parks, co-authored with Dr. Hoffman for the National Parks Conservation Association. He has also investigated the influence of watershed condition on climate change resilience of near-shore marine environments in American Samoa which culminated in the publication, Climate Change and Interacting Stressors: Implications for Coral Reef Management in American Samoa, for the U.S. EPA Global Change Research Program. He has also worked on numerous projects investigating the environmental fate and effects of industrial and agricultural contaminants in terrestrial and marine ecosystems globally. Additional institutions Eric has worked with include: The World Wildlife Fund, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the University of California, and S. R. Hansen & Associates. Eric earned a B.A. in biology and a M.S. in Marine Sciences from the University of California Santa Cruz and has been working on conservation issues ever since.

Alessandra Score, M.S.

Scientist

Alessandra “Alex” Score has more than 20 years of experience as a marine biologist, and has worked to preserve and protect coral reefs, fisheries, and sensitive coastal habitats.  In 2009 she joined EcoAdapt to focus her work on climate change adaptation in coastal and marine systems.  Prior to joining EcoAdapt, she served as WWF’s Florida Program Marine Conservations Specialist.  She not only coordinated WWF’s Climate Change LEADS Project, which combined the best scientific data to engage stakeholders to support conserving areas of coral reefs that show resilience to climate change impacts, but she also spearheaded WWF’s efforts to restore Florida Bay and the southern Everglades by building a vocal constituency in the Florida Keys for Everglades restoration efforts that will restore Florida Bay.  Ms. Score has worked as a Senior Biologist for Monroe County Planning and Environmental Resources Growth Management Division, led education and outreach work on South Florida ecosystem restoration for the University of Florida’s Sea Grant Program, led an international effort (the Great Annual Fish Count) for The Reef Environmental Education Foundation, and served as the Information Systems Officer for NOAA’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Ms. Score was born in Costa Rica, and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology from Florida Institute of Technology and a Master of Science degree in Biology from Georgia Southern University.

Natalia M. Belfiore, PhD

Scientist

 

Dr. Belfiore is a terrestrial vertebrate biologist who has participated in and directed research in tropical and temperate forest ecosystems, as well as other systems, for nearly 25 years.  Her primary expertise is the assessment of population dynamics, threats, and history using ecological and genetic data.  Recent research assessing population histories and the interactions between populations and their environments include studies of high elevation specialist small mammals, hybridization between closely related mammal species, and Pleistocene adaptive radiations of a group of small mammals.  Of particular relevance to this project, Dr. Belfiore traveled extensively overland across equatorial Africa in the early 1990s, visiting field research stations of multiple NGOs, and discussing research topics relevant to the region.  She spent several weeks traveling through western Rwanda, eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (visiting the gorillas in the Virunga National Park), and Uganda as part of that trip.  Most recently, she assisted at the WWF Climate Camp 2008 in San Francisco.

Rachel M. Gregg, M.M.A.

Scientist

 

Rachel Gregg is an environmental specialist with experience in the application of natural and social science, policy, and outreach. She has a background in marine biology and ecology, oceanography, and natural, marine, and coastal resources law and public policy. Her education and work experiences have been primarily focused on marine and coastal resources management strategies for natural and human influences, including water quality degradation, coastal hazards, and climate change. Prior to joining EcoAdapt in May 2009, Rachel worked with Washington Sea Grant, the San Juan County Marine Resources Committee, the National Park Service, and MASSPIRG. Her recent work includes examining nearshore processes and functions in Washington State and co-writing a guidance document to assist coastal counties in implementing shoreline management policies. In addition, she has also investigated the environmental implications and economic viability of the marine and coastal recreation and tourism industry in the outer counties of Washington State, the status of coastal water resources in Olympic National Park and Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, projected and actual threats to the marine and coastal environment of the San Juan Archipelago, and the water quality testing standards at public beaches throughout Massachusetts. Rachel earned her undergraduate degree from Smith College in Government and Marine Science, and a Master’s in interdisciplinary marine science and policy from the University of Washington.

Jessica Hitt
Research Associate

Jessica Hitt has worked on climate change adaptation training and empowerment since graduation. She currently provides research support to a broad range of EcoAdapt projects and is the creator of the EcoAdapt-Allianz Foundation Youth Climate Change Initiative. Prior to joining the EcoAdapt team she worked in the Climate Change Program at WWF. During her time at WWF she was part of a team that planned, taught and coordinated the WWF-Allianz Southeast Climate Witness Program which involved 24 students who were displaced by Hurricane Katrina and the WWF-HP Climate Camp in San Francisco, CA which brought together over 250 natural resource practitioners from over 30 countries to engage on climate adaptation.  Jessica graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in Environmental Science.

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Board Members

Lara J. Hansen, Ph.D.
EcoAdapt Board President
Chief Scientist and Executive Director of EcoAdapt

( see bio above)


John Nordgren
EcoAdapt Board Treasurer
Senior Program Officer, Kresge Foundation

John has worked at the intersection of conservation science and policy for the past 16 years, initially at the federal policy level and later moving to large landscape conservation, which is where he first began to explore, develop and promote climate change adaptation strategies. He has developed conservation science projects on a variety of topics ranging from impacts of energy development on arctic nesting sites for migratory shorebirds to biodiversity conservation in managed forests of the Northeastern US.  John is currently the Senior Program Officer for the Kresge Foundation’s Environment Program, which works to advance climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies through investments in science, policy and planning in the US and Canada.  His primary responsibilities include development and oversight of the Foundation’s climate adaptation program, which advances strategies for proactively addressing the impacts of climate change on nature and people. Prior to joining Kresge in January of 2009, John was Program Officer for the Kendall Foundation in Boston, where he developed the Climate Change Adaptation and Forested Landscapes Program, and led the Northern Appalachians Landscape Conservation Program.  Prior to joining Kendall, John was Director of Programs for the Massachusetts-based Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.  In the mid-1990s, he worked in the Legislative Program of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, focusing largely on federal public lands management issues. John has worked as a consultant on a range of issues, including road ecology, forest conservation, leadership development, western water rights, and nonprofit management. John graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from The American University in Washington, D.C. and holds a M.A. in Public Policy from Tufts University, in Medford, MA.   

 

Katherine Silverthorne
EcoAdapt Board Secretary

US Climate Change Programme Leader, E3G

 Katherine Silverthorne leads E3G’s climate change program in the U.S. In this role she will work to internationalize the U.S. debate in order to identify key areas of conflict and cooperation, build trust among the major actors, and promote a coalition for the passage of ambitious climate change legislation in the U.S. and ratification of an ambitious Copenhagen agreement.

Immediately before joining E3G, Katherine served as the director of policy for U.S. Climate Action Network (CAN).  CAN is a network of more than 400 non-profit organizations around the globe established nearly twenty years ago to promote sound policy on climate change.  As policy director, Katherine provided general strategic guidance for advocacy by CAN members and led efforts to develop collaborative positions, including submissions to Congressional committees and the UNFCCC on U.S. and international climate policy issues. Prior to joining U.S. CAN, Katherine served as the director for the US Climate Change Program of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).  Before joining WWF, she established the first climate change program for U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington, DC, which represents the interests of a nationwide network of Public Interest Research Groups active in more than 30 states. Katherine has served as co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Committee on Climate Change and Sustainable Development.  She has a Juris Doctor and Masters in environmental law from Vermont Law School and is a member of the bar in New York and Washington, DC.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Marshall, Ph.D.

EcoAdapt Board Member

Climate Change Program Manager, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority

Dr Paul Marshall is the Manager of the Climate Change Response Programme for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. Paul is passionate about the ocean and has spent many years studying and working to protect coral reefs. He is a leading expert on the implications of climate change for coral reefs at both the national and international levels. He has published numerous research papers, book contributions and reports on coral bleaching and climate change impacts on tropical marine ecosystems.

He studied science and zoology at Melbourne University, before completing his PhD at James Cook University on the ecology of coral reefs and how they recover from damage. Paul has spent many years doing coral reef surveys; he is qualified as a commercial diver and has logged over 1000 dives.