Alex Dolginow

Senior Science Analyst

Forest Management

Alex works with clients to advise them on high-quality carbon reduction and removal solutions.

Background & Bio

Alex is an environmental professional with a background in climate change, land use, environmental markets, and modeling. His experience spans science-based research, project management, and strategy.

Prior to joining Carbon Direct, Alex ran his own independent consulting group, Dolginow Consulting, where he advised clients on environmental issues. His projects have included helping to create a greenhouse gas emissions model and advising on philanthropic grantmaking to slow deforestation.

Education

MS, Energy and Resources Group

UC Berkeley

BA

Harvard University

Publications and Features

blog

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Feb 28, 2022

Accounting for Short-Term Durability in Carbon Offsetting

Amber Kerr, PhD

Science Advisor

Soil Carbon + Forest Management

Dr. Amber Kerr is a Science Advisor for forest management.

Her role is to objectively evaluate the technical and biological feasibility of land-based carbon sequestration projects.

Background & Bio

Dr. Kerr is an agricultural ecologist with a strong interest in undergraduate education. She is currently working as an adjunct faculty member at UC Berkeley during the summer and at Las Positas College in Livermore during the academic year. She teaches classes in basic biology, applied ecology, climate science, and sustainable energy.

Dr. Kerr completed her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group in Fall 2012. Her dissertation focused on agroforestry (growing trees together with crops) as a tool for drought adaptation in southern Africa. Dr. Kerr has several years of field experience in Malawi and Kenya, but has also worked on a variety of research projects in California. Her core topics of expertise are ecology, agriculture, climate, and sustainable development.

Education

PhD, Energy and Resources Group

UC Berkeley

MS, Earth Systems

Stanford University

BS, Earth Systems

Stanford University

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

blog

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Feb 28, 2022

Accounting for Short-Term Durability in Carbon Offsetting

Claudia Herbert, PhD

Science Advisor

Forest Management + Geospatial Analysis

Dr. Claudia Herbert is a Science Advisor at the intersection of climate science and software.

Background & Bio

Dr. Herbert received her PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from UC Berkeley. Her doctoral work focused on applications of geospatial analysis and remote sensing in the context of North American fire and forest carbon management. She now focuses on software innovation in the fight against climate change.

Education

PhD, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

UC Berkeley

BS, Conservation and Resource Studies

UC Berkeley

Awards

Honorable Mention, Earth Observation Dashboard Hackathon

NASA

Department Citation, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

UC Berkeley

Jacob Bukoski, PhD

Science Advisor

Forest Management

Dr. Jacob Bukoski is a Science Advisor at Carbon Direct for forest management.

Background & Bio

Dr. Bukoski's research broadly focuses on the conservation, management, and restoration of forests globally. Through his research, he has been fortunate enough to work in forests across the globe - including Thailand, Vietnam, Vanuatu, Brazil, California, and New England.

Dr. Bukoski completed his Ph.D. at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at the University of California, Berkeley, and his M.Sc. in Forest Science at Yale University’s School of Forestry. He also holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Bukoski is also currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Sustainable Forestry.

Education

PhD, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

University of California, Berkeley

MSc, Forest Science

Yale School of the Environment

BA, Environmental Studies

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Publications and Features

blog

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Aug 11, 2022

Modeling carbon storage in single-species forests

Jared Stapp

Science Analyst

Forest Management + Geospatial Analysis

Jared is applying his forest management and software development expertise to building the Carbon Direct platform.

Background & Bio

Jared is in the final semester of his PhD in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley, where his dissertation work has focused primarily on examining forest carbon offsets within California's cap-and-trade program.

He is interested in the intersection of environmental policy and land use, and uses various tools and frameworks such as remote sensing, cloud-based tools, causal inference, machine learning, and spatial and econometric modeling. He received his BS in Environmental Studies from Utah State University and his MS in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine.

Education

PhD Candidate, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

UC Berkeley

MS, Ecology and Environmental Sciences

University of Maine

BS, Environmental Studies

Utah State University

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

Letty Brown, PhD

Science Advisor

Forest Management + Biodiversity

Dr. Letty Brown is a Science Advisor for forest management.

Background & Bio

Dr. Brown is a forest scientist with formal training in ecology, carbon measurement, reforestation, conservation planning, and nature-based solutions to climate change. She has worked on land-based carbon projects for approximately 9 years in the forests of Cambodia, Indonesia, Kenya, Brazil, Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Peru, and the US. Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. from the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) Department at UC Berkeley and conducted post-doctoral work in Brazil. Dr. Brown currently teaches at UC Berkeley. She is also a Fulbright Scholar.

Dr. Brown currently works on the land-based sequestration projects seeking credit for emission reductions and removals, in California and abroad, through reforestation, avoided deforestation and forest degradation, improved land management, and climate-smart agriculture.

Education

PhD, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

UC Berkeley

MS, Environmental Science, Policy, and Management

UC Berkeley

BS, Biology

UC San Diego

Awards

Fulbright Scholar

Fulbright Program

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Chief Science Officer

Forest Management + Biodiversity

Dr. Matthew Potts leads Carbon Direct’s international science team in their work on decarbonizing the global economy.

Specifically, Dr. Potts helps clients assess high quality carbon removal from managed landscapes and works to ensure climate actions are just and equitable. He also works closely with Carbon Direct’s technology team to integrate science, software and product.

Background & Bio

Dr. Potts draws on his interdisciplinary background with formal training in mathematics, ecology, and economics to inform his work in nature and community based climate solutions.

Dr. Potts has over two decades of experience in resource management issues in low- and middle-income countries. Though currently on leave from UC Berkeley, this expertise supports his work as the S.J. Hall Professor in Forest Economics at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management and as the Associate Director for Sustainable Development, Blum Center for Developing Economies, where he leads an interdisciplinary lab that focuses on the co-production by human and natural systems of ecosystem services and natural pathways for carbon sequestration.

Dr. Potts recently served as a coordinating lead author on the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment.

Education

Ph.D. Applied Mathematics 2001

Harvard University

A.M. Applied Mathematics 1999

Harvard University

B.S. Mathematics 1996

University of Michigan

Awards

NRT-AI: Digital Transformation of Development (DToD), $3,000,000 (2021-2026)

US National Science Foundation

INCLUDES Alliance: Broadening Career Pathways in Food, Energy, and Water Systems with and within Native American Communities (Native FEWS Alliance), $7,071,915 (2021-2026)

US National Science Foundation

Coordinating Lead Author, Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment (2015-2018)

Publications and Features

High-quality carbon offsets preserve tropical rainforests.

blog

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Jan 19, 2023

Guardian reporting details significant risks with avoided deforestation offsets

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Forest Management

blog

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Nov 14, 2022

Potts’ Picks - recently published academic papers curated by Carbon Direct's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Matthew Potts

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Forest Management

blog

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Aug 11, 2022

Modeling carbon storage in single-species forests

blog

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May 16, 2022

Carbon Direct and Microsoft Release 2022 Update to the Criteria for High-Quality Carbon Dioxide Removal

Matthew D. Potts, PhD

Forest Management

Sarah Federman, PhD

Senior Scientist

Soil Carbon + Forest Management + Biodiversity

Dr. Sarah Federman has cross-sector expertise in analytics, sustainability, and landscape resiliency.

She has a track record of building analytical approaches to understanding complex systems that drive equitable and climate-smart solutions to challenges facing humans and the environment.

Background & Bio

Combining passion with a deep technical knowledge of the patterns and processes underlying ecological dynamics, Dr. Federman contributed to Federal R&D Policy for landscape resiliency, agricultural innovation, and the circular carbon economy as a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the USDA’s Office of the Chief Scientist. Subsequently, in private industry she led, developed, and implemented data-driven continuous improvement frameworks for sustainability strategy to enable responsible vertical scaling for Plenty, an indoor agricultural technology startup.

As a consultant, Dr. Federman developed educational materials for massive open online courses on plant biology for the Oak Spring Garden Foundation. She has additionally consulted for the Natural Resources Defense Council in Beijing on Sino-African illicit wildlife trafficking and Earth Justice on chemical pesticide use in New York State. Dr. Federman holds a Ph.D. from Yale University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, a M.S. in forest science from the Yale School of the Environment, and a B.A. in Biology from Barnard College. Her graduate studies were supported by the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Student Research Fellowship Program. She has managed multilateral teams and collaborations in Peru, Madagascar, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Education

Ph.D.

Yale University’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

M.S. in Forest Science

Yale School of the Environment

B.A. in Biology

Barnard College

Van Butsic, PhD

Principal Scientist

Forest Management + Geospatial Analysis

Dr. Van Butsic employs geospatial analysis and statistical modeling to improve nature-based carbon removal.

He leverages his expertise in forest science to help clients understand the principles for high-quality carbon removal in the forestry sector. He works closely with Carbon Direct's tech team to integrate science with software.

Background & Bio

Before joining Carbon Direct, Dr. Butsic was an Associate Professor and Cooperative Extension Specialists at UC Berkeley where he combined novel econometric methods with geospatial analysis to understand the causes and consequences of land use policy.

Dr. Butsic has developed methods to look at diverse drivers of land use change including carbon offsets, protected areas, wildfires, agricultural subsidies, war, and the regulation of illicit drugs.

Education

PhD, Forestry

University of Wisconsin

MS, Applied Economics

University of Wisconsin

BS, Economics

Reed College

Awards

Humboldt Research Award

Alexander Von Humboldt Foundation

Publications and Features

blog

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Feb 3, 2023

Advances in Nature-based Carbon Removal Solutions

Van Butsic, PhD

Forest Management

Meet our world-class science team

Our Scientists

Accounting for Short-Term Durability in Carbon Offsetting

Accounting for Short-Term Durability in Carbon Offsetting

Modeling carbon storage in single-species forests

Guardian reporting details significant risks with avoided deforestation offsets

Potts’ Picks - recently published academic papers curated by Carbon Direct's Chief Science Officer, Dr. Matthew Potts

Modeling carbon storage in single-species forests

Carbon Direct and Microsoft Release 2022 Update to the Criteria for High-Quality Carbon Dioxide Removal

Advances in Nature-based Carbon Removal Solutions