Before embarking on his current career of ecology and aquaculture research, Levi has also worked as a high school science teacher in the Los Angeles area. As a high school teacher he and his students were able to become involved in a number of community science projects ranging from the design of insect traps, to monitoring nuclear fallout from the Fukushima meltdown, and mapping the chemistry of the Los Angeles river. It was through this work that Levi became involved with the maker movement, through the CRASH Space hackerspace, as well as the biology lab at USC he would eventually join as a graduate student.
As a graduate student they became involved in a number of projects including: the development of probiotics for shellfish aquaculture, studying the influence of light pollution on coastal ecosystems in southern California, and investigating the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) in monitoring terrestrial ecosystems in California. Their doctoral work at USC’s department of Marine and Environmental Biology focused on combining novel indices of landscape diversity with eDNA to assess the health of California streams.
Levi is currently a postdoc at the IoES, where he is working to support the development of Sage Hill as an outdoor class and research space on the UCLA campus. His research as a postdoc synthesizes machine learning with data derived from field observations, eDNA, and remote sensing to better understand the response of ecosystems to a variety of anthropogenic stresses. As part of this work he is mentoring senior practicum students in the study of the ecology of human dominated environments, such as Los Angeles.
Luke L. Powell, PhD, is the founding director of the Biodiversity Initiative. Luke is a Marie Curie Fellow at University of Glasgow. He received his Masters at the University of Maine, where he studied ecology and conservation of the rare and declining Rusty Blackbird, and received his PhD at Louisiana State University, where he studied the effects of rainforest disturbance on birds of the Brazilian Amazon. He then spent two years at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center studying interspecific competition in the Caribbean. Currently he is interested in the ecosystem services that birds and bats provide in agroforestry systems in Cameroon. He has been working in tropical rainforests since 2005.
Kirsten Schwarz is an urban ecologist working at the interface of environment, equity, and health. Her research focuses on environmental hazards and amenities in cities and how their distribution impacts minoritized communities. Her work on lead-contaminated soils documents how biogeophysical and social variables relate to the spatial patterning of soil lead. Her research on urban tree canopy has revealed large-scale patterns related to income and tree canopy as well as historical legacies that impact this relationship. Most recently, Dr. Schwarz led an interdisciplinary team working on a community-engaged green infrastructure design that integrated participatory design and place-based solutions to realizing desired ecosystem services.
Her expertise in science communication and engaging communities in the co-production of science was recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) naming her a Fellow in the Leshner Leadership Institute in the Center for Public Engagement with Science and Technology. Dr. Schwarz’s research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, AAAS, and the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Dr. Schwarz has a BA in Human Ecology from the College of the Atlantic and a Ph.D. in Ecology from Rutgers University. Prior to joining UCLA, she was an Associate Professor of Environmental Science at Northern Kentucky University where she directed their Ecological Stewardship Institute.
Dr. Brandon Hunter (he/him) is a civil and environmental engineer and a community-based environmental science researcher, based in Washington, D.C. Dr. Hunter works full-time for the Natural Resources Defense Council as a community scientist and has appointments as a Technology & Innovation Fellow at the Center for Rural Enterprise & Environmental Justice and as an Affiliate Researcher at Duke University.
Brandon has topical expertise in decentralized and on-site sanitation infrastructure, but also works in a variety of contexts to build the capacities of impacted marginalized communities so that they can effectively execute their own advocacy strategies to influence state and federal infrastructure policy. Dr. Hunter’s work combines engineering design, scientific research, and community-based strategies to advance climate and environmental justice goals for communities domestically and abroad.
Brandon’s motivation to be a part of the UCLA’s CDLS’s Early Career Fellowship Program is to build the capacities of the Center’s different stakeholder demographics. Dr. Hunter is motivated to work with CDLS staff and Fellows to support community-led projects and advance advocacy strategies of CDLS’ community-based partners. Brandon is also excited to serve as a peer- and step-ahead mentor to other researchers and graduate and undergraduate students in the geosciences as they transition from students to early career professionals. He is also motivated to help develop internal CDLS programming and write grants to ensure sustainable support for CDLS staff, students, Fellows, and its community partners.
Dave Daversa is interested in the non-lethal effects that global change has on wild animals. He studies behavioral and physiological responses to stressors fuelled by global change (e.g. infectious disease, extreme weather, human disturbance) and assesses how those responses lead to demographic change. His projects at the La Kretz Center include: 1) disease risk in Yosemite toads (Anaxyrus canorus), 2) effects of human activity on ageing in western toads (Anaxyrus boreas), and 3) and the long-term effects of human noise on health and survival of western fence lizards (Sceloporus occidentalis).
Dave received his PhD in 2016 from the University of Cambridge, and then went on to do postdocs at the University of Liverpool and the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center in Alton, Illinois. He was a La Kretz Postdoctoral Fellow from 2021-2023, and is currently a Project Scientist at UCLA, where he is pursuing new research directions at the interface of wild animal health and molecular genomics, and teaching for the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.
Naomi Adams is a PhD candidate in Environment and Sustainability at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where they draw upon their interdisciplinary training to advance community participatory and partnered research in environmental justice. Their scholarship examines the social, political, and ecological dynamics of soil contamination and repair in urban contexts, with particular attention to community-led agricultural initiatives. Grounded in Black, Indigenous, and Feminist ecological and geographic thought, their work documents unconventional and creative strategies of environmental stewardship, centering grassroots movements that promote sustainability, land sovereignty, and care-based soil remediation practices in cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago. Across their research and practice, Naomi is particularly interested in developing and applying liberatory frameworks that support community self-determination in the wake of systemic neglect and environmental dispossession.
Naomi earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Howard University in 2018 and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from UCLA in 2020. At UCLA, they are a Cota-Robles Fellow, a CDLS Early-Career Fellow, and a National Science Foundation Trainee in the Innovations in Food, Energy, and Water Systems program. Their research and community engagement have been further supported by the 2024–2025 Black Feminist Initiative, Mariame Kaba Graduate Fellowship awarded by UCLA’s Center for the Study of Women | Streisand Center.
Beyond the university, Naomi serves as an Urban Ecology Global Fellow with the Sweet Water Foundation in Chicago, Illinois, and has collaborated with the National Black Food and Justice Alliance. They are also a Board Member of the South Los Angeles Food Co-op, contributing to community-based food sovereignty initiatives. Through both scholarly and civic engagement, Naomi’s work recognizes and builds upon the technical, ecological, and place-based expertise held within communities, positioning academic research as accountable to and in partnership with the knowledge systems that sustain collective care and environmental justice.
Joyce Lee will graduate June 2021 from UCLA with a degree in Environmental Science. She has extensive experience working on sustainability practices in everything from building infrastructure, to corporate practices, to supply chains. She enjoys learning about best practices, management strategies, and new innovations that allow entities to become more sustainable. She has had a variety of experiences such as interning for the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative where she researched and presented Transportation Demand Management best practices. She also participated in the 2019 EPA Campus Rainworks Challenge where her team won first place for the Demonstration Category. Currently, she is involved in the International Urban Sustainability Student Corps at UCLA under the energy division, the UCLA LEED Lab, and the Corporate Partners Program. She hopes to continue down a career path related to sustainability where she can focus her passion and help foster a better future of environmental stewardship.
In her free time, Joyce enjoys watching nature and true crime documentaries, Korean dramas, and learning new practical skills such as sewing.
Haley is a third year student at UCLA pursuing a major in Psychology and minors in Digital Humanities and Environmental Systems and Society. She has developed a keen interest in corporate sustainability and is looking forward to working with the Corporate Partners Program to investigate how the new climate of teleworking urges firms to adapt their emissions reporting, and ultimately develop solutions to improve the accuracy of this reporting.
On campus, Haley serves as the Sustainability Chair at Hillel, where she has implemented a composting system, helped improve recycling efforts, and provided sustainability-related programming for students. Haley is also a contributor to the Daily Bruin, serves on the board of Bearing Witness, and interns at a consulting group. Last summer, Haley interned at the Council For Watershed Health where she analyzed social media data on the LA River recreation project and supported education and engagement efforts.
In her free time, Haley enjoys practicing yoga, admiring sunrises and sunsets, and exploring LA.
Ashley is a fourth-year UCLA student studying Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering. Through the Corporate Partners Program, Ashley is working with the GCRF Trade, Development and the Environment Hub to research the impacts of 2020 events on trade in agricultural commodities. She has worked on sustainability consulting projects through Net Impact, UCLA’s premier social impact consulting organization, and through SeedLA, a nonprofit environmental consulting group based in Los Angeles. With UCLA Sustainability Action Research, she is currently working with the Plastic Policy Implementation Team to reduce plastic waste generated by dining and catering services on the UCLA campus. She is also a student researcher at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, working with light pollution experts and CalTrans to make L.A.’s public lighting systems more wildlife-friendly. Ashley is driven by her goals to make sustainability more accessible to all through sustainability consulting and advocating for green infrastructure. Outside of school and work, she enjoys cooking, baking, and caring for her houseplants!
Clare Schumann is a third-year undergraduate at UCLA, majoring in Environmental Science and double minoring in Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences and Spanish while also being a member of the College Scholars Honor Program. She is interested in pursuing a career in corporate sustainability, and is working with the Corporate Partners Program to investigate how the remote work model requires firms to adapt their reporting, and solutions to improve the accuracy of this reporting. On campus, she manages the communications and marketing efforts of UCLA’s Environmental Student Network as the organization’s Communications Director. Additionally, she is the Sustainability Chair for Gamma Phi Beta, which has allowed her to implement sustainable changes to her sorority house including a formal proposal of a composting system and member education on sustainable living. Apart from UCLA, Clare also works as a Park Aide at the Mount Diablo State Park in Northern California, which allows her to educate visitors on wildlife and park procedures. Outside of class, she enjoys running, upcycling clothes, and listening to her collection of vinyl records.
