Tanya O'Garra
President
Tanya is an environmental economist with over fifteen years’ experience conducting research on the valuation of ecosystem services and the collective management of shared natural resources. Her current research uses experimental and quasi-experimental methods to estimate the causal impacts of community-based resource management and climate adaptation projects. Tanya is particularly interested in identifying the mechanisms through which interventions lead to impact (as well as those that weaken impact) - and to use this information to develop robust theories of change to guide conservation and natural resource management decisions.
Beth Allgood
Secretary
Beth is founder and Executive Director of OneNature Institute, a non-profit that develops innovative approaches to measure and support community wellbeing in biodiversity and climate projects. She was recently named one of the Explorers Club "Fifty People Changing The World" in recognition of her innovative work and vision for transforming conservation.
Beth's work to create more sustainable outcomes for people and wildlife draws upon 25+ years of experience in conservation and community development at organizations such as the Peace Corps, United States Agency for International Development, World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy, and International Fund for Animal Welfare. She is a consultant/advisor to several organizations and serves on three IUCN commissions.
Elías Cisneros
Member-at-large
Elías is an Assistant Professor of Political Economy and Sustainability at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). His research centers on the causes and consequences of land-use change, environmental degradation, and conflict. He combines remotely sensed high-resolution data with market and political shocks to investigate human behavior and the transformation of landscapes. His research on role of local political incentives in deforestation for agricultural production in Brazil, Indonesia, and Peru shows how local governments are significant drivers of land conversion, corruption, and violent social conflicts. Before joining UTD in 2023, he earned his PhD from the University of Bonn in 2017 and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Göttingen and the University of Texas at Austin. Elías is in charge of the IEWG Mentoring Program, and supports the #TuesdaysWithTeamcounterfactual seminar series.
Caterina Cosmopolis-del-Carpio
Member-at-large
Caterina is a PhD candidate at the University of Sheffield’s Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures in the UK. Her current research project uses quasi-experimental methods to understand the causal links between poverty-related policies and biodiversity conservation in the Peruvian Amazon. Recently, she has become interested in some aspects of political ecology research (i.e., human-nature interlinkages, power relationships, environmental justice) and would like to explore the subject more under the impact evaluation lens. Caterina is in charge of Program and Conference Planning.
Megan Kocina
Member-at-large
Megan is the Forest Mitigation Coordinator for the Coalition for the Upper South Platte, a nonprofit focusing on improving local watershed health. Currently, she manages conservation projects related to forest health, wildfire risk reduction, habitat improvement, water quality, education, and outreach. Her background includes 8 years as a researcher and practitioner in the fields of conservation and disaster response, both locally and internationally. She has worked with organizations such as the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology, Team Rubicon, Colorado State University, and several different parks services to improve conservation and community development outcomes, evidence-based decision making, and improved communication structures between local people and larger entities.
Rachel Martin
Member-at-large
Rachel is a Research Associate at Conservation X Labs, where she leads the Extinction Solutions Index initiative to evaluate, compare, and rank the most effective interventions and innovations that have the potential to curb the sixth mass extinction. Her work focuses on identifying threats to biodiversity and determining their impact on extinction and recovery potential in order to leverage more impactful solutions across disciplines. She has an interdisciplinary background, with particular interest in endangered species conservation, evidence-based decision making, and methods for determining impact of past, present, and future conservation interventions. Rachel is in charge of Communications for the Working Group, and supports the #TuesdaysWithTeamcounterfactual seminar series.
Edwin Pynegar
Member-at-large
Edwin Pynegar is a researcher and practitioner who focuses on incentive-based conservation program design and the use of randomization in conservation impact evaluation. He currently works as a postdoctoral researcher at Bangor University and embedded scientist at Comorian NGO Dahari, designing a forest conservation program on Anjouan, Comoros, and implementing it as a randomized control trial. Previously, he worked with Natura Bolivia Foundation in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, implementing qualitative and quantitative impact evaluations and developing watershed forest conservation projects. His other interests include examining appropriateness of impact evaluation methods in particular contexts, the use of technology for conservation monitoring, and socio-political drivers of deforestation in Bolivia. He holds a Ph.D. from Bangor University. Edwin curates the IEWG reading list.
Past Members
Sebastian Costedoat
Johanna Eklund
Claudia S. Polo-Urrea
Megan Barnes
Louise Glew
Johan Oldekop
Duan Biggs
Jonas Geldmann