With the departure of the risk tolerant and the arrival of the risk averse at Columbia, and to accommodate increased parental responsibilities, I spent a couple of years doing independent program design and implementation work.  Central to that work were contracts from Arizona State University that contributed to the very earliest design and implementation of Michael Crow’s New American University vision.

In addition to work for ASU, during this period I also did initial design work for what would become “Creating Intelligent Natural Capital Solutions” (CINCS).  The work that I did on that project was again early design and was associated with an era when the founders were closely aligned with Pro-Natura of Brazil.

The Details:

Independent Consultant, 2003 – 2005
Earth Management Consulting / New York, NY 

Advised evolving academic and other institutions on interdisciplinary program design, implementation, and management.  Projects included:

International Institute for Sustainable Development – Arizona State University

  • Reviewed the institutional context and historical development of a select set of academic organizations focused on sustainability
  • Synthesized lessons learned from those case studies to support the development of the International Institute of Sustainability (IIS) at Arizona State University (currently “The Julie Ann Wriggly Global Institute of Sustainability”)
  •  White paper detailing a “Comparative Analysis of Successful Sustainability Institutes” for circulation among IIS advisory group

School of Earth and Space Exploration (SESE) – Arizona State University

  • Prepared initial strategic business model for design and launch of a new interdepartmental school
  • Designed a scheme for integrating and evaluating non-academic engineers within the SESE academic community
  • Provided ongoing general advice and support to the Chair of the SESE Planning Committee

Center for International Networking on Carbon Sequestration – ProNatura USA

  • Designed knowledge management system for connecting developed economy carbon offset demand with developing economy carbon offset supply
  • Designed business plan to move from philanthropic support to market sustainability

Global Institute for Sustainable Development – ProNatura USA

  • Produced preliminary design considerations for a Brazil-based training institute focused on implementation and management of sustainable agriculture projects in a global carbon market

Scientific Director – ProNatura USA

  • Served as chief scientist for growing international sustainable development NGO