Drawdown Science

Jonathan Foley, Ph.D., is executive director of Project Drawdown and a world-renowned environmental scientist. His work focuses on finding new solutions to sustain the climate, ecosystems, and natural resources. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles and had presentations featured at hundreds of international venues. Jon founded the University of Wisconsin Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment, served as the founding director of the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment, and served as executive director of the California Academy of Sciences.

James Gerber, Ph.D., is a senior scientist, data science, with Project Drawdown. He has special expertise in agriculture’s impact on Earth’s ecosystems, food security, and the interrelation of climate and food security. Lead author for the Sixth Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with a focus on development pathways, he comes to Project Drawdown from the University of Minnesota.  

Yusuf Jameel, Ph.D., is associate scientist, data science with Project Drawdown. A multidisciplinary scientist with experience in water resources, public health, data analytics, and science communication, he focuses on a broad range of solutions at the intersection of climate, food, energy, water, social equity, and finance. He previously served as research manager for Drawdown Lift and as a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Florida.

Daniel Jasper is the policy advisor for Project Drawdown. Previously, he worked for the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), where he advocated for peace, humanitarian cooperation, and international development in Asia, and at World Learning, where he administered the state department's International Visitor Leadership Program. Founder and primary author of StreetCivics.com, Dan served in the Peace Corps in Turkmenistan from 2008 to 2010 and in Saint Lucia from 2013 to 2014. He has also worked for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Minnesota House of Representatives, and Congresswoman Betty McCollum. 

Amanda D. Smith, Ph.D., is senior scientist, built environment, with Project Drawdown and a researcher and analyst in building science and energy systems modeling. Her professional career includes academic, national laboratory, and industry positions. Most recently, she served as senior energy analyst at SOCOTEC USA. She received her doctorate from Mississippi State University.

Christina (Tina) Swanson, Ph.D., is senior scientist, policy and private sector partnerships, with Project Drawdown. An environmental scientist with a background in cross-disciplinary research and multi-faceted engagement at the interface of science and policy, she is driven by an enduring passion to turn science into action to solve environmental problems and benefit society. Tina comes to Project Drawdown with more than two decades experience in the environmental non-profit arena, including with The Bay Institute and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Paul West, Ph.D., is senior scientist, ecosystems and agriculture, for Project Drawdown. An ecologist researching solutions on managing lands and waters to improve food security, climate, nature, and people’s lives, he is driven by conducting cutting-edge science and working with others to effect change on the ground. He previously worked at The Nature Conservancy and the University of Minnesota. He received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. 

Avery Driscoll is an ecologist who studies the interactions between agricultural systems and climate change. She is particularly interested in ways that we can adapt to changing growing conditions while also reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. Avery is currently a Ph.D. candidate and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at Colorado State University, where she works on quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and productivity benefits from irrigation at the national scale. Previously, she worked at the University of Utah studying desert plant ecophysiology. Her work at Project Drawdown focuses on climate solutions related to agricultural management and ecosystem protection.   

Sarah Gleeson, Ph.D., is a materials scientist with expertise in plastics, carbon removal, and science communication. She earned her doctorate from Drexel University in Philadelphia, where she wrote her thesis on designing a nanoscale synthetic bone composite. Previously, Sarah was a scientist at Running Tide studying ocean carbon removal and a postdoc at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab researching surfactants at liquid interfaces. Her research interests include systems-level decarbonization, waste mitigation, and global materials circularity. At Project Drawdown, she is analyzing the impact of emissions reductions in the industrial sector and the techno-economic potential of engineered carbon sinks. 

Jason Lam holds a bachelor’s degree in biosystems engineering with an environmental specialization from the University of Manitoba and a master of engineering leadership in clean energy engineering from the University of British Columbia. He previously worked in the nonprofit sector with the Pembina Institute, where he conducted analysis on Canada’s liquefied natural gas sector, and has experience in the engineering consulting sector in both Manitoba and British Columbia with downstream oil and gas clients. His work with Project Drawdown focuses on the buildings, electricity, and industry sectors. 

Erika is an interdisciplinary researcher working to create more sustainable and inclusive food systems. She has studied sustainable agricultural systems, sustainability standards, food security, and intersection with gender issues, among others. Erika seeks to understand local environmental problems from a global perspective, how systems are interrelated, and social and economic implications. She has worked as a policy analyst for the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) and in research assistant positions at several universities. In addition, she worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Mexico, on developing a farmers' market. She holds a master of science degree in resources, environment, and sustainability from the University of British Columbia and a bachelor of science in earth and environmental sciences from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Megan Matthews, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary researcher interested in using data and outreach to promote sustainability, food equity, and environmental justice through the lens of agroecology. At Project Drawdown, her work focuses on climate solutions in the electricity and food & agriculture sectors. Megan earned her Ph.D. in physics from the Georgia Institute of Technology studying the aerodynamics of plant-pollinator interactions before joining the Institute for Local Self-Reliance as a research fellow supporting the Composting for Community Initiative.In her free time, Megan enjoys baking, volunteering at community gardens, and frequenting outdoor festivals and markets.

Cameron Roberts, Ph.D., is an interdisciplinary social scientist who specializes in studying low-carbon technologies in their full social context. He is particularly skilled at using insights from the past to understand how low-carbon innovations might have a greater impact in the future. Cameron earned his Ph.D. from the University of Manchester in socio-technical transitions theory. He has studied low-carbon solutions in transportation, electricity generation, space heating, agriculture, and heavy industry and developed a methodology to use historical insights to inform assessments of the future potential of geoengineering technologies. His work for Project Drawdown focuses on low-carbon transportation.

Eric Toensmeier is a writer, trainer, and consultant working on agricultural climate change mitigation. He specializes in agroforestry and perennial crops. Eric has served as a senior fellow with Project Drawdown and the Global Evergreening Alliance, and a lecturer at Yale University. His books include The Carbon Farming Solution and Trees with Edible Leaves.

Aishwarya Venkat , Ph.D., is a geospatial analyst and food systems researcher with interdisciplinary expertise in the climate-food-health nexus. She is particularly interested in climate resilience and food security in coupled human and natural systems. At Project Drawdown her work focuses on climate solutions related to land use change and sustainable diets.  Aishwarya recently earned her doctorate from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University with a dissertation on extreme weather event impacts on food systems. Her prior work focused on contextualizing seasonal trends in acute malnutrition in arid and semi-arid regions, as well as improving global monitoring of diet costs and affordability. She holds a master’s degree in environmental and water resources engineering from Tufts and a bachelor's degree in biosystems engineering from Virginia Tech.