June Roundtable! - Heather Lahr on Managing relationships in a multi sectoral project, lessons from the field.
Mona Farnisa
Dear Community,
We are excited to announce our upcoming Roundtable! Our speaker of the month is Heather Lahr, and she will be presenting on “Managing relationships in a multi sectoral project, lessons from the field”.
When: Thursday, June 6, 2024, 3:30pm
Where: NCEAS Lounge (1021 Anacapa Street, 3rd floor)
Join us virtually by connecting to:
https://ucsb.zoom.us/j/468789779?pwd=aklaUWYrNkNHMDduY2xEWDFyWU03Zz09
Talk’s Abstract
In Ghana, air pollution from cooking ranks as the second-highest risk factor of death and disability. The burden of traditional fuels falls heavily on women and children, who both gather the firewood in rural areas and are indoors during cooking times. The primary alternative to traditional fuels for Ghanaian households is liquified petroleum gas (LPG). Heather will discuss the Combatting Household Air Pollution (CHAP) project from a project manager point of view. The project aims to increase the adoption of cleaner cooking technologies that reduce household air pollution. It takes a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach to address the problem that: (1) integrates new evidence on household- and sector-level barriers to clean household energy transitions; (2) aims to transition entire communities to cleaner energy sources; (3) harnesses mobile technology and financial services tailored for lower income consumers to accelerate energy transitions. Heather will discuss initial results from the five year initiative and share her experience and some pro tips managing and building relationships in this multi sectoral project.
About the Speaker
Heather received her master’s degree in coastal marine resource management from UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Management where she focused on spatial planning with a bio-economic analysis of offshore shrimp aquaculture in Mexico. While in school she was honored to receive the Doris Duke Conservation Fellowship and the Switzer Fellowship. During this time she also interned with Oceana, helping to create their seafood fraud report and assisting on the Deep Water Horizon oil spill research. Heather has worked in education teaching marine biology to elementary school children, for museums and aquariums in animal husbandry and program management, in the government doing sea turtle restoration, and in the private sector leading corporate social responsibility. Each position has helped her build a strong foundation to work with a diverse audience and build cross-sector support for her projects. Outside of project management Heather can be found enjoying the local hills and beaches, hiking, biking or swimming, or in her kitchen with her latest fermentation project.
See the attached flyer with all the details.