Kathleen Maeder – Research Assistant | Kathleen Maeder is pursuing her Master of Environmental Management at YSE with a specialization in Urban and Environmental Policy Analysis. Prior to beginning graduate school, Kathleen served as a Program Associate with Climate Policy Initiative, where she supported the program’s day-to-day operations, external stakeholder relations, and strategic regional expansion. Kathleen has interned across various public and nonprofit organizations, including The Nature Conservancy, the House of Representatives, and Environmental Voter Project. She received her B.A. in Environmental Studies and Political Science from Amherst College in 2020. See what Kathleen has been up to.
Joshua Hernandez – Research Assistant | Joshua is a Master of Environmental Management candidate specializing in Business and the Environment. He has experience working in the federal government and environmental consulting, including in development of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, an interagency report detailing the state of science of climate change impacts and solutions in the United
States. Interests include resource management of a growing American West, continued decarbonization of the energy sector, nature-based solutions, and corporate sustainability. A Chicago native, Joshua has a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Amherst College and can be found kayaking, hiking, and playing a range of sports. See what Joshua has been up to.
Taylor Furrh – WCC Coordinator | Taylor is a Master of Environmental Management candidate specializing in environmental policy analysis. Prior to attending Yale School of the Environment, Taylor worked as a Legislative Aide in the Colorado House of Representatives, for political campaigns, and in legal administration roles. From these positions and growing up in different landscapes across Washington and Colorado, Taylor found a passion for sustainable land use and conservation policy. Taylor holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder. In her free time, Taylor can be found taking hikes with her pup, playing volleyball, or cooking new recipes. See what Taylor has been up to.
Li Murphy – WCC Coordinator | Li is a Master of Environmental Science candidate funded by the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, focusing on the social and ecological dynamics of insect-human interactions. She is currently working on a project about Mormon crickets in the Intermountain West. Originally from Idaho, she has a particular fondness for the state insect, the Monarch butterfly. Prior to Yale, Li was dedicated to community science, managing field camps in the Great Basin, driving a roving mobile STEM outreach laboratory, and then briefly piloting a planetarium. She believes in providing more inroads and support to folks, especially those with marginalized identities, to participate in framing and practicing scientific research, especially research that drives allocation of resources and environmental decision-making. She holds a BA degree in biology and geology from Harvard University. Li volunteers for the American Geophysical Union Local Science Partners and serves on the board for the nonprofit Nonhuman Teachers. She can often be found jogging, trying to keep her succulents alive, or surfing badly. See what Li has been up to.
Jeremy Pustilnik – Research Assistant | Jeremy Pustilnik is a Master of Environmental Science candidate at the Yale School of the
Environment (YSE) where he works on the movement ecology and territorial dynamics of
Argentinian owl monkeys. He received his B.S. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell
University where he worked on the predator-prey interactions between foxes and rabbits at
groundhog burrows, the movement of stone martens across the Mediterranean, and the
population ecology of salamanders. Prior to YSE, Jeremy worked on the tundra of the Arctic
Circle with the USGS monitoring goose and shorebird nesting success and in the desert scrub of
central Texas on the disease ecology of mice and metacommunity dynamics of soil arthropods.
With Ucross and the National Wildlife Federation he is working in GIS to develop landscape
models of pronghorn movement and the implications of wildlife fencing in the American West.
In his free time, he enjoys flipping over rocks and logs to find snakes and bugs, flying his drone for service
projects like mapping local parks, and reviewing scientific manuscripts for the journal Urban
Naturalist, at which he is an editor.
Xiaofan Shen – Research Assistant | Xiaofan Shen is a Master of Environmental Science candidate at the Yale School of the
Environment, specializing in urban heat islands, urban planning, and urban ecology. Before
YSE, She earned her bachelor’s degree in Urban Forestry from the University of British
Columbia, where she cultivated a deep interest in urban resilience and human-wildlife
conflicts. Xiaofan’s research focuses on applying geospatial analysis and remote sensing to
tackle environmental challenges in urban areas. She is passionate about using data-driven
solutions to create sustainable and inclusive cities. In her free time, Xiaofan enjoys playing
musical instruments, swimming, and cooking with friends. See what Xiaofan has been up to.
Vanesa Aguay – Communications and Website Coordinator | Vanesa Aguay is a student in Yale College studying electrical engineering and computer science. She manages the website, graphics, and communications for UHPSI at the Yale School of the Environment. Before working for UHPSI, she authored “Hola Mundo: Inteligencia Artificial para Niños,” a book in Spanish exploring machine learning through an interdisciplinary lens, and expanded advocacy initiatives for various national nonprofits. She is interested in creating technology through a socio-technical lens and is passionate about bridging disparities. In her free time, Vanesa loves to produce films, play soccer, and travel. You can reach Madeline at vanesa.aguay@yale.edu, or on Linkedin.
Joshua Kesling, Western Resource Fellow | Josh is a Master of Environmental Management candidate at Yale School of the Environment,
broadly studying conservation ecology, riverine ecosystems, and recreation management. Within the discipline, he examines how human-nature interactions like recreation uses and wildlife conflicts drive
freshwater resource use changes. Josh understands the important role freshwater-based recreation and tourism play in fueling local and regional economies and natural identities, but he contends that unsustainable patterns of resource usage imperil sensitive species
and ecosystems. He grew up in Ohio, where the shallowest of the Great Lakes resides and the world’s largest walleye fishery persists. Some of the most formative years in Josh’s life occurred when he moved to Northern Utah. He began to consider the nexus of contentious environmental water transactions, explosive recreational industries, and mountain dweller ways of life. In his freetime, Josh loves to explore harbors, hike seashores, climb mountains in search of alpine wetlands, and write poetry. See what Josh has been up to. | | Blog
Aya Ochiai, Western Resource Fellow | Aya Ochiai is a student in Yale college majoring in mechanical engineering and environmental studies, concentrating in energy and its human and environmental impacts. She grew up in the Skagit Valley (i.e. not Seattle) of Washington State, between the beautiful Puget Sound and the North Cascade Mountains. She is passionate about industrial and nuclear history especially in the American West, as well as the importance of local, place-based knowledge systems. In her free time, Aya enjoys playing ukulele, dancing, and woodworking/metalworking. You can reach Aya at aya.ochiai@yale.edu. See what Aya has been up to. | Blog
Ingrid Thyr, Western Resource Fellow | Ingrid is a Master of Environmental Management candidate specializing in ecosystem management and conservation. Before coming to Yale School of the Environment, she lived in Montana and Minnesota and worked in outdoor education and cross-country ski raced professionally. She completed her B.A. in environmental studies and mathematics from Williams College. She is excited to combine her passions for data, people, and the outdoors to better understand how to contribute to sustainable and equitable communities and ecosystems. See what Ingrid has been up to. | Blog
Alex Wells, Research Assistant and Western Resource Fellow | Alex is a Masters of Environmental Management candidate at Yale School of the Environment, specializing in ecosystem management and conservation. Having grown up in the Roaring Fork Valley of western Colorado, his passions and priorities are centered on the Mountain West and how its ecological systems can be adapted to the climate crisis in a way that helps both ecosystems and people. Alex holds a B.A. in Conservation Biology from Middlebury College and spent the four years prior to Yale coordinating wildlife-focused citizen science projects in Vermont and Colorado. In his freetime, Alex enjoys playing guitar and running up, down, and around mountains. See what Alex has been up to. | Blog
Alaina Geibig, Research Assistant and WCC Coordinator | Alaina is a Master of Environmental Management candidate interested in joint land and water management in the working landscapes of the Rocky Mountains. Prior to attending Yale School of the Environment, Alaina explored the intersection of food cultivation and conservation through a variety of AmeriCorps positions in rural Colorado. These experiences were pivotal in identifying Alaina’s deep-seated value for authentic, place-based knowledge systems harbored by farmers and ranchers. Her education supports that it has always been about relationships; she holds a B.A. in psychology from the University of Puget Sound. In her free time, you can find Alaina (and her dog) playing outside on skis, bikes, or foot. See what Alaina has been up to. | Blog
Aidan Lyde, Research Assistant and WCC Coordinator | Aidan is a Master of Environmental Management candidate at Yale School of the Environment focusing on water resources management and environmental policy analysis. Prior to YSE, Aidan worked for organizations including the U.S. Department of the Interior, Colorado General Assembly, and Colorado State University Extension. His interests include watershed stressors, policy, and water augmentation in the Colorado River Basin, wildfire risk mitigation planning in wildfire-vulnerable communities in Colorado, ways to effectively communicate environmental problems and sustainable solutions to the public, and environmental youth activism. Originally from Colorado, Aidan holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Studies from Colorado State University. In his free time, Aidan enjoys the outdoors through hiking, skiing, camping, and photography. See what Aidan has been up to. | Blog
Madeline Gupta – Communications and Website Coordinator | Madeline Gupta is a student in Yale College studying computing science and ethnicity, race, and migration. She manages the website, graphics, and communications for UHPSI. Before working for UHPSI, she programmed for Kode with Klossy, an organization that teaches young gender minorities in computer science to code, and Indigenizing the News, a newsletter focused on elevating Native American issues and educating non-Native allies. Madeline is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and is interested in Indigenous advocacy, specifically in STEM and the environment. You can reach Madeline at madeline.gupta@yale.edu, or on Linkedin.
