Our Team
Sam Myers
Director
Sam Myers works at the intersection of human health and global environmental change. He is a Principle Research Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine.
Contact: pha@harvard.edu
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Sam Myers works at the intersection of human health and global environmental change. He is a Principle Research Scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine.
Contact: pha@harvard.edu
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Carlos Faerron
Associate Director
Formerly the PHA's Education Fellow, Dr. Faerron now serves as the Associate Director of the PHA and is the co-founder and current director of the InterAmerican Center for Global Health (CISG). He is also an Assistant Professor and Director of Global Health Programs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Graduate School.
Contact: pha@harvard.edu
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Formerly the PHA's Education Fellow, Dr. Faerron now serves as the Associate Director of the PHA and is the co-founder and current director of the InterAmerican Center for Global Health (CISG). He is also an Assistant Professor and Director of Global Health Programs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Graduate School.
Contact: pha@harvard.edu
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Marie Studer
Senior Program Manager
Marie Studer is the Senior Program Manager of the Planetary Health Alliance, overseeing the strategic visioning, external relations, and program operations for PHA. She is a scientist with a passion for connecting people with meaningful and creative explorations of the world that are relevant to them and our future.
Contact: mariestuder@g.harvard.edu
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Marie Studer is the Senior Program Manager of the Planetary Health Alliance, overseeing the strategic visioning, external relations, and program operations for PHA. She is a scientist with a passion for connecting people with meaningful and creative explorations of the world that are relevant to them and our future.
Contact: mariestuder@g.harvard.edu
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Joanna Wagner
Community Building and Outreach Coordinator
Joanna Wagner is the Community Building and Outreach Coordinator with the Planetary Health Alliance, where she provides administrative and communications support for all aspects of PHA programs. Before joining the team at the Planetary Health Alliance, Joanna graduated from Boston University’s Kilachand Honors College with a degree in International Relations and Environmental Analysis & Policy. In her spare time, she is pursuing her MLA in Sustainability Studies through Harvard's Extension School.
Contact: joannawagner@g.harvard.edu
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Joanna Wagner is the Community Building and Outreach Coordinator with the Planetary Health Alliance, where she provides administrative and communications support for all aspects of PHA programs. Before joining the team at the Planetary Health Alliance, Joanna graduated from Boston University’s Kilachand Honors College with a degree in International Relations and Environmental Analysis & Policy. In her spare time, she is pursuing her MLA in Sustainability Studies through Harvard's Extension School.
Contact: joannawagner@g.harvard.edu
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Jeremy Pivor
Senior Program Coordinator
Jeremy Pivor is the Senior Program Coordinator for the Planetary Health Alliance. For over a decade, he has worked in environmental conservation, international climate change diplomacy, and public health. His conservation efforts have brought him around the world from the United States, Madagascar, the Sargasso Sea, the Coral Triangle region in Southeast Asia, to Indonesia Borneo. He cherishes working with and bridging partnerships with organizations from the local to international scale.
Contact: jeremypivor@g.harvard.edu
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Jeremy Pivor is the Senior Program Coordinator for the Planetary Health Alliance. For over a decade, he has worked in environmental conservation, international climate change diplomacy, and public health. His conservation efforts have brought him around the world from the United States, Madagascar, the Sargasso Sea, the Coral Triangle region in Southeast Asia, to Indonesia Borneo. He cherishes working with and bridging partnerships with organizations from the local to international scale.
Contact: jeremypivor@g.harvard.edu
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Mikayla Holzwarth
Communications and Member Engagement Intern
Mikayla is the Communications and Member Engagement Intern at Planetary Health Alliance. She is currently a student at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health working on her MPH in Health Management. Prior to her current role, she worked with the Peace Corps in Ecuador as a Community Health volunteer with special focus on the intersection of health and gender equity. She also has research and health advocacy experience with vulnerable populations in New York City.
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Mikayla is the Communications and Member Engagement Intern at Planetary Health Alliance. She is currently a student at the Harvard Chan School of Public Health working on her MPH in Health Management. Prior to her current role, she worked with the Peace Corps in Ecuador as a Community Health volunteer with special focus on the intersection of health and gender equity. She also has research and health advocacy experience with vulnerable populations in New York City.
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Fellows
Katharina Wabnitz
Education Fellow
Katharina Wabnitz is a medical doctor (graduated from University of Tübingen, Germany in 2018) and recently completed an MSc Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (class of 2019/20). She is currently working as a Research Associate with The Lancet-Chatham House Commission on Improving Population Health post COVID-19 and at the Chair of Public Health and Health Services Research at the LMU Munich, Germany. She is planning to start a PhD with a focus on Food systems transformation in 2022.
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Katharina Wabnitz is a medical doctor (graduated from University of Tübingen, Germany in 2018) and recently completed an MSc Public Health from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (class of 2019/20). She is currently working as a Research Associate with The Lancet-Chatham House Commission on Improving Population Health post COVID-19 and at the Chair of Public Health and Health Services Research at the LMU Munich, Germany. She is planning to start a PhD with a focus on Food systems transformation in 2022.
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Melvine Anyango
Next Gen Fellow
Melvine Anyango Otieno is a 2019 Planetary Health Campus Ambassador turned PHA Next Generation Fellow, working to inspire, activate and convene the next generation of planetary health campus ambassadors from around the world, as well as conduct outreach to facilitate local and international collaborations through her leadership in growing the Planetary Health Eastern Africa regional hub. She attained a BSc in Environmental Biology and Health and currently pursuing MSc in Environmental health at the University of Eldoret.
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Melvine Anyango Otieno is a 2019 Planetary Health Campus Ambassador turned PHA Next Generation Fellow, working to inspire, activate and convene the next generation of planetary health campus ambassadors from around the world, as well as conduct outreach to facilitate local and international collaborations through her leadership in growing the Planetary Health Eastern Africa regional hub. She attained a BSc in Environmental Biology and Health and currently pursuing MSc in Environmental health at the University of Eldoret.
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Sandeep Maharaj
Global Outreach Fellow
As the PHA's Global Outreach Fellow, Sandeep works to support and strengthen the emerging network of Planetary Health Regional Hubs around the world, mainly through convening and cross-fertilizing current hubs and facilitating the creation of new hubs where desired. At an academic level, Sandeep serves as a lecturer in the School of Pharmacy at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, and administratively, he serves as both the Associate Dean for Distance Education and Planning and the Director of the Entrepreneurship and Business Transformation Office for the Faculty of Medical Science at UWI's St. Augustine Campus.
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As the PHA's Global Outreach Fellow, Sandeep works to support and strengthen the emerging network of Planetary Health Regional Hubs around the world, mainly through convening and cross-fertilizing current hubs and facilitating the creation of new hubs where desired. At an academic level, Sandeep serves as a lecturer in the School of Pharmacy at The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, and administratively, he serves as both the Associate Dean for Distance Education and Planning and the Director of the Entrepreneurship and Business Transformation Office for the Faculty of Medical Science at UWI's St. Augustine Campus.
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Tatiana Camargo
Education Fellow
Tatiana is a biologist and Associate Professor, researching and teaching about science education in different contexts (in schools, for community action, and health care) and for different public audiences (children, women farmers, indigenous populations and quilombos) aiming to promote scientific literacy as a key tool for exercising full citizenship.
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Steering Committee
Antonio Saraiva
Dr. Antonio Saraiva has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Universidade de São Paulo (1980), Agronomy from Universidade de São Paulo (1987), a Master's in Electric Engineering from Universidade de São Paulo (1993) and Ph.D. in Electric Engineering from Universidade de São Paulo (1998).
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Courtney Howard
Dr Courtney Howard is an Emergency Physician in Canada’s subarctic, a Clinical Associate Professor in the Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, and Past-President of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE). She led the 2017-2019 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change Briefings for Canadian Policymakers and was the 2018 International Policy Director for the Lancet Countdown.
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Francine Laden
Dr. Francine Laden is Professor of Environmental Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Harvard Medical School and the Brigham & Women’s Hospital. Dr. Laden received her ScD in Epidemiology and MS in Environmental Health from the Harvard School of Public Health.
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Howard Frumkin
Howard Frumkin is Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Washington School of Public Health, where he served as Dean from 2010-2016. He is an internist, environmental and occupational medicine specialist, and epidemiologist, who has worked in academia and public service.
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Iris Blom
Iris Blom will be the first Planetary Health Alliance NextGen Steering Committee Representative. She is a final year medical student at the University of Amsterdam with a Master's Degree in Global Affairs from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. Iris was a Planetary Health Campus Ambassador in 2020. Next year, she aims to pursue a PhD in climate change and health. Iris will strive towards letting voices from youth worldwide meaningfully be part of the Planetary Health Alliance.
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Mandeep Dhaliwal
Dr. Mandeep Dhaliwal is the Director of UNDP’s HIV, Health and Development Group and a strong advocate for planetary health and stronger synergies between the climate and health movements. Dr. Dhaliwal brings to the organization over 20 years of experience working on HIV, health, human rights and evidence-based policy and programming in low-and middle-income countries.
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Nicole Redvers
Dr. Nicole Redvers, ND, MPH, is a member of the Deninu K’ue First Nation located within Denendeh (NWT, Canada). She is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Family & Community Medicine at the University of North Dakota where she helped co-develop and launch the first Indigenous health PhD degree program in North America. Dr. Redvers is the co-founder and chair of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation based in the Canadian North with her foundation awarded the $1 million-dollar 2017 Arctic Inspiration Prize for their work with vulnerable populations. She has been actively involved at the international level promoting the inclusion of Indigenous perspectives in planetary health and education for sustainable healthcare.
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Stephen Luby
Dr. Luby serves as the Director for Research of Stanford’s Center for Innovation in Global Health. He is also appointed as a Professor of Medicine (Infectious Diseases) and a Senior Fellow to Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment and the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies. Dr. Luby has worked full time on research on low income countries for the last 25 years including living in Pakistan for 5 years and Bangladesh for 8 years.
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Teddie Potter
Dr. Teddie Potter is a Clinical Professor, the Specialty Coordinator of the Doctor of Nursing Practice in Health Innovation and Leadership, and the Director of Planetary Health at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing. She serves as the Chair of the Clinicians for Planetary Health (C4PH) initiative.
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Advisory Board
Achim Steiner
UNDP Administrator, Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group
Achim Steiner became UNDP Administrator on 19 June 2017 and will serve for a term of four years. The United Nations General Assembly confirmed his nomination on 19 April 2017, following his nomination by Secretary-General António Guterres. Mr. Steiner is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which unites 40 entities of the UN system that work to support sustainable development.
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Achim Steiner became UNDP Administrator on 19 June 2017 and will serve for a term of four years. The United Nations General Assembly confirmed his nomination on 19 April 2017, following his nomination by Secretary-General António Guterres. Mr. Steiner is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group, which unites 40 entities of the UN system that work to support sustainable development.
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Cherie Nursalim
Vice Chairman, Giti Group
Cherie Nursalim is Vice Chairman of Giti Group, a diversified group with real estate development, manufacturing and consumer lifestyle presence partnering with the world’s renowned brands throughout the Asia Pacific region. She is also a special advisor in the government of the Republic of Indonesia.
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Cherie Nursalim is Vice Chairman of Giti Group, a diversified group with real estate development, manufacturing and consumer lifestyle presence partnering with the world’s renowned brands throughout the Asia Pacific region. She is also a special advisor in the government of the Republic of Indonesia.
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Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
President, Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT)
Environmental activist and member of Chad’s pastoralist Mbororo community, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim began advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection at age 16, founding the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) to introduce new income revenue activities for women and collaborative tools such as 3D participatory mapping to build sustainable ecosystems management and reduction of nature-based resource conflicts. Her vision is to grow support for both traditional knowledge and science to improve resilience to climate change especially for rural communities.
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Environmental activist and member of Chad’s pastoralist Mbororo community, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim began advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection at age 16, founding the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) to introduce new income revenue activities for women and collaborative tools such as 3D participatory mapping to build sustainable ecosystems management and reduction of nature-based resource conflicts. Her vision is to grow support for both traditional knowledge and science to improve resilience to climate change especially for rural communities.
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Jeff Seabright
Co-founder of IMAGINE
Jeff Seabright is Co-Founder of IMAGINE, a for-benefit business and foundation dedicated to unlocking the power of business to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
From 2014-2019, Jeff served as Chief Sustainability Officer of Unilever where he was responsible for driving transformational change in priority areas of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan.
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Jeff Seabright is Co-Founder of IMAGINE, a for-benefit business and foundation dedicated to unlocking the power of business to accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
From 2014-2019, Jeff served as Chief Sustainability Officer of Unilever where he was responsible for driving transformational change in priority areas of Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan.
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Joe Gatto
Chair, PHA Advisory Board
Joseph Gatto is the Founder and Managing Partner of Orient Point Partners, a strategic and financial advisory services firm, based in Greenwich, CT. Prior to Orient Point, Mr. Gatto held other senior leadership roles in investment banking: Partner at Perella, Weinberg from 2012 to 2018, Chairman of Investment Banking and Co-Head of Corporate Finance at Barclays Capital from 2008 to 2011 and Vice Chairman and Global Co-Head of Corporate Finance at Lehman Brothers from 2005-2008.
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Joseph Gatto is the Founder and Managing Partner of Orient Point Partners, a strategic and financial advisory services firm, based in Greenwich, CT. Prior to Orient Point, Mr. Gatto held other senior leadership roles in investment banking: Partner at Perella, Weinberg from 2012 to 2018, Chairman of Investment Banking and Co-Head of Corporate Finance at Barclays Capital from 2008 to 2011 and Vice Chairman and Global Co-Head of Corporate Finance at Lehman Brothers from 2005-2008.
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John Hayes
Chief Marketing Officer, American Express
Most recently, John Hayes was Chief Marketing Officer of American Express. He has overseen American Express’ marketing efforts worldwide, shaping the Company’s products, strategy, sales and operations for the past 21 years. As a member of Amex’s officers group, John has been at the center of developing the company’s strategic direction, overseeing the management of its businesses and geographies, developing new products, as well as working with the board on key corporate decisions and initiatives.
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Most recently, John Hayes was Chief Marketing Officer of American Express. He has overseen American Express’ marketing efforts worldwide, shaping the Company’s products, strategy, sales and operations for the past 21 years. As a member of Amex’s officers group, John has been at the center of developing the company’s strategic direction, overseeing the management of its businesses and geographies, developing new products, as well as working with the board on key corporate decisions and initiatives.
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Sarah Finnie Robinson
Founding Director, the 51 Percent Project
Sarah Finnie Robinson is the Founding Director of The 51 Percent Project, a climate communication initiative at Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy. She holds faculty appointments at Boston University’s College of Communication and at the Graduate Program in Urban Biogeoscience & Environmental Health.
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Sarah Finnie Robinson is the Founding Director of The 51 Percent Project, a climate communication initiative at Boston University’s Institute for Sustainable Energy. She holds faculty appointments at Boston University’s College of Communication and at the Graduate Program in Urban Biogeoscience & Environmental Health.
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Tim Wirth
Former U.S Senator, Colorado
Senator Wirth began his political career as a White House Fellow under President Lyndon Johnson and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education in the Nixon Administration. Prior to entering politics he was in private business, but in 1970, he returned to his home state of Colorado and successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974. For eight consecutive years was selected as one of the 25 most effective Members of Congress. Senator Wirth was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 where he focused on environmental issues, particularly global climate change and population stabilization.
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Senator Wirth began his political career as a White House Fellow under President Lyndon Johnson and served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education in the Nixon Administration. Prior to entering politics he was in private business, but in 1970, he returned to his home state of Colorado and successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1974. For eight consecutive years was selected as one of the 25 most effective Members of Congress. Senator Wirth was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986 where he focused on environmental issues, particularly global climate change and population stabilization.
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Tracy Wolstencroft
Former President and CEO of the National Geographic Society
Tracy R. Wolstencroft’s career spans a wide range of leadership positions in global business, nonprofit, and non-governmental organizations: Partner of Goldman Sachs, President and CEO of Heidrick & Struggles, President and CEO of the National Geographic Society, and Co-Chairman of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
As a longstanding Partner of Goldman Sachs, Wolstencroft managed a broad range of the firm’s investment banking business around the world including in the United States, Latin America and Asia (where he lived and had primary responsibility in China, Japan and Singapore). During a three-decade career (1985-2013), he was a member of the firm-wide partnership committee, the investment banking operating committee, and was chairman of global relationship management. Subsequently, as an adviser to the firm he chaired Goldman’s global clean technology business.
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Tracy R. Wolstencroft’s career spans a wide range of leadership positions in global business, nonprofit, and non-governmental organizations: Partner of Goldman Sachs, President and CEO of Heidrick & Struggles, President and CEO of the National Geographic Society, and Co-Chairman of the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
As a longstanding Partner of Goldman Sachs, Wolstencroft managed a broad range of the firm’s investment banking business around the world including in the United States, Latin America and Asia (where he lived and had primary responsibility in China, Japan and Singapore). During a three-decade career (1985-2013), he was a member of the firm-wide partnership committee, the investment banking operating committee, and was chairman of global relationship management. Subsequently, as an adviser to the firm he chaired Goldman’s global clean technology business.
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Committee Emeritus
Ruth DeFries
Ruth DeFries is a professor of ecology and sustainable development at Columbia University in New York. She uses images from satellites and field surveys to examine how the world’s demands for food and other resources are changing land use throughout the tropics. Her research quantifies how these land use changes affect climate, biodiversity and other ecosystem services, as well as human development.
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Andy Haines
Andy Haines was Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) for nearly 10 years until October 2010 and continues to work at LSHTM as Professor of Public Health and Primary Care. He was previously a Professor of Primary Health Care and Director of the Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences at UCL and formerly Director of Research & Development at the National Health Service (NHS) Executive, North Thames.
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Russ Hauser
Dr. Russ Hauser’s research interests are in the fields of reproductive, perinatal and pediatric epidemiology. His research focuses on the impact of environmental chemicals on fertility, pregnancy outcomes and children’s health. He is currently conducting a NIH funded study on the effects of chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors on male and female reproductive health endpoints.
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Natalia Linou (Linos)
Natalia Linou (Linos) the new Executive Director of the Harvard FXB Center for Health and Human Rights. Formerly a policy specialist at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), she has worked in international development for the last decade, mostly with the United Nations in Beirut, Lebanon and at headquarters in New York.
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Richard S. Ostfeld
Richard Ostfeld is Senior Scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, a not-for-profit research institution in Millbrook, New York, dedicated to providing the science behind environmental solutions. His research focuses on ecological determinants of human risk of exposure to infectious diseases, emphasizing Lyme and other tick-borne diseases.
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Daniel Schrag
Daniel P. Schrag is the Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology at Harvard University, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering, and Director of the Harvard University Center for the Environment. Schrag studies climate and climate change over the broadest range of Earth history. He is particularly interested in how information on climate change from the geologic past can lead to better understanding of anthropogenic climate change in the future.
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