Our Staff

Brian Czech, President

Brian Czech has a Ph.D. in renewable natural resources from the University of Arizona and is a certified wildlife biologist. He applies his training and experience to economic issues, especially macroeconomic policy. He has 20 years of experience in federal, state, and tribal governments with duties ranging from firefighting to managing elk herds to developing national conservation policies. Brian is also a visiting assistant professor at Virginia Tech University, where he teaches ecological economics and endangered species policy. A prolific author, Brian wrote the book Shoveling Fuel for a Runaway Train, which calls for an end to reckless economic growth.  Contact Brian via email.

Rob Dietz, Executive Director

Rob Dietz has experience in the public and private sectors working on solutions to natural resource problems using the tools of both economics and the natural sciences. He has researched a number of sustainability issues at various scales, including local-scale housing development, state policies for clean air, regional transportation initiatives, and national environmental law and policy. He has a master’s degree from Virginia Tech in environmental science and engineering and an undergraduate degree in economics and environmental studies from the University of Pennsylvania.  Contact Rob via email.

Mansi Grover, Research Director

Mansi Grover is a professor of natural resource economics, ecological economics, and conservation ecology. She has a Ph.D. in natural resource economics from Virginia Tech, as well as a master’s degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics. She has completed projects with the Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Carbon Offset Coalition, Environmental Protection Agency, and Chesapeake Bay Program. Her research interests include risk and uncertainty analysis/modeling in environmental markets, economic and environmental sustainability, time series analysis, and ecological economics.  Contact Mansi via email.

John David Evans, Intern/Research Associate

John David Evans is a master’s candidate in public policy at the University of Maryland, where he is also working on a certificate in ecological economics. His research focuses on the ethics of development, with a particular eye to the ecological and quality-of-life limitations of economic growth. He studied economics and philosophy as an undergraduate at the University of Georgia, and has worked extensively on low-income housing and alternative transportation issues.  Contact John David via email.

Fola Babalola, Director of African Operations

Fola Babalola is a Ph.D. candidate in forest economics at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He has completed numerous projects that combine ecological and economic expertise, including a cost-benefit analysis of seedling production, design of incentives in the agroforestry industry, development of forest policy, and socio-economic valuation of non-timber forest products. Fola has received a number of scholarships, fellowships and research grants. His publications have appeared in scientific journals, proceedings, and technical reports. His current focus is on sustainable management and conservation of forest biodiversity in the face of economic growth.  Contact Fola via email.

Soumitri Das, Director of Indian Operations

Soumitri Das has over 10 years of international experience in the areas of forestry, biodiversity, energy, climate change, sustainable development, GIS and remote sensing based on his association with the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) (India), Virginia Tech (US), Forest Technology Group (US), UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UK), and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) (India). A Chevening Scholar, Soumitri holds masters degrees in natural resource management from Virginia Tech (US) and the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) (India).  Contact Soumitri via email.

Neil Dawe, Director of Canadian Operations

Neil is a wildlife biologist who lives on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. He retired from the Canadian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, in 2006 after 31 years, during which time he managed National Wildlife Areas and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries and worked to protect migratory birds and their habitat. Prior to his work in the biological field, he spent seven years as a banker with one of Canada’s major banks. His current professional efforts focus on the preservation of global biodiversity by addressing the limiting factor of biodiversity conservation on the Earth today: economic growth. He regularly delivers presentations and writes newspaper columns on this topic.  Contact Neil via email.

Fernando Goulart, Director of South American Operations

Fernando Goulart is a Ph.D. candidate in ecology at the University of Brasilia. He holds a masters degree in ecology, conservation and wildlife management and an undergraduate degree in ecology, both from the University of Minas Gerais, also in Brazil. He has a special interest in socio-environmental conflict, environmental education, agro-ecology, agro-forestry, human ecology, ethno-ecology, landscape ecology, ecological modeling, ornithology and bird conservation issues. Recently he has worked as a researcher for the Dynalearn Project, a project coordinated by University of Amsterdam that uses qualitative reasoning models.  Contact Fernando via email.

Geoff Mosley, Director of Australian Operations

Geoff Mosley is a Councillor and former CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF). He is an active member of the World Commission on Protected Areas and previously served as a member of the IUCN Council. He has been working as a volunteer to educate fellow citizens on the means to achieve a sustainable society.  Contact Geoff via email.

Daniel O’Neill, Director of European Operations

Daniel O’Neill is a Ph.D. candidate in ecological economics at the University of Leeds. His research interests include steady state economics, biophysical limits to growth, environmental indicators, alternative ways of measuring human progress, and urban planning. He has worked in both the public and private sectors in areas such as regional planning and energy management. Dan holds a master of environmental studies degree from Dalhousie University and an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Victoria.  Contact Dan via email.