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
Research Analyst
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
rbeddoe@uvm.edu
Rachael completed her her M.S. in Natural Resources at the University of
Vermont. Rachael's graduate research focused on opportunities and
barriers for small-scale landowner participation in carbon emissions
offset markets. She is currently researching state programs to assist
private landowners to manage their forestland for carbon or to
participate in offset markets. She is interested in alternative means of
finance to promote quality of life and sustainability.
Ken
Brown
Research Technician
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
krbrown@uvm.edu
Ken grew up in Vermont and
recieved a BA in geosciences and environmental studies from Williams
College, and a M.S. in Natural Resources from UVM.. Before coming to
UVM he worked with state parks and youth
conservation corps in MA, NH, AZ, and VT. He is interested in the
management of publicly used forest land, and studied the
implications of involvement in forest carbon offset markets for land
trusts and conservation easements.
Kim Coleman
Affiliated Researcher
Virginia Tech
Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation
Kim Coleman completed her M.S. in Natural Resources at the
University of Vermont, and is now a PhD student at Virginia Tech. 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 continued to support
community-based learning as a full time staff member in the Rubenstein
School before returning as a masters student. In her free time, Kim
enjoys running,
mountain biking, skiing, throwing clay on the wheel, gardening,
backpacking, and cooking dinner for friends.
Members Emeriti
Sarah Crow
Director of Certification
American Forest Foundation
sarahmariecrow@gmail.com
scrow@forestfoundation.org
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. She served as a
Fulbright Research Fellow to Ukraine
and has been very fortunate to work with an array of organizations and
partners at the local, state, national and international level and in
the conservation, corporate and government sectors. She is currently
Director of Certification at the American Forest
Foundation where she leads certification programming for the American
Tree Farm System nationally. She has a passion for all things culinary
including gastronomic histories, cooking, gardening, food preservation
and, of course, eating.
Amanda
Egan
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Amanda.Egan@uvm.edu
Amanda Egan completed her M.S. in Natural Resources at the
University of Vermont. Amanda's research focused 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
Researcher
World Wildlife Fund
Washington, DC
dck1671@verizon.net
David Kuhn completed his M.S. in Natural Resources at the University of
Vermont. David 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
Lee completed her PhD at the University of Vermont. 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 lie in incentives for smallholder farmers as
well as ecological and social benefits of forestry programs. She worked
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
Forester, arborist
Mad River Forestry
trees@madriverforestry.com
Grahm is a 10 year veteran tree climber and ISA-Certified
Arborist, he holds a masters degree in Environmental Law and Policy,
and a masters in Natural Resources-Forestry from the University of
Vermont. Grahm 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 joined 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
Project Coordinator, Urban and Community Forestry
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
Elise.Schadler@uvm.edu
Elise Schadler completed her M.S. in Natural Resources at the
University of Vermont. 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 is currently a Community Outreach
Specialist with the VT Urban & Community Forestry Program and UVM
Extension. She loves
trees, urban & social ecology, running, swimming, dancing,
gardening,
traveling, reading, and her phenomenal dog Luna.
Meghan
Thompson
The University of Vermont
Meghan completed her bachelor's in civil engineering with a focus on
environmental studies at the University of Vermont. She also loves to read, hike, and
bake.
Jennifer Wright
The University of Vermont
The Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources
jwright9@uvm.edu
Jennifer Wright completed her M.S. in Natural Resources at the
University of Vermont. 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.
