ABOUT US

Founder and Lead Scientist

Britt Basel, MSc.

As an applied researcher and technical expert, Britt specializes in climate change resilience, water-security, and disaster risk reduction through Nature-based Solutions (NbS), traditional knowledge, and inclusive approaches. She has published 3 peer-reviewed papers and a book chapter on climate resilience and water-security through NbS and community-based adaptation in the Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean. She has also been the lead or contributing author on 15 technical/project reports. Britt is currently conducting research with the Water Resources Management Group of Wageningen University, the Netherlands, to deepen our knowledge of the potential applications of NbS and small-scale solutions to improve water security and address SDG6. Her methods are rooted in sociohydrology – approaching water security from a perspective that recognizes the feedback loop between social and hydrological systems.

Britt holds a Master of Science in Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and a Masters in Conservation Leadership. Drawing on additional experience spanning 20 years and 44 countries, she has worked for organizations ranging from the United Nations Development Program to The Nature Conservancy and National Geographic. She has worked across scales from supporting the development of climate policy to assisting national park directors to implement adaptation activities to aiding Melanesian village chiefs to implement NbS solutions in their communities.

As a visual storyteller affiliated with National Geographic, she has also leveraged photography and film as tools for engaging communities with traditional knowledge and building resilient futures.

The breadth of Britt’s experience allows for an integrated, inclusive, and results-based approach to across diverse geographic regions, climatic conditions, and cultural contexts.

Britt is fluent in English and Spanish with working knowledge of Bislama and Solomon Islands Pijin.

Associated Scientists

Johanna Johnson, PhD.

Over 25 years' experience in marine management and conservation in the Asia-Pacific region, including 10 years at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and 5 years researching benthic reef communities at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Currently a Partner and Senior Scientist at C2O Consulting working for organisations such as the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, AusAID, UNEP, WorldFish and SPREP with widespread experience in countries including: PNG, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and Australia. Specialising in climate change vulnerability and adaptation, community-based natural resource management, capacity building particularly for women, resilience assessments and translating science for management and conservation.

Margarita Fernandez, PhD.

Margarita is a consultant bringing 20 years of experience working on transdisciplinary research and the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of international cooperation projects in the Global South including Cuba, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Currently she is the Executive Director of the Vermont Caribbean Institute (VCI). She specializes in agroecology and food systems, sustainable livelihoods, certification systems, food security/sovereignty, participatory action and community-based approaches, climate change and biodiversity conservation. She has worked for a wide variety of international organizations including the Global Alliance for the Future of Food, Hivos-Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries, United Nations Development Program/Global Environment Facility, Oxfam, Food First, International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), the Global Plant Clinic, and Helvetas, as well as local farms, cooperatives and organizations such as Tierra Farms, Green Guerillas, Just Food, and Campesinos Ecológicos de la Sierra Madre de Chiapas. Margarita has over a dozen articles published in peer-reviewed journals, book chapters, and grey literature. She holds a PhD in Agroecology from the University of Vermont, a Master’s in Social Ecology from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, and a Bachelor’s in Biology from Tufts University.

Juliette Deal, MSc.

Juliette Deal has been an active participant in waste mitigation, resource diversion and educational programming in the South Eastern USA and Caribbean for the past ten years. She is the co-founder and director of a GEF United Nations Zero Waste Program on Hope Town, Bahamas and is currently completing a Master of Environmental Studies at Queens University in Kingston, specializing in Integrated Solid Waste Management.