Christian Braneon, PhD
Head of Climate Justice
Environmental Science & Policy + Geospatial Analysis
Meet our world-class science team
Our scientists will guide your organization to achieve its climate goals with the right carbon management program.
Dr. Christian Braneon is Head of Climate Justice at Carbon Direct.
Dr. Braneon leads the integration of climate justice into Carbon Direct’s culture, operations, and services across the carbon management industry.
Background & Bio
Dr. Braneon brings a broad range of experience in climate science and civil engineering as well as environmental and climate justice to Carbon Direct. He co-leads the Environmental Justice and Climate Just Cities Network at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, serves as Co-Chair of the New York City Panel on Climate Change, and sits on the newly formed Center for Climate Solutions’ Advisory Committee, which was established to further New York City’s efforts to respond to the climate crisis.
Prior to joining Carbon Direct, Dr. Braneon served as a climate scientist in the Climate Impacts Group of NASA GISS and as Co-Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s inaugural Environmental Justice Academy for community leaders.
Education
PhD, Civil Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
MS, Civil Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
BS, Civil Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
BS, Applied Physics
Morehouse College
Awards
Quantification of Historic and Future Changes in Atlantic Coastal Marshes and Implications for Global Modeling
NASA
Robert H. Goddard Award
AXA Award for Climate Science
Climate Action Plan Award
White House
Publications and Features
Dr. Jane Zelikova is a Carbon Direct science advisor, contributing her expertise in soil science, ecology, and environmental justice.
Dr. Zelikova works with other members of the science and broader Carbon Direct team to review the scientific merits of carbon removal projects, to develop our climate justice initiative, and to broadly support all our work streams.
Background & Bio
Dr. Zelikova received her PhD from the University of Colorado and has worked across academia, government, and non-profit organizations to address climate change, from fundamental science to application and the development of climate solutions.
Dr. Zelikova is also the founder of 500 Women Scientists, a global non-profit organization working to make science open, inclusive, and accessible. In addition, she is a filmmaker and founder of Hey Girl Productions as well as a contributor to the climate anthology “All We Can Save.”
Education
B.S.
University of Georgia
PhD
University of Colorado
Awards
Grist Fixer 2017, 2018
Grist 50
Bitch Media Bitch 50, 2018
Bitch Media
TED speaker, 2021
TED Talks
Dr. Lauren Gifford is a Science Advisor for forest management and climate justice.
She works with various teams across the company, advising on forestry and natural climate solutions, advancements in climate tech, and the evolution of voluntary and compliance carbon markets.
Background & Bio
Dr. Gifford is a human-environment geographer whose work looks at intersections of climate policy, conservation, markets and justice, with particular focus on carbon markets and offsets, climate finance, and climate tech. Her dissertation research connected UNFCCC policy-making with forest carbon offset development, with a critical focus on carbon accounting and climate justice concerns.
Dr. Gifford is a Postdoctoral Research Scholar at University of Arizona’s School of Geography, Development & Environment working on earth system transformation with the global Earth Commission. She has conducted field research in the Peruvian Amazon, in Maine’s forests, on Cuban organic farms, at the UNFCCC, and at civil society meetings around the globe.
Before studying for her doctorate, she was manager of Dartmouth College’s Climate Justice Research Project, examining the justice implications of carbon markets. Dr. Gifford is regularly consulted as a subject matter expert on NPR, Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, and more.
Education
PhD
University of Colorado, Boulder
MA, Environmental Studies
Dartmouth University
BA, Communications
American University