The ASU Center for Biodiversity Outcomes continues to grow, welcoming three new team members—two postdoctoral research associates in partnership with Conservation International and an associate director in partnership with the ASU Center for Organization Research and Design.

Elena Finkbeiner is a new postdoctoral fellow hired in partnership with the Nereus Program. Finkbeiner’s research explores social-ecological systems of small-scale fisheries to identify resource management and conservation approaches for sustainable human wellbeing. Drawing from a broad range of disciplines, she studies ecological, political, anthropological and economic approaches to support fisheries adaptability to increasing global threats in these particular areas.

Krista Kemppinen will be exploring the role of natural capital to achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for her postdoctoral fellowship. Her research articulates and quantifies the degree of dependence of the SDGs and associated targets on natural capital, and investigates the trade-offs between individual goals and targets. Through this research, Kemppinen aims to inform national and global scale policy interventions.

Samantha Cheng is an Associate Research Professor with the School of Life Sciences and the center’s new Associate Director of Conservation Evidence. Samantha was hired as part of a new National Science Foundation grant to Leah Gerber and Derrick Anderson. Sam will focus on the public value of conservation, with a focus on understanding mechanisms for moving from conservation evidence to outcomes via knowledge partnerships.

Please join us in welcoming our new team members! We invite the ASU community to reach out to Elena, Krista and Sam to explore opportunities to engage.