People

Dr. Frei, the Deputy Director of CISC, is an associate professor in the Geography Department at Hunter College, CUNY. After receiving his Ph.D. from Department of Geography at Rutgers University in 1997, he spent four years at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), which is part of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado. In 2001 Dr. Frei moved to Hunter College. Dr. Frei is a climatologist whose research interests include issues related to climate change, including links to snow cover and sea ice across the Northern Hemisphere, as well as water resources in the New York City watershed region.

Carina has an MA in International Affairs with a focus on Cities and Urbanization from the New School University, where her research focused on ecological solutions to economic, social, and environmental challenges that cities face, in both the developed and developing world. She has a BA in International Affairs from the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Carina thinks that research and application should have a healthy amount of over-lap and that bottm-up solutions, with top-down support can help us solve our biggest urban challenges. Her research interests are environmental psychology and the intersection of urban design and psychological well-being.

Dylan Gauthier joined the Institute as Media Coordinator in late 2010.  Dylan is a media artist, designer and educator and has worked as media consultant, graphic, web and video designer and logistical engineer for non-profit and arts organizations and social justice groups in New York and abroad, and has collaborated with Right to the City initiatives and urban food sustainability and educational groups here in New York City.  He is an MFA Candidate in the Department of Film and Media at Hunter College (Fall ’11), where he is also an Adjunct Professor. In addition to his work as a media artist and designer, Dylan also co-organizes Mare Liberum (thefreeseas.org) which seeks to find new ways to increase public access to and understanding of the city’s complex eco-network of living waterways.

Dr. Waldman is the leading researcher on the City by the Coast Core Program Area. He is professor of biology at Queens College, City University of New York. Prior to this appointment in 2004, he was employed for 20 years by the Hudson River Foundation for Science and Environmental Research. He received his Ph.D. in 1986 from the Joint Program in Evolutionary Biology between the American Museum of Natural History and the City University of New York. His research interests focus on the ecology and evolution of fishes, particularly diadromous forms, urban aquatic environments, and historical ecology. He also is author of several popular books, including Heartbeats in the Muck: The History, Sea Life, and Environment of New York Harbor.

Lesley Patrick joined the Institute as the program manager in 2007. She focuses on program development, fundraising and grant writing, and serves as project manager to CISC research projects. She was a member of the Science Planning Team of the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC), co-lead of the statewide Coastal Zones Climate Impact and Adaptation Assessment (ClimAID, ch 5), and contributed to the Technical Reports of the 2013 National Climate Assessment. Lesley is a doctoral candidate in Earth and Environmental Sciences program at the CUNY Graduate Center studying the impacts of accelerated sea-level rise on future flood scenarios in the NYC region. She received her MS in Geological Sciences from Rutgers University and BA in Earth Sciences from Boston University.

Peter Marcotullio is Distinguished Lecturer at Hunter College (2007 – present), City University of New York (CUNY), where he teaches in the Department of Urban Affairs and Planning, the Department of Geography and in the CUNY Macaulay Honors College. His research interests include urban sustainable development, urban environmental transition theory, globalization and cities, urban and regional environmental planning and the relationship between urbanization and environment change. He has affiliations with the United Nations University, the International Human Dimensions Programme and ISCU’s Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment.

Rhonda-Lee Davis joined the staff at CISC as an intern in 2011. After completing her undergraduate studies at Lafayette College, where she earned her BA in International Affairs, Rhonda-Lee discovered a passion for urban planning and community development. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in Urban Planning at Hunter College. She currently works as a Research Assistant for the USES project.

Simon Gruber is an environmental planning and communications consultant specializing in water resources planning and protection, energy efficiency, high performance building and site design, and sustainable infrastructure. Since 1986 he’s worked with local and county government, non-profit organizations, and businesses in the Hudson Valley. Completed and ongoing projects include a county-wide stream biomonitoring program, a decentralized wastewater planning and demonstration initiative, the Moodna Creek watershed planning process, and development of regional green building and energy education programs. Recent initiatives include green infrastructure planning for watershed restoration and community revitalization, state energy policy research and communications, and several water policy projects. His work has a growing focus on job opportunities in these sectors and developing relevant training resources. His collaboration with CISC began in 2006 with a regional initiative to address climate change impacts on water resources. Contactsgruber100@verizon.net or go to the Green Infrastructure Resources page atwww.hudsonvalleyregionalcouncil.com for more.

Dr. William Solecki is Director, CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities (CISC), and professor in the Department of Geography at Hunter College – CUNY. His research interests include urban environmental change, and climate impacts and adaptation. He has served on several U.S. National Research Council committees including the Special Committee on Problems in the Environment (SCOPE).  He is a founding member of the Urban Climate Change Research Network, and the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP) Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Project. He served as the co-leader of several climate impacts and land use studies in the New York metropolitan region, including the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) and the Metropolitan East Coast Assessment of Impacts of Potential Climate Variability and Change and was recently selected as a lead author of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, Working Group II, Urban Areas chapter (chapter 8). He holds in degrees in Geography from Columbia University (BA) and Rutgers University (MA, Ph.D).