As a Team
We are a group of Master’s Students at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. Here's how we got here:
Devin Spencer (dspencer@bren.ucsb.edu)
Project & Data Manager
Devin graduated from Texas Christian University in 2013 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a Minor in Communication Studies. After graduation she went directly into graduate school at The Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, UC Santa Barbara where she is currently pursuing her masters degree, specializing in Coastal Marine Resource Management with a focus in Strategic Communications and Media. Most interested in sustainable coastal development, upon graduation Devin hopes to work with a company that finds unique ways in which humans can interact and utilize marine ecosystem services in a positive, sustainable manner.
Jane Ballard (jballard@bren.ucsb.edu)
Web & Data Manager; Client Communications
Jane graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Global Studies and a minor in Art History. After working on research regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Santa Barbara County, she became interested in land use and the environment. At the Bren School she is double specializing in Economics & Politics of the Environment and Energy & Climate. She also interns with the City of Goleta, focusing on the political and economic impacts of climate change hazards while drafting the City's first Local Coastal Plan. She hopes to continue her interdisciplinary work to bridge the gap between scientific research and policy implementation for nature-based adaptation strategies.
Jennifer Pezda (jpezda@bren.ucsb.edu)
Financial Manager
Jenny completed her undergraduate at U.C. San Diego in 2014 with a B.A. in Environmental Systems with a specialization in Policy and double-minored in Urban Studies & Planning and Law. During this time she worked with private equity consulting firm, Malk Sustainability Partners, as a research and business analyst. Currently, she is a first-year Master’s Candidate at The Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at U.C. Santa Barbara specializing in Corporate Environmental Management. For the summer she was the Environmental Policy Intern at Southern California Gas Company.
Shawn Kelly
Client Advisor & Community Wetlands Restoration Grants Manager, Wetlands Recovery Project
Shawn is a Program Manager for the California Coastal Conservancy’s SCWRP, a position he has held since graduating from the Bren School. Shawn Kelly has a Bachelors of Science in Ocean Engineering from Texas A&M University, and, prior to coming to the Bren School, worked as an Ocean Engineer for the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center’s Ocean Engineering Department. Shawn's professional interests include coastal land use policy, coastal streams and wetlands, physical oceanography, marine fisheries, and ocean engineering. Shawn is an avid outdoorsman, world traveler, and environmental advocate. His outdoor pursuits include surfing, snowboarding, and mountain biking.
Andrew Plantinga
Faculty Advisor
Dr. Plantinga’s research focuses on the economics of land use, climate change, and forests. Particular emphasis is given to the development of methods for econometrically modeling land-use decisions, the analysis of environmental policies that affect private land-use decisions, and the modeling of land development pressures. A current project, funded by the National Science Foundation, involves the development of econometric land-use models to support an integrated analysis of climate change and water scarcity in the Willamette Basin of Oregon. Additional work examines how urban growth controls affect property values and urbanization rates.
Ben Halpern
External Advisor
Ben Halpern focuses his research at the interface of marine ecology and conservation planning. His research has addressed a broad range of questions that span local to global scales, including spatial population dynamics, trophic interactions in community ecology, and the interface between ecology and human dynamics, all with the ultimate aim of informing and facilitating conservation and resource management efforts in marine systems. After receiving his PhD in 2003, he held a joint post-doctoral fellowship at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and the Smith Fellowship Program sponsored by The Nature Conservancy.He also serves as director of the Center for Marine Assessment and Planning (CMAP) at UCSB.