Ithaca, New York, United States
My interests lie in understanding how public policy designed to regulate and manage socioeconomic, cultural, and economic systems are constrained by and impact the natural world. I have applied mixed qualitative and quantitative approaches to better understand the complexity and uncertainty of the world we inhabit, with the goal of embedding this understanding in decision-making processes. Much of my work has focused on questions of how to achieve healthy and sustainable food systems around the world. Specifically, this has included assessing the impacts of climate change, the health and environmental consequences of current and future diets, and efforts to identify vulnerabilities in food systems. I have over the course of my career collaborated across disciplines, geographies, and institutions, having conducted research with colleagues in highly regarded institutions (e.g. FAO, OECD, CGIAR, IIASA, etc.) and universities (e.g. Oxford, Johns Hopkins, Utrecht, Wageningen, etc.) to deliver high impact research. In the process of this work I have established a well-recognized reputation as an economic modeler, working extensively with IFPRI’s IMPACT model, one of the oldest and most cited global agricultural models, and helped lead an update and improvement of GTEM, a global integrated assessment model, for CSIRO and ABARES. These experiences have enabled me to actively contribute to global assessments such as IPCC reports (1.5/2C and Climate Change and Land), AgMIP (Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project) consortium, FABLE (Food, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Land-use and Energy) consortium, and the EAT-Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable Food Systems. My work has also contributed to institutional policymaking with contributions to priority setting exercises in the CGIAR and CSIRO, as well as in regional policymaking in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and South and East Asia. I have also participated in many high-level agenda setting exercises such as the latest WHO|FAO Fruit and Vegetable Conference, and various Expert Panels on planetary boundaries and sustainable innovation.
• Developed a tool set for ex ante assessments of potential food system innovation for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, contributing to the development of FAO's Agrifood Technology and Innovation Outlook • Coordinated the economic modelling effort for the second EAT-Lancet report, contributing to the publication of over 10 additional peer reviewed background papers • Supervised team of 3 post-doctoral fellows in the analysis of economic model ensemble • Contributing to incorporating improved livestock data in global economic models (GTAP, and IMP • Contributing to a Wellcome Trust Project assessing the consequences of climate change on health in Mexico • Contributed to a range of high-level international reports (e.g., IPCC, IPBES, EAT-Lancet, UNEP Alternative Proteins Assessment, FAO's ATIO, etc.)
Global Integrated Assessments of Agricultural Futures • Coordinating research with IFPRI, culminating in multiple articles as well as upcoming monograph • Developing methods to downscale macro-models to households for food security analysis in Bangladesh • Engaging with global modeling groups, contributing inputs to EAT-LANCET and IPCC 1.5/2C and Land reports • Representing CSIRO in AgMIP economic modeling exercises resulting in 5 publications • Leading joint CSIRO-ABARES project to improve food system foresight • Coordinating Moore Project to assess the implications of China’s sustainable strategies on Australia Assessing consequences of achieving sustainable food systems • Analyzing dietary recommendations and the gaps between production, and demand of healthy foods • Represented CSIRO in FAO/WHO 2020 World Fruit and Vegetable Conference • Modeled and analyzed potential impacts of Africa Swine Fever outbreak in China • Analyzed alternative futures of US beef consumption with Johns Hopkins Univ. to assess ethical implications of dietary shifts • Analyzing potential contributions of transformative “Wild Future” innovations in food systems • Contributing to MORFS project with Oxford University to better assess resilience of global food systems to shocks • Contributed to DFAT investment prioritization to achieve SDG 2 in Southeast Asia and the Pacific • Coordinating scenario analysis of alternative future food systems in Central America and the Andes Sustainable Food Systems Future Team Lead • Managed a team of 6 scientists working on sustainable food systems transformations • Contributed to team and group level strategy and business plans
• IMPACT Model developer, in charge of model development and code maintenance.
• IMPACT Model developer, in charge of model development and code maintenance. • Led collaboration with Oxford University leading to co-athored article published in The Lancet • Lead author on Southeast Asia CCAFS regional scenario article in Environmental Modeling Software
IMPACT Model Development: • Led a team of 3-5 modelers in the complete redesign of IMPACT to version 3 (incl. update to 2005, new simulations framework, improved oilseed and food oil module, improved climate change handling) • Managed geographic disaggregation improving the modeling capacity in Europe and Latin America • Managed and led the redesign of new model user-interface IMPACT Capacity Building and Training Program: • Updated training materials to reflect model redesign • Directed 3 workshops training 20+ scientists for the Global Futures project Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) – Regional Governance Scenarios: • Coauthoring 5 papers on governance scenarios and food security in East Africa, West Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central America and the Andes • Co-led scenario workshops in Nepal, Colombia and Costa Rica • Managed IFPRI’s participation in this project including the project budget Agricultural Model Intercomparison Project (AgMIP) • Coauthored 5 articles published in Agricultural Economics • Coauthored 1 article published with the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Agriculture Futures in Africa • Contributed to 3 books on climate change and food security in West, East, and Southern Africa • Coauthored the methodology chapter used in all three books
• Designed in Microsoft Excel an automated Job-Cost Report (JCR) form for NCBA's Farmer-to-Farmer program. • Created a user's manual for the JCR and trained other APM's in its use, such that it could be modified for use on all of NCBA's international programs. • Wrote a poverty profile for Niger