People

Karen McGlathery

Director

Karen is the Sherrell J. Aston Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia (UVA), Director of UVA’s Environmental Institute, and Lead of the NSF-funded Virginia Coast Reserve Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project, and the Coasts and People (CoPe) Climate Equity project. Her research focuses on climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and communities, and nature-based solutions for climate resilience. She collaborates with NGOs, universities, and regional stakeholders to co-produce coastal adaptation and resilience strategies. Karen’s group is an international leader on coastal ‘blue carbon’ sequestration. She serves on Virginia Governor’s Technical Advisory Committee for Coastal Resilience, and the Research and Education Advisory Committee of Virginia Sea Grant. She was elected a Senior Fellow of the UVA College of Arts and Sciences Society of Fellows in 2019.

Andres Clarens

Associate Director

Andres is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and the Director of the Virginia Environmentally Sustainable Technologies Laboratory. His research is focused broadly on how carbon is manipulated, reused, and sequestered in engineered systems. The results of his work have been important for developing efficient strategies for mitigating the emissions that are driving climate change. At the largest scales, his system-level modeling work has explored the life cycle of systems in the manufacturing, transportation, and energy sectors.

Moira O'Neill

Associate Director

Moira is an Associate Professor of Law, General Faculty. Her expertise is in land use and state and local government law. Her research projects focus on land use, climate resilience, equity, and democracy. Moira's research supports state and local government efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change while also addressing spatial inequality. Her land use research has contributed novel data to housing policy debates about which regulations promote housing affordability, integration and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Her research on sustainable public school meal reform initiatives has supported district-level and state policy implementation of sustainable school meal improvements to promote healthy eating and a circular food system in California and Virginia.

Leon Szeptycki

Associate Director

Leon joined the UVA law faculty in 2019 after serving as a professor of the practice and executive director of Water in the West at the Woods Institute for the Environment at Stanford University, where he oversaw an interdisciplinary research program focused on water management in the American West. Prior to joining the Woods Institute, he served as the director of the Law School’s Environmental Law and Conservation Clinic, and as general counsel of Trout Unlimited, a national conservation organization. He is an expert in water law and policy and has worked extensively on large-scale watershed restoration projects.

Amelie Berger

Project Manager

Amelie manages the Climate Collaborative and Eastern Shore of Virginia Climate Equity projects, serving as the primary contact and coordinator for interdisciplinary teams and community partners. She earned her PhD in Environmental Sciences from UVA and conducted her research on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. She is excited to be part of the Environmental Institute and to be working on diverse impactful projects.  

Henry Boachi

Program Manager for Postdocs and Fellows

Henry manages the strategic identification, recruitment and culture-building elements of all of EI’s fellows programs. In his capacity as the Program Manager, Henry’s everyday activities involve managing relationships with key faculty, postdoctoral, and practitioner partners, aimed at ensuring their full engagement in all relevant aspects of the fellowship programs and the achievement of their set goals. Henry brings significant communications experience from his work with international nonprofits and the mining sector in Africa and the United States, as well as student affairs, research, and teaching experiences in U.S. higher education institutions.

Allison Barrett Carter

Communications Director

Allison oversees communications, marketing, and strategic events for UVA's Environmental Institute. A former journalist, managing editor, and writer, Allison has also developed and implemented strategic communications plans for organizations such as the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, including the Center for Effective Lawmaking, at UVA. She is an alumnus of UVA and holds a Nonprofit Management Certificate from Harvard's Extension School.

Jonah Fogel

Program Manager for Research Development and Education

Jonah leads the Institute’s core seed funding programs, performance management system, and student engagement programs. He works closely with students, faculty, and university administration facilitating research development activities that attract extramural research funding, create relationships, and increase institutional competitiveness. Jonah works regularly with a wide variety of internal and external partners translating research through outreach and training activities. Jonah holds a PhD in Natural Resource Management, a Master’s of Landscape Architecture, and a BS in Hydrogeology. He’s taught at a graduate level and has extensive experience in public administration, land use planning, and solar energy policy.

Julie Lassetter

Finance and Operations Manager

Julie serves as the Finance and Operations Manager for the Environmental Institute and is responsible for budget development, financial management and analysis, and office operations. With years of experience in higher education at both the department and dean level, she possesses a broad policy knowledge across the academic spectrum. She enjoys collaborating with students, faculty, and colleagues to find solutions to problems, allowing them to concentrate on their research. 

Carrie McGowan

Business Manager

Carrie is responsible for ensuring the Institute runs smoothly on a daily basis, including office management and fiscal duties. Carrie has spent eleven years with UVA’s procurement services and another five years with UVA’s Office of the Vice President for Research supporting pan-university institutes. She enjoys a collaborative working environment and being part of the Environmental Institute team.