Photo credit: Gabriel Sap for BU Photography

I am the Moran Professor of Conservation and Development at Cambridge University in the Department of Geography. I work to conserve biodiversity and improve the wellbeing of people living in tropical agricultural-forest frontiers. My goals are to help end deforestation, restore tree cover on cleared areas, and foster economic transformations that enhance the value of healthy forests. 

I have interdisciplinary training in economics, geography, history, systems thinking, environmental science, and policy analysis and use a wide range of research methods and designs, including statistical models and case studies.

I grew up in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, but spent most of my summers swimming and sailing in Martha's Vineyard. I love the outdoors and hiking and camping with my husband, two daughters, and dog.

​Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Cambridge I was an Assistant Professor of Environmental Policy at ETH Zurich in the Dept. of Humanities, Social, and Political Sciences and the Dept. of Environmental Systems Science and an Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change at Boston University. I was a Giorgio Ruffolo Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Sustainability Science at Harvard University and a National Science Foundation Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability Fellow. I received my PhD through the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources at Stanford University in 2013, my MPA in Environmental Science and Policy from Columbia University in 2006, and my BA in History and Environmental Analysis and Policy from Boston University in 2003.