Bodie Cabiyo, PhD

Senior Science Analyst

Environmental Science & Policy + Forest Management

Dr. Bodie Cabiyo works with clients on strategy and procurement to find and vet high-quality carbon offsets projects.

He also leads multiple internal efforts focused on principles and guidance to push the market towards high-quality carbon projects.

Background & Bio

Dr. Cabiyo uses interdisciplinary approaches to investigate nature-based solutions to climate change. He has recently completed his PhD in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, where he studied how policy and innovative technology can enable carbon-beneficial forest management. This work bridges industrial ecology, forest economics, and forest ecology.

Dr. Cabiyo's modeling work has focused on the role of innovative wood use in reducing carbon emissions, both in California and East Africa. His applied policy work focuses on improving forest carbon offset protocols. The intent of this work is to promote the more credible translation of carbon dioxide removals to a market context.

Education

PhD, Energy and Resources Group

UC Berkeley

MS, Energy and Resources Group

UC Berkeley

BS

Western Washington University

Awards

Achievement Award

Secretary of Energy

NSF Graduate Research Fellow

Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Presidential Scholar

Huxley School of the Environment

Publications and Features

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Feb 28, 2022

Accounting for Short-Term Durability in Carbon Offsetting

Christian Braneon, PhD

Head of Climate Justice

Environmental Science & Policy + Geospatial Analysis + Climate Justice

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

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Oct 25, 2022

Climate Justice at Carbon Direct: Embedding Equity Into Our Company’s End-to-End Carbon Management Solutions

Lauren Gifford, PhD

Science Advisor

Environmental Science & Policy + Forest Management + Climate Justice

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

Sam Evans, PhD

Science Advisor

Environmental Science & Policy

Dr. Sam Evans is a Science Advisor for climate change economics and climate policy.

Background & Bio

Dr. Sam Evans is an environmental and natural resource economist who specializes in the economics of climate change and the design of climate policy. He is an expert in computable general equilibrium modeling of climate and energy policies, and has worked extensively on evaluating the impacts of California’s and China’s long term decarbonization strategies.

Dr. Evans is currently a postdoc in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) Department at UC, Berkeley and an adjunct professor in the Lokey School of Business and Public Policy at Mills College in Oakland. Before going to Berkeley, Dr. Evans received his Ph.D in agricultural and resource economics from Colorado State University where he was a NSF IGERT fellow in multidisciplinary approaches to sustainable bioenergy.

Education

PhD, Agricultural and Resource Economics

Colorado State University

BA, Economics

Grinnell College

Sanna O'Connor-Morberg

Senior Client Manager

Environmental Science & Policy

Sanna O'Connor-Morberg is a Senior Client Manager on the Science Team.

Sanna works with clients to advise them on high-quality carbon reduction and removal solutions, bridging science and impact-focused outcomes.

Background & Bio

Sanna draws on her professional experience in environmental engineering and strategic advisory with expertise in climate earth systems, land use change and climate adaptation.

Prior to Carbon Direct, Sanna worked as the Carbon Dioxide Removal Lead for the Energy Transitions Commission in 2022, for the publication of Mind the Gap: How Carbon Dioxide Removals Must Complement Deep Decarbonisation to Keep 1.5°C Alive, which outlined the essential role of Carbon Dioxide Removals in meeting global climate objectives. While at SYSTEMIQ, a sustainability-focused systems change company, Sanna was research manager for the Food and Land Use Coalition during the publication of Growing Better: 10 Critical Transitions to Transform Food and Land Use (a landmark publication laying out one of the first roadmaps for the global food systems transition). She also provided strategic advisory services to the UNEP International Resource Panel.

Sanna has worked in New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

Education

MEM

Yale School of the Environment

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)

University of Auckland

Bachelor of Arts

University of Auckland

Awards

Fulbright Scholar, Science and Innovation Graduate Award

Fulbright

Scholarship

New Zealand Resource and Management Law Association

Sarah Braverman

Policy Associate

Environmental Science & Policy

Sarah Braverman brings her passion for and knowledge of climate mitigation strategies to her role as Client Project Manager.

She worked for several years in the environmental nonprofit sector, both domestically and internationally, in a variety of capacities, including project management and external partnership development. During this time, she visited 40 US states and 26 countries.

Background & Bio

She recently completed a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. While completing her graduate degree, she worked as a Student Research Officer for the Carbon Management Research Initiative at Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy. For her capstone with the Natural Resources Defense Council, she managed a team of graduate consultants in their endeavor to develop policy recommendations for managing HFC emissions.

Education

Master of Public Administration

Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs

Publications and Features

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Dec 22, 2022

Congress is poised to make 10 key investments in decarbonization tech

blog

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Oct 11, 2022

Optimism and collaboration prevail at Climate Week NYC 2022 and the Global Clean Energy Action Forum

Sarah Braverman

Environmental Science & Policy

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Mar 24, 2022

U.S. Federal Support Increases for Carbon Removal

Sarah Braverman

Environmental Science & Policy

Tim Bushman

Senior Science Analyst

Environmental Science & Policy

Tim works with clients to advise them on carbon reduction strategies and high-quality carbon removal projects.

Background & Bio

Tim’s background and expertise is in climate science and policy. His professional experience spans over 10 years in research and analysis roles where he acquired extensive knowledge of the full spectrum of the research process.

Tim has spent the last seven years working in the climate and energy space. Most recently he worked as a Senior Analyst at the Energy Futures Initiative where he conducted research on large-scale carbon management and mitigation strategies for the difficult-to-abate sectors, including carbon dioxide removal from the atmosphere and oceans.

Tim is committed to applying his passion, knowledge, and skills toward the advancement of innovative climate and clean energy solutions.

Education

MA, Climate and Society

Columbia University

MS, Clinical Exercise Physiology

University of Wisconsin, La Crosse

BS, Kinesiology

University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire

Publications and Features

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Feb 28, 2023

Ammonia: Today’s Imperative, Tomorrow’s Promise

blog

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Mar 2, 2021

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Wilfried Maas, PhD

Chief Carbon Technology Strategist

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS) + Environmental Science & Policy + Biomass Carbon Removal and Storage (BiCRS) + Hydrogen

Dr. Wilfried Maas supports clients with strategic advice and due diligence on their clean energy transition.

Dr. Wilfried Maas leads Carbon Direct's engagements with the EU Carbon Dioxide Removal initiatives and certifications. He also leads the workgroup on carbon markets.

Background & Bio

Dr. Maas brings expertise to inform investment decisions and provide strategic advisory services to clients. He brings experience from his 32-year energy career at Shell and from his Joint Industry Collaborations on CCS and Climate (IEAGHG, OGCI, ZEP, IOGP, TCM). He has developed decarbonization pathways for “Net Zero Carbon” production and products for different industrial supply chains based on CCS, electrification, and (blue or green) hydrogen and biomass.

Prior to that, Dr. Maas coordinated the technical development of the global portfolio of commercial scale CCS demonstration projects and the organizational CCS capability. He also contributed to external collaborations for the new business development of CCS as one of the decarbonization solutions for a climate-constrained future. In other roles, he led consultancy teams that developed corporate-wide GHG and energy management governance at capital projects; and he was a front-end development manager for CCS projects.

Dr. Maas is the Director of the CCS Knowledge Centre. He holds a PhD in Physical Organic Chemistry from the University of Amsterdam. He is a Chartered Project Professional (ChPP), a Chartered Engineer (CEng) and an IChemE Fellow (FIChemE).

Education

PhD, Physical Organic Chemistry

University of Amsterdam

MSc, Public Administration (Environment)

University of Amsterdam

Publications and Features

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Apr 1, 2022

The Sustainable Carbon Cycles Conference: A Retrospective on the Role of Industrial Carbon Removal Solutions in the EU

Wilfried Maas, PhD

Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage (BECCS)

Zara Ahmed, PhD

Senior Policy & Strategy Manager

Environmental Science & Policy

Dr. Zara Ahmed is a Science Policy and Strategy Manager at Carbon Direct, responsible for policy analysis.

Dr. Ahmed's primary focus is strategic planning, program development, and U.S. policy analysis.

Background & Bio

Prior to working at Carbon Direct, Dr. Ahmed was the Government Affairs and PolicyLead for the COVID-19 Response at the CDC. She rejoined CDC in August 2021 after two years at the Guttmacher Institute as the Associate Director for Federal Issues. Before her time at the Guttmacher Institute, Dr. Ahmed spent 10 years with CDC, including seven years based overseas in Rwanda, Namibia and Haiti as a senior technical advisor, and three years as the Associate Division Director for Policy and Communications in the Division of Global Health Protection at CDC headquarters in Atlanta.

Prior to her time with CDC, Dr. Ahmed worked as a sexual health counselor at an alternative high school in Michigan and as a consultant in Bangladesh on the labor rights of migrant women. Dr. Ahmed has also conducted field research on sex worker rights in Cambodia, health financing in rural Cameroon, and donor coordination of malaria programs in Senegal. She holds a BA in political science from Brown University, MPP and MPH degrees from the University of Michigan, and a DrPH from the University of North Carolina, where she is also an adjunct instructor.

Awards

PhD, Health Leadership and Management

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

MPP, MPH

University of Michigan

BA, Political Science

Brown University

Certificate of Appreciation for Extraordinary Effort and Impact

US Embassy, Port-au-Prince (2016)

Center for Global Health Director’s Award for Partnership

CDC (2015)

Certificate of Appreciation for Exceptional Technical Support

US Embassy, Port-au-Prince (2015)

Publications and Features

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Dec 22, 2022

Meet our world-class science team

Our Scientists

Accounting for Short-Term Durability in Carbon Offsetting

Climate Justice at Carbon Direct: Embedding Equity Into Our Company’s End-to-End Carbon Management Solutions

Congress is poised to make 10 key investments in decarbonization tech

Optimism and collaboration prevail at Climate Week NYC 2022 and the Global Clean Energy Action Forum

U.S. Federal Support Increases for Carbon Removal

Ammonia: Today’s Imperative, Tomorrow’s Promise

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

The Sustainable Carbon Cycles Conference: A Retrospective on the Role of Industrial Carbon Removal Solutions in the EU

Congress is poised to make 10 key investments in decarbonization tech