About the GEG Project
The Global Environmental Governance Project, a joint initiative of The College of William and Mary and the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, aims to facilitate thought and action for strengthening environmental policymaking at the global level. Students and faculty conduct research that is theoretically based, empirically tested, and policy relevant. The Project provides a clearinghouse of environmental governance information for scholars, researchers, students, policymakers, and diplomats. It also incorporates the knowledge generated by students at William and Mary and Yale.
Standing at the interface of traditional disciplinary boundaries, the Global Environmental Governance (GEG) Project aims, in its investigation and documentation of the history of environmental governance, to inform the policy processes determining the future and fate of environmental governance within the UN system. The Project seeks to do so by collecting the testimonies of individuals actively involved in the creation and management of the global environmental governance system and setting the record straight. Ultimately, along with continued dialogues through the 2009 Global Environmental Governance Forum: Reflecting on the Past, Moving into the Future, one goal of the Project is to create a multimedia platform that will include a documentary featuring the oral histories of the individuals that created the GEG system as well as an environmental governance encyclopaedia, podcasts, videos, and teaching tools.
Materials and findings will be made available to researchers, scholars, and policymakers through online access as well as through analytical, policy-relevant publications. In this way, the Project seeks to inspire and foster a strong network of young professionals around the world, leading the way toward effective environmental governance and sustainability.
Who We Are
Maria Ivanova
Dr. Maria Ivanova is Assistant Professor of Government and Environmental Policy at The College of William and Mary and the Director of the Global Environmental Governance Project at the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.
Her research focuses on global environmental governance, the effectiveness of the United Nations, and the role of the United States in international environmental affairs. Her recent work analyzes the history and performance of the international environmental architecture with a focus on UNEP and the evolution of US international environmental policy. In addition, Dr. Ivanova’s research and teaching have included campus sustainability and governance frameworks for higher education institutions.
A Bulgarian national, Dr. Ivanova holds graduate degrees in international relations and environmental policy from Yale University. She has worked at the Environment Directorate of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris and at the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency in Stockholm. She is the co-editor of “Global Environmental Governance: Options & Opportunities” (with Daniel Esty) and author and co-author of articles and chapters on governance, globalization, and the environment.
She was recognized as Professor of the Year in 2007 by student society Members XIII and will be a fellow in residence at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washingon, DC from June 2009 to June 2010.
Daniel C. Esty
Daniel Esty is the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University, the Director of the Center for Environmental Law and Policy, and Director of the Center for Business & Environment at Yale.
Prior to taking up his current position, Professor Esty was a Senior Fellow at the Institute for International Economics (1993-94), served in a variety of senior positions on the US Environmental Protection Agency (1989-93), and practiced law in Washington, DC. During his time at Yale, Professor Esty has authored or edited nine books and numerous articles on environmental policy and the relationships between environment and corporate strategy, competitiveness, trade, globalization, governance, and development. His prizewinning recent book, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, shows how leading-edge companies have folded environmental thinking into their core business strategies, and he continues to pursue research in the areas of innovation and the environment, corporate environmental strategy and environmental protection in the information age.
Mr. Esty has advised companies across the world on energy, environment and sustainability. He now serves as Chairman of Esty Environmental Partners, a corporate environmental strategy group based in New Haven, CT, and sits on the Board of Directors of Resources for the Future and the Connecticut Fund for the Environment. For all his work, Professor Esty received the American Bar Association Award for Distinguished Achievement in Environmental Law and Policy in 2002, for “pioneering a data-driven approach to environmental decision making” and developing the global Environmental Sustainability Index.
Alexander Gritsinin
Alexander Gritsinin is a governance and management advisor to the Global Environmental Governance Project. He brings over 15 years of international experience in high-profile organizations and research institutions, including The Nature Conservancy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), UNESCO, Coca-Cola, Uzbekistan National Center for Research in Oncology, and Yale University.
Alexander has extensive experience in operations, environmental and quality management, corporate social responsibility, and integrated water resources management. Currently, Alexander serves as Associate at the Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy in Washington, D.C. where he provides analytical and operational support to enhance the Institute’s management systems and strengthen the sustainability and environment related components of IMTD projects internationally.
Alexander holds Master’s Degrees in Biophysics and Ecology from Uzbekistan National University and in Environmental Management and Policy from Yale University. He is fluent in Russian and English.
GEG Research Team
Shawna Cuan
Shawna Cuan is a project associate with the Global Environmental Governance Project in Washington DC. Shawna completed her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations in 2009 at University of California, Santa Barbara. During the fall term 2009 she worked with Maria Ivanova at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars as a scholar intern on US environmental policy domestically and internationally. She is currently dividing her time between the US policy project and management of the GEG Project.
John Hannon
John Hannon graduated Yale University in 2009 with a Bachelor’s degree in Russian and East European Studies. Constant exposure to Marxism, while leaving him fundamentally liberal in disposition and politics, did lead him to fear that human history may after all be a series of grand ideas. In order to investigate further, he joined the Global Environmental Governance Project in an editorial and researching role in May 2009. He currently works out of Beijing, where he splits his time between the Project and the Center for Nature and Society at Peking University.
Grace Heusner
Grace Heusner is a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance Project at the College of William and Mary. In 2007, Grace was part of a group research project on global energy and international organizations in Maria Ivanova’s course on Global Environmental Governance. She also participated in Greenpeace’s “Change It” student activism workshop at the George Washington University in the summer of 2007. She is currently comparing the World Energy Council and International Sustainable Energy Organization in collaboration with Maria Ivanova. In the spring of 2008, Grace studied Tropical Biology in Costa Rica and hopes to work with tropical rainforest conservation in the future. Grace also participates in a social sorority and service fraternity at William & Mary. In her spare time, Grace enjoys being outside, reading, and traveling.
Amrei Horstbrink
Amrei Horstbrink completed her Masters in Development Studies at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland in 2009. Her research focuses on global-local interlinkages in environmental governance. In Tanzania she conducted research on how a liberal global water agenda articulates with post-socialist norms and institutions at the local level. Amrei further carried out empirical research on China’s engagement in South Africa. Having just finished an internship at UNITAR’s Environment Unit, she is now enjoying her work as a GEG project associate with a highly motivated, international and interdisciplinary team in Washington.
Ryan Powers
Ryan Powers is a web developer for the Global Environmental Governance Project and an alumnus of the College of William and Mary. He graduated in 2008 with a major in Government and a minor in Environmental Science and Policy. Prior to attending William and Mary, Ryan studied Political Science at Virginia Tech where he was a member of the Hillcrest Honors Community. At William and Mary, he served on the Editorial Board of the DoG Street Journal, the College’s only monthly news magazine and worked as a Web Development and Design Assistant at the College’s Earl Gregg Swem Library. He has attended the North Carolina Outward Bound School and worked at Verdun Adventure Bound, Inc, an outdoor adventure camp for at-risk youth in Rixeyville, Virginia. Currently, Ryan works at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC and will start a position with the Institute on the Theory and Practice of International Relations at William and Mary in August 2009.
GEG Alumni
Marion Eleanor Abbott
Marion Abbott was a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance (GEG) Project and is an alumnus of The College of William & Mary. Marion graduated in May 2007 with a double major in Government and International Studies. She is currently pursuing a law degree at Tulane University. After her work with the GEG Project, Marion interned for six months with the United Nations Environment Programme in the Division on Technology, Industry and Economics (UNEP-DTIE) in Paris and worked on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). She has also worked on numerous projects of communication between UNEP, UNDESA, the seven Marrakech Task Forces, and the world regions involved in SCP.
Alyssa Arcaya
Alyssa Arcaya received a master’s degree in Environmental Management from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University in May 2009. She came to the Global Environmental Governance Project as Project Associate through Yale’s Environmental Protection Clinic. As part of her work with the Clinic, she researched the legal aspects of consolidating and strengthening the international institutions governing environmental issues. During her time at Yale, Alyssa’s studies focused on climate change policy and coastal management. Most recently, she worked as a research assistant for several climate change adaptation projects at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi, India. In July, she joined the Region 2 office of the US Environmental Protection Agency as a Presidential Management Fellow.
Katie Ball
Katie graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2009 with an International Relations major. She was a GEG Project Associate during 2008/2009 academic year working on the Global Environmental Governance Forum and is currently an intern at the State Department. Katie was selected a Truman Scholar in 2008. She plans to pursue graduate studies in the field of sustainable development and has worked on projects in India, the Dominican Republic, and Senegal . In the summer of 2008, she served as an education assistant on an urban organic farm in Portland, Oregon.
George Cortina
George Cortina is a member of the class of 2011 at the College of William and Mary. During his freshman year, George participated in the William and Mary Biodiesel Project. The following summer, he studied the role the United States in international environmental affairs in a Research Experience for Undergraduates program, working with Maria Ivanova. While his major is still undecided, he is considering economics, biology, or Hispanic studies. In his spare time, George enjoys running, hiking, and reading.
Caroline Cress
Caroline Cress was a project associate for the Global Environmental Governance Project. She is pursuing a double major in Government and Environmental Policy at the College of William and Mary. Her research endeavors with the GEG Project have primarily focused on international forest policy and the ongoing International Environmental Governance (IEG) reform process. She served as a teaching assistant for the Global Environmental Governance class in the spring of 2008 and worked with the GEG Project last summer in Washington, DC to study the historical role of the U.S. in international environmental affairs. Caroline is also involved in research and activism regarding the political and legal aspects of environmental and social justice issues associated with global extractive industry. She has worked on the campaign to stop mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia and worked in rural Ecuador to build capacity for community organizing against open-pit gold mining.
Ginna Ellis
Ginna Ellis was a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance Project as a senior at The College of William and Mary. Ginna double majored in Public Policy and Environmental Studies. For her Global Environmental Governance class in the spring of 2007, Ginna was part of a group research project on climate change, and also researched the World Resources Institute. She is currently working to develop a GIS component for the Global Environmental Governance Project.
Kristen Erickson
Kristen Erickson is an alumnus of the College of William and Mary. She graduated with a double major in government and environmental studies. For her Global Environmental Governance class in spring 2007, Kristen participated in individual and group research on agriculture. She spent the summer studying Italian and Art History in Florence. In her free time, Kristen enjoys biking, running and playing piano.
David Gordon
David graduated from The College of William & Mary in 2009 with a double major in Business Administration and Environmental Policy. He has been researching Global Environmental Governance since the spring of 2006. In November of 2006, David attended the 12th Conference of the Parties for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Nairobi. David has also worked as a teaching assistant for the Global Environmental Governance class. David will be a graduate student at Duke University in the fall of 2009.
Jill Adler Grano
Jill Grano was a research assistant and a previous website manager for the Global Environmental Governance Project, while an undergraduate student at The College of William and Mary. She graduated with a degree in Government with a focus on international environmental law and a minor in Art and Art History. During the spring semester of 2006, as part of her Global Environmental Governance class, Jill co-authored an in-depth research paper on the international chemicals regime that explored possible options for reform. During the fall semester of 2006, Jill authored an extensive research paper on the history of the relationship between the United States and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Prior to attending William and Mary, Jill studied studio art and art history at George Mason University and attended Alpha College of Real Estate. Jill’s interest in environmental protection is rooted as much in her lifestyle as it is her academic pursuits. She is an avid hiker and skier as well as a seasoned mountain bike racer and a new triathlete. She has worked in the outdoor industry for five years. She co-created and launched the Outdoor Nature Camp for children ages 6-12 at the Wakefield Park/Audrey Moore Rec-Center in Annandale, Virginia. Jill currently lives in Boulder, Colorado.
Jenn Hatch
Jenn Hatch joined the GEG team in March and worked on the Global Environmental Governance Forum as a project associate this summer. She is a recent graduate of the College of William & Mary, with a B.A. in Government and Environmental Policy and the recipient of 2009 Joy Archer Environmental Research Award. Before pursuing a graduate degree, she has accepted a two-year Fellowship with the US Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG), a non-profit group working on environmental and transportation issues through advocacy and grassroots organizing. With an interest in sustainable development and environmental management, she hopes to begin graduate studies following her fellowship.
Phil Hernandez
Phil Hernandez is an undergraduate at the College of William & Mary and is completing a double major in Government and Music. He worked as a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance Project focusing both on US environmental policy and the role of the US in international environmental affairs. After finishing his undergraduate career, Phil will pursue a law degree and a master’s degree in public policy. In his spare time, he enjoys cooking, running, and playing jazz music.
Christine Kim
Christine Kim is research associate/program director of the Yale Center of Environmental Law & Policy. Her research that focuses on issues of equity, leadership, and political will in international environmental governance and United Nations reform. Christine has previously worked for the Korea Environment Institute (KEI), the Ministry of Environment of South Korea, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Regional Office of Asia and the Pacific (ROAP). She also served as the program director for the Air Pollution in the Megacities of Asia Project, a collaborative initiative between KEI, the Stockholm Environment Institute, UNEP, and the World Health Organization (WHO). Christine also worked as a policy consultant for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank’s Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities and organized their Better Air Quality in Asia conferences. She is the co-author of Benchmarking Urban Air Quality Management in the Megacities of Asia and the Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index. Christine attended Yale University where she studied international relations and ethnicity, race & migration.
Summer Marion
Summer Marion was a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance Project at the College of William and Mary. Summer majored in International Relations and Economics. In Spring 2007, Summer was part of a group research project on chemicals for Maria Ivanova’s course on Global Environmental Governance, and also conducted research on the UNEP chemicals regime. She is currently living and working in Washington, DC.
Donald Martin
Donald Martin, an alumnus of the College of William and Mary, was a web developer for the Global Environmental Governance Project. Don graduated in 2008 with a double major in Environmental Science and Public Policy. Currently, Don works as an Environmental Protection Specialist for the Defense Energy Support Center at Fort Belvoir Virginia. In this role, he provides first hand management and oversight of environmental compliance issues as well as conservation and remediation projects at each of the United States military installations worldwide. During the Spring semester of 2008, Don acted as a Technology Fellow for the Global Environmental Governance class, assisting over 80 students in the creation interactive web applications to support their research interests in global environmental governance. Don’s research interests include energy policy, the effectiveness of the International Energy Agency and the role of state actors in Global Environmental Governance.
Frances Moore
Frances Moore is currently a Masters student at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Science concentrating on Global Change Science and Policy. Her research is focused on the institutionalization of adaptation policy in the international climate negotiations. Prior to coming to Yale, Fran worked at the Earth Policy Institute in Washington, DC where she compiled and analyzed data on a range of environmental trends and authored updates on climate change science and policy. She has published several articles on the mitigation potential of short-lived greenhouse gases in developing countries and is the co-editor of Sudden and Disruptive Climate Change: Exploring the Real Risks and How We Can Avoid Them. Fran is a Switzer Foundation Fellow, a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and holds a B.A., summa cum laude, in Earth and Planetary Science from Harvard University.
Cassie Powers
Cassie Powers was a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance project at William and Mary. A double major in Environmental Policy and Government, Cassie has researched climate change, and has conducted a preliminary evaluation of the effectiveness of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization for her seminar on International Organizations and Environmental Governance. In the fall of her Junior year, Cassie also researched the possibility of creating an Under-Secretary General for the Environment in the UN as part of an Independent Study. Cassie is also a member of two singing groups on campus, a tour guide for the Spotswood Society, and enjoys playing tennis in her spare time. In 2009, she will begin graduate studies at the University of Virginia.
Jennifer Roy
Jennifer Roy was a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance Project and a graduate of The College of William and Mary. Jen holds a double major in Public Policy and Environmental Studies. For her Global Environmental Governance class in the spring of 2006, Jen participated in a group research project on global fisheries depletion. In her International Organizations and Environmental Governance seminar in the fall of 2005, she and a partner worked on developing indicators to help evaluate the effectiveness of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. Jen plans to continue her research on how to improve the effectiveness of international environmental and development organizations. Her extracurricular activities include working with the Student Mentor Program and as a staff member of The Monitor, a student-run international relations publication. Outside of the classroom Jen enjoys running and hiking. Jen is currently a student at University of Virginia Law School.
Amanda Smith
Amanda Smith was a research assistant for the Global Environmental Governance Project and graduate from William and Mary with a double major in Government and Psychology. In the Spring of 2007, Amanda spent the focus of her Global Environmental Governance class participating in a group research project on growing global desertification problems and researching her final paper on the UNDP.
Clare Stankwitz
Clare Stankwitz began working with the Global Environmental Governance Project in May 2008. In the summer of 2008, she participated in an intensive research program on US international environmental policy, and continues to assist in furthering and developing GEG Project research in this area. As a Project Associate, Clare contributed to research on the history and performance of the UN Environment Programme and international environmental governance reform. In February 2009, she attended the 25th UNEP Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum and in June 2009, she attended the Global Environmental Governance Forum: Reflecting on the Past, Moving into the Future as part of these research efforts on UNEP and IEG. Clare is an environmental policy and geology major and Monroe Scholar at the College of William and Mary.
Susanah Stoessel
Susanah Stoessel was Project Manager of the United Nations Environmental History Project, an offshoot of the Global Environmental Governance Project. Susanah graduated from the College of William and Mary in May 2007, earning a bachelor’s in American Studies. Having become involved with the Environmental Studies program in only her final year at the College, her work on the UN Environmental History Project integrates her interdisciplinary training in humanities with her interest in environmental governance. Susanah began integrating her work in American Studies and her interest in environmental issues when, in an American Studies course entitled “Consumer Religion,” she researched the intersection of environmentalism and religion and the impact that intersectoin may have on consumer behavior. She began doing documentary work as a senior in the American Studies program through the Williamsburg Documentary Project. As an undergraduate, Susanah worked in the Global Education Office at William and Mary and studied abroad in the Netherlands where she reveled in the experience of living in a more environmentally progressive society. Currently Susanah lives in Berlin and works at Ecologic – one of the largest environmental think tanks in Europe.
Sarah Wyatt
Sarah Wyatt was a Research Associate for the Global Environmental Governance Project. She graduated from William & Mary in May 2006 with a double major in biology and government. In a class on Global Climate Change, she worked with a team to evaluate the scientific and political ramifications of forestry projects for carbon mitigation in Brazil. While in a class on International Organizations and Global Environmental Governance, she worked on developing indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of the United Nations Development Programme. As an undergraduate, Sarah also studied abroad in Costa Rica where she saw the impact, both positive and negative, that policy and individual actions can have on the environment. Sarah was an active member of the William & Mary International Relations Club and was a member of their world champion Model United Nations team. Sarah now works at Conservation Internation in Washington, DC.
Massey Whorley
Massey Whorley was a graduate assistant for the Global Environmental Governance Project as first year Master’s student at The College of William and Mary. As an undergraduate, Massey also attended William and Mary, receiving a BA in Public Policy. During that time he pursued diverse courses in many subject areas, but most notably in Healthcare and Environmental policy and Econometric analysis. Massey was also a Monroe scholar, and he attended the National Outdoor Leadership School in the summer of 2005 for his Monroe project. In his Environmental Sociology class in the spring of 2006, he analyzed the data on campus-wide energy use as a part of the class’s semester long energy use analysis project. Massey plans to continue pursuing his interest in Environmental policy, as he expands his research into International Environmental Governance and joins the GEG Team. Outside of school, Massey is an avid rock climber and white water kayaker. He also enjoys backpacking, trail running, and skiing.
Philip Zapfel
Philip Zapfel as an undergraduate of the class of 2009 at the College of William and Mary worked for Maria Ivanova’s Washington Summer Research Program on US environmental policy. In his Global Environmental Governance class in the spring of 2008, he worked studied the global chemicals regime. He is active in the William and Mary Student Environmental Action Coalition, helping on projects such as Green Fees, freshman environmental orientation, and the Campus Sustainability Road Map. Philip was also an editor for the campus literary magazine jump! and helped plan Virginia PowerShift 2008, an environmental conference for Virginia college students.
