Marcus Moench. President. Dr. Moench has extensive experience working with communities, non-government, government and international organisations on water, energy and forest management in South Asia, the Middle East and the Western United States. He combines a strong technical background in environmental science, hydrogeology and forestry with training and experience in the design and initiation of management institutions. He led the India Water Sector Review, Groundwater Component and Yemen Decentralised Management Study for the World Bank. Dr. Moench received his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 1989. He has published numerous articles and papers on natural resources management.

Chris Allan. Chief Operating Officer. Chris has thirty years experience in community development and environmental protection with the Picher Allan Associates LLC, Environmental Health Fund, Global Greengrants Fund, Catholic Relief Services and the US Peace Corps. He has a Masters Degree in Social Change and Development from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, DC, and a Bachelors Degree in Biology and African Studies from Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He has an interest in building international networks to solve complex social problems.

Sonam Bennett-Vasseux. Grants Manager. With over 9 years’ experience in managing US Federal grants, including USAID and international donor grants of over US$5 million, Sonam manages all grants in to ISET and contracts out to ISET’s large network of partner organizations and associates. Sonam speaks 4 languages and has extensive experience working within the UN system in Nepal, and with national and international NGOs in South and South-East Asia.

Elisabeth Caspari. Assistant to the President, Strategic and Operational Adviser. Ms. Caspari was a partner in the formation of ISET in 1997 and has taken on many roles in the organization including assistant director from 2006 to 2008. In the past her professional focus within the organization has been on administration and the production of ISET’s publications. Ms. Caspari has substantial experience working throughout South Asia, is multilingual and has expertise in translating the results of scientific writing, particularly from South Asian countries, for the general public and policy audiences. Since 2008 she has been closely involved in planning the restructuring of the rapidly growing institute.

Dana Cappelloni. Program Assistant. Dana joined ISET in December of 2010. She is responsible for providing support to program activities including writing, editing, financials and logistics. She also assists in running daily office operations. She plays a lead role in the production and editing of publications, as well as supports external and internal communication processes. She is interested in the ways that scientific knowledge can be communicated and adapted to broader audiences. Dana received a Bachelor of Arts in History from The Colorado College in 2007. 

Michelle Fox. Art Director. Michelle earned a BFA Cum Laude from Virginia Commonwealth University, a dual degree with concentrations in Graphic Design and Material Studies. Michelle has worked with non-profit organizations in Virginia, Washington DC, and Colorado for the past 7 years, and her work in publication design has been awarded in several national design competitions. Michelle has an interest in strengthening intercultural communications and dialogues, by employing graphic design as a medium to facilitate ideas, concepts, and solutions to global and social challenges.

Kate Hawley, LEED AP. Consultant. Ms. Hawley received her Master’s in Sustainable International Development from Brandeis University. During her time at Brandeis, she worked with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) supporting Nepal’s five-year climate change strategy as well as undergoing research on the costs and benefits of community climate change adaptation strategies in Nepal. Her project experience spans a number of national and international agencies including the National Park Service, US Department of Energy, and Energy Trust of Oregon. Her background is in business and economics and she received her bachelor's degree from Cornell University.

Karen MacClune. Senior Staff Scientist. Karen has a PhD in Earth Sciences from the University of Colorado where she studied glacial hydrology and did field work in Greenland and Antarctica. Prior to her work with ISET Karen did groundwater hydrology at S.S. Popodopolous and Associates where she worked with multiple and diverse stakeholders in addressing water resource issues in the Southwestern US. With ISET Karen has extended her stakeholder outreach leading ISET’s ACCCRN engagement in Vietnam as well as being a key member of ISET’s ACCCRN team.

Ken MacClune. Senior Staff Scientist. Ken has a Master’s of Science in Earth Sciences from the University of Colorado’s INSTARR, an interdisciplinary institute that encompasses work in present day and paleo-climate and climate change science, social aspects of climate change and the policy issues associated with climate change. Ken led the initial multi-national engagement and networking for ISET’s work with the Rockefeller Foundation’s Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN).  Ken has expertise in climate change issues and conveying that information to multiple audiences.

Sarah Opitz-Stapleton. Consultant. Dr. Opitz-Stapleton received her PhD from the University of Colorado in Environmental Studies. Her research focuses on the intersection of climate science, knowledge production and communication, and use of information in adaptation and disaster risk reduction at the community level on up to national-level policy. She combines work in statistically-based climate downscaling and hydrologic modeling with vulnerability assessments to inform her attempts to be an information broker between global climate science and local knowledge across the Asian countries in which ISET operates.

Sarah Orleans Reed. Research Associate. Ms. Reed joined ISET after receiving her Master's of Science in Environment and Development from the University of Edinburgh.  She has worked extensively with partners on the ACCCRN program, assisting in research, training activities, and proposal development.  Her research interests include urban housing and climate adaptation, communicating climate concepts and planning under uncertainty, and capacity development for resilience planning.  Outside of ISET, Ms. Reed is active in climate change organizing and awareness projects.  

Lea Sabbag. Research Assistant. Ms. Sabbag is engaged in conducting literature reviews in various facets of urban resilience including system failures, proxy indicators, decision framework tools, and risk assessment. She is interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the spatial patterns as well as the social and environmental interactions people form with one another, specifically in coastal adaptation, ecosystem services, and resource management. Ms. Sabbag joined ISET after graduating from the University of Colorado where she majored in both Geography and Anthropology.

Associates

Seema Bhatt. Independent consultant. Ms. Bhatt is based in India and works on issues related to biodiversity. Her particular focus of work is on strengthening the links between conservation of biodiversity and livelihoods of local communities. She has worked extensively on ecotourism, and previously held the position of South Asia Coordinator for the USAID supported Biodiversity Conservation Network, were she coordinated two projects on ecotourism. She recently co-authored a book on Ecotourism Development in India, published by the Cambridge University Press. At present Ms. Bhatt is a Fulbright Research Scholar in Washington DC and is based at the Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), formerly the Center on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development (CESD). She is a graduate from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Kai Kim Chiang. Senior Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction Specialist and Regional Programme Manager, ISET-Bangkok. Kai Kim contributes to ISET’s organizational development, provides management support to ISET’s projects in SE Asia and the establishment of ISET’s regional office in Bangkok, and technical support to ISET-Nepal. Prior to ISET, Kai Kim was a Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environmental Institute – Asia Centre where she was the centre’s focal point for climate change adaptation. In addition, she conceptualized and managed Climate Change Adaptation Knowledge Platform and managed a sustainable post-tsunami recovery and resilience research program. She was also a Senior Coordinator at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre, facilitating the development of multi-stakeholder partnerships and supporting national disaster management organizations in the integration of disaster risk reduction into national and sectoral planning in the region. Kai Kim holds a PhD. in Geochemistry (London, UK), and B.Sc.s in Geology (Edinburgh, UK) and in Environmental Sciences (Univ of East Anglia, UK).

Shashikant Chopde. Research Associate, ISET-India. Shashi has extensive experience in water management in India, and groundwater management, specifically. For more than 8 years, he has coordinated the India component of large- scale, multi-country collaborative projects on Climate Adaptation and Resilience in the region. Specifically, he has worked on policy research, field implementation, advocacy and capacity building work on water management, Climate Adaptation and Resilience in rural and urban areas. He is a LEAD fellow with a Masters in Civil Engineering.

Richard Friend. Senior Scientist, ISET-Bangkok. Richard’s work at ISET is focused on urban climate resilience. He has a PhD in social anthropology and development studies based on extensive fieldwork in southern Thailand. He has been working in the Mekong Region for 20 years in areas related to human development, governance and natural resource management, with particular interest in sustainable livelihoods, climate change, water resources and fisheries. He has led regional implementation and capacity building programmes as well as research networks, working for international NGOs, donors, inter-governmental organsiations and independent think tanks. He speaks Thai, Lao, and English.

Greg Guibert. Consultant. Greg is a Consultant to ISET and a Program Specialist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). His previous work experience includes the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Clinton White House and as manager of the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He has a degree in Geography from Vassar College and a Master’s in Urban and Environmental Planning from the University of Virginia School of Architecture. His areas of research include the science-policy interface, the translation of climate science to support adaptation planning and decision-making across multiple scales and domains, and the integration of bio-geophysical and social science to solve complex environmental challenges.

Fawad Khan. Senior Economist, ISET-Pakistan. Mr. Fawad Khan, senior economist based in Islamabad, has been collaborating with ISET on a number of projects since 2006. Mr. Fawad Khan has extensive experience working on the economics of major policy and implementation projects from his period as a staff member with the World Bank. Along with partners at IIASA he has also played a lead role in the methodology design and implementation of ISET’s prior research on the costs and benefits of climate related disaster risk reduction interventions for the Risk to Resilience project. Formalities to establish ISET-Pakistan as an independent, sister organization to ISET, are ongoing. ISET's office in Islamabad can be found on the very preliminary website, still under construction: www.isetpk.org

Ngo Thi Le Mai. Country Coordinator, ISET-Vietnam. Mai manages ISET’s Rockefeller funded ACCCRN work in Vietnam that engages the three cities of Danang, Quy Nhon and Can Tho. The program will shortly be replicated and extended to two new cities with funding from USAID. Prior to ISET, Mai worked for the Ford Foundation, Vietnam & Thailand, as Grants Administrator and Liaison Officer for over 12 years. Her previous jobs were at the English News Desk, Vietnam News Agency, and the Hanoi Business Center where she was hired to work on three major real estate development projects in Hanoi, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English from Hanoi University, and further training in journalism at the International Institute of Journalism for Young Journalists in Budapest, Hungary, and in 1993 received a one-year post graduate scholarship from the Australian Government to study Business Administration and English at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.

Tyler McMahon. Research Associate, ISET-Nepal. Before joining ISET, Tyler worked for the United Nation's World Food Programme Nepal as both a Climate Change Consultant and a Monitoring and Evaluation Reports Analyst from January 2009 until June 2011. His responsibilities included M&E report writing, climate neutral program initiative management including the installation of a 32 kilowatt-peak solar power backup system, and the integration of climate change adaptation indicators into the Nepal Food Security Monitoring System, a program that is currently being implemented by ISET-Nepal and ISET-International in cooperation with WFP. He also runs a company in Kathmandu, One Planet Solution Pvt. Ltd. that focuses on water services such as rainwater harvesting, water recycling and biosand filtration. Before joining WFP and ISET, Tyler was a Fulbright Scholar in Kathmandu researching the Economics of Urban Rainwater Harvesting and also was part of a consulting team to the Washington State Department of Ecology on Agriculture to Urban Water Transfers. He graduated with a BA in Economics from The Colorado College in May 2007.

Eva Saroch. Research Associate, ISET-India. Dr Saroch obtained her PhD from the University of Punjab, Chandigarh, India, in 2006. Dr Saroch's key research areas include disaster risk reduction, resilience strategies and vulnerability assessments of rural and urban geographies. In collaboration with ISET colleagues, she has helped develop a vulnerability and capacity index, which was field tested in flood and drought prone rural areas of coastal Gujarat and floodplains of Gorakhpur. At empirical level, Dr. Saroch is deeply involved in conducting household and community surveys on the rural and urban scale. She also conducts Shared Learning Dialogues (SLDs) in communities, with a special focus on working with groups of women in villages and cities.  Her work for ISET also includes data analysis, documentation and report writing and presenting project outcomes in international workshops and conferences.   

Atta ur Rehman Sheikh. Research Associate,  ISET-Pakistan. Atta is currently working at ISET as a Research Associate on the Indus Floods Research Project, being implemented in Pakistan.  Prior to joining ISET, Atta worked as Technical Coordinator with the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Government of Pakistan for over three years. He received his MA in Political Science from Punjab University. His earlier work, spanning over a decade, has been focused on internal displacement and human rights.

Dilip Singh. Research Associate, ISET-India. Dilip is based in India and has worked on programmes related to rural energy, renewable energy technology systems and climate change. Functional areas of his work cover project management and implementation, institutional development, monitoring and evaluation, socio-economic impact assessment, policy research including energy sector reforms, climate change adaptation in urban areas and capacity building. His current interests are research related to the linkages between climate change adaptation and mitigation and cost benefit analysis of climate change adaptation. Dilip is an Agricultural Engineering graduate and holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management from Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA).

Huy Nguyen. Technical staff, ISET-Vietnam. Huy holds a PhD in environmental studies from Kyoto University with a focus on drought risk management and climate change adaptation. He has over ten years experience working on water resource management, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and education in emergencies in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Before joining ISET as a technical staff, Huy worked as a researcher at Kyoto University, and a lecturer at Hue University of Vietnam. He has also served as an international consultant for UNISDR, UNCCD, IFAD, ADRC and UNESCO in conducting research, studying policy and developing tools for disaster risk reduction.

Ngo Phuong Thanh. Program Assistant/Communication Officer, ISET-Vietnam. Thanh is responsible for assisting in running daily office operations and administration, provides support to program activities in the cities, including translation, reports, financials and logistics. She also supports external and internal communication processes. Thanh has a bachelor's degree from the Hanoi University, Faculty of Management and Tourism.  Thanh worked for the Consulate of Uruguay as Secretary/Assistant to the Honorary Consul before joining ISET. She also participated in AKS Vietnam group as member/designer, AKS (stands for Attitude, Knowledge and Skills) focuses on improving young entrepreneurs attitudes toward society through projects, activities for community and charity.

Nguyen Anh Tho. Program Assistant, ISET-Vietnam. Tho is responsible for tasks relating to the operation of ISET representative office in Hanoi, and provides support to program activities in the cities, including translation, communications, reports, financials and logistics. She is a graduate from Hanoi University, with 2 Bachelor’s degrees in English Studies (majoring in Translation and Interpreting); and Finance and Banking.  Prior to ISET, Tho has experience working in the financial department of Save the Children in Vietnam.

Phong Tran. Consultant – Technical Lead, ISET-Vietnam. Phong obtained his doctoral degree in environmental studies from Kyoto University, Japan and his master degree in urban and regional planning from Hawaii University, USA. He has an intensive knowledge of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction theories and practices. He has been conducting research on environment management, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in developing countries, particularly in Vietnam. Prior to his work with ISET, Phong worked as a consultant for many organizations of the United Nations, and INGOs in South East Asia region. With ISET Vietnam, Phong has worked with city partners in Vietnam on the ACCCRN program and USAID funded project in assisting in research, training activities, and proposal development. 

Pimolwan “Petch” Singhawong. Programme Administrator, ISET-Bangkok Office. Petch has joined the ISET team with 9 years of experience with IUCN in an overall programme/project administration role. She obtained an Bachelor degree in Linguistics from Thammasat University and Masters degree in Language and Communication from National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA). With ISET, Petch's role is to facilitate all Bangkok office operations in both administration and in finance as well as in programme/project support. 

Stephen Tyler. Senior Research Associate and principal of Adaptive Resource Management Ltd in Victoria, Canada. Stephen has worked on the ACCCRN program, mainly in Vietnam, since 2008. He has published in the field of shared learning, community based adaptation and water resource management, and has consulted for the World Bank, ADB, CIDA, IDRC and other agencies in Canada and abroad. He was the team leader for IDRC’s regional Community-based Natural Resource Management program in SE Asia from 1997-2005, where he was responsible for a portfolio of over 75 long-term projects in 12 countries, and has worked in the field of environment and development for 30 years. He has been invited to participate in numerous expert panels and international conferences in the fields of climate adaptation and water resource management. Stephen holds a PhD in City and Regional Planning from the University of California in Berkeley.

Dr. Shiraz Wajih. Consultant. Dr. Shiraz Wajih is President of GEAG and Associate Professor at Gorakhpur University has more than 30 years of experience on sustainable livelihoods in ecological stress situations in rural and urban areas through participation of community institutions. He has been part of ACCCRN, Risk to Resilience project and climate smart disaster risk reduction activities.