About Us

Our research team is made up of graduate and undergraduate researchers from the University of Vermont, all under the guidance of Dr. Cecilia Danks.  While the scope of our collective research projects is diverse, our goal of fostering a better understanding of the relationship between climate change, forests, and communities maintains a sense of cohesiveness in the group.  Each member of the group has contributed to one or more projects represented on this website. The team meets regularly to share current information and resources, and to talk about the issues surrounding our research.  Additionally, members of our research team have participated in field work across Vermont to advance our understanding and skills around carbon sequestration in trees.  


Cecilia Danks, Ph. D
Assistant Professor
Principal Investigator and Program Supervisor
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
cdanks@uvm.edu

Cecilia received her Ph. D. from the University of California at Berkeley and her work and interests lie in community forestry,  community-based resource management, and sustainability in forest carbon markets.  To visit her faculty webpage, please click here.




Rachael Beddoe
Graduate Student
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
rbeddoe@uvm.edu

Rachael is interested in alternative means of finance to promote quality of life as well as sustainability. She is currently studying carbon markets for small-scale and community forestry.


Ken Brown
Graduate Student
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
krbrown@uvm.edu




Sarah Crow
sarahmariecrow@gmail.com

Originally from Minnesota, Sarah earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Forestry at the University of Montana and a Master’s Degree in Natural Resources at the University of Vermont. Sarah’s interests focus on the intersection of rural livelihoods and conservation policy. She served as a Fulbright Research Fellow to Ukraine and her work has taken her from the high deserts of New Mexico to the marbled halls of Capitol Hill. She has a passion for all things culinary including gastronomic histories, cooking, gardening, food preservation and, of course, eating.



Kim DePasquale
Coordinator of Community-Based Learning
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
kdepasqu@uvm.edu

Kim grew up in Massachusetts and received her undergraduate degree in environmental studies from the University of Vermont.  After graduating, she spent two years as an AmeriCorps VISTA Member coordinating community-based learning in the Rubenstein School at UVM.  In addition to working on the Wood Biomass Energy Symposium for the Northern Forest, she continues to support community-based learning as a full time staff member in the Rubenstein School.   In her free time, Kim enjoys running, mountain biking, skiing, throwing clay on the wheel, gardening, backpacking, and cooking dinner for friends.  She lives in Burlington with her partner, Ben, and their dog, Tess.


Amanda Egan
Graduate Student
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Amanda.Egan@uvm.edu

Amanda's research focuses on forest-based carbon offset projects in the Carpathian Mountains. She received her undergraduate degree in International Relations and Russian Studies from Colgate University. Previously, she worked for a foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC and for an international non-profit in Denver, Colorado.



David Kuhn
Graduate Student
Project Coordinator, Community-based Wood Biomass Energy
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
David.Kuhn@uvm.edu

David Kuhn was raised in Hershey, PA.  He earned his BS in Psychology from Penn State
University before working for the Peace Corps in Nicaragua as an Sustainable Agriculture
and Rural Development Extentionist for over 2 years.  During his time with the Peace
Corps, he worked on strengthening community forestry in a small rural town by
implementing reforestation projects, watershed management projects, education, etc.  He
has also done work on Koonamore Nature Reserve in Australia and at privately owned nature
park in Pennsylvania.  He enjoys spending time with his family, being active outdoors, and playing with his dog.

Jean Lee
The University of Vermont
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
jeantlee@gmail.com

Jean's research focuses on the role of payments for ecosystems services (biodiversity, carbon, etc) in the livelihoods of local farmers in East Africa, and her interests lies in incentives for smallholder farmers as well as ecological and social benefits of forestry programs. She works with Dr. Lini Wollenberg on the CCAFS project (http://www.ccafs.cgiar.org/) through the Gund Institute. Before
starting at UVM, she worked for the US Forest Service and managed the National Visitor Use
Monitoring Survey for the Colville National Forest.  She received her Masters of Environmental
Management from Duke University and her undergraduate degree in environmental biology from
Columbia University. 



Grahm Leitner
Master of Environmental Law and Policy
MSNR Student
Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
University of Vermont
gleitner@uvm.edu

Grahm Leitner grew up on a small hobby farm in central Wisconsin.  Having earned Bachelor’s degrees in Conservation Biology and Geography from the University of Wisconsin, and having worked as an Urban Forestry professional for eight years, Grahm joins the Rubenstein School as a master’s student in Natural Resources and Environmental Law and Policy.  By focusing on sustainable forest management activities within local communities, Grahm intends to help communities manage their natural resources for greater long-term yield and benefit.  Grahm is also an avid outdoorsman and loves spending his free time hiking, hunting, camping, and observing the
landscape.


Elise Schadler
Graduate Student
Project Coordinator, Urban and Community Forestry
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Elise.Schadler@uvm.edu

Elise grew up in Ohio and received her undergraduate degree in anthropology from the University of Indiana.  From there, she spent a year as an Americorps National Civilian Community Corps Member followed by three years as the director of an urban community-based tree planting program in Camden, NJ.  She loves trees, urban & social ecology, running, swimming, dancing, gardening, traveling, reading, and her phenomenal dog Luna.



Meghan Thompson
Undergraduate Student
The University of Vermont
mthomps4@uvm.edu

Meghan studies civil engineering with a focus on environmental studies. She also loves to read, hike, and bake.  





Jennifer Wright
Graduate Student
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
jwright9@uvm.edu

Jennifer graduated from Laval University, Quebec City, in forest management. She began her professional career working as a forester for a small private consulting firm outside Montreal, Quebec.  In 2001, she decided to take advantage of her dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship and relocate to Oregon as a state forestry employee. She has always enjoyed working with non-industrial forest landowners and she hopes to contribute to the development of new tools and/or improve policies to assist landowners in maintaining their forest, a healthy and productive one.


Hands-On Forest Carbon Assessment Experience for our Research Team

Our research group has visited Little Hogback Community Forest in Monkton, Vermont and the Victory State Forest in Essex County, Vermont to acquire first-hand experience in measuring carbon in a forest setting.  By taking fixed-plot and prism measurements on standing biomass and then subsequently running the data through Forest Service software, we garnered a better understanding of the process of quantifying forest carbon.  Additionally, by meeting with forest managers, community stakeholders, and professionals in the field we have considered the ways in which various parties can and have been affected by decisions around forest use and carbon market participation.    

Last modified December 20 2011 12:28 PM