Sara kuebbing (she/her), assistant professor, Yale School of the environment

Sara is a forest ecologist with expertise in conservation biology, invasion biology, plant ecology, community ecology, and ecosystem ecology. She is interested in building out ecological theory on how forests respond to global changes, like invasion by nonnative organisms and climate change, and also answering applied questions on how we can manage and restore forests to maintain their ecological functions and protect biodiversity.

Prior to joining the ladder faculty at YSE, Sara served as the inaugural director of research of the Yale Applied Science Synthesis Program (YASSP), a program that she still holds dear to her hear, co-directing with faculty colleague Dr. Mark Bradford. Prior to YASSP, Sara was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh where I ran an empirical research lab in plant ecology and invasion biology. Her research training includes postdoctoral positions with the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies and the Smith Conservation Fellows Program, a PhD from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Tennessee and a BS from the Department of Entomology & Wildlife Conservation at the University of Delaware.

Olivia vought (she/her), postgraduate fellow, Yale School of the environment

Olivia will be joining the lab in Fall 2026 as a Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies Gaylord Donnelley Postdoctoral Associate. Her research focuses on studying the effects of climate change on carbon cycling from the mountains to the forests. In particular, she is curious how changes in winter and the shoulder seasons will cascade to impact ecosystem functions throughout the year. While at Yale, she’ll be working on understanding how differences in spring and fall leaf phenology of native and nonnative forest wildflowers, shrubs, and trees impacts plant physiology and forest carbon cycling.

Hannah nyarko (she/her), graduate student, Yale School of the environment

Hannah is a first year MESc student specializing in natural resources management, remote sensing, geographic information systems (GIS), and carbon monitoring. While at Yale she is working on designing methods to detect and track understory plant species in temperate forests using canopy-penetrating LiDAR data. She seeks to understand the impact of climate change on natural resources and resource-dependent communities, with a focus on building resilience. Through her master’s in environmental science at Yale University, Hannah aims to develop and contribute to climate-resilient solutions in Ghana and globally. Ultimately, she aspires to become a researcher and an educator in the near future.

savannah Gupton (she/her), program manager & researcher, Yale applied science synthesis program

Savannah is the Program Manager for the Yale Applied Synthesis Program. She holds a master’s degree in Conservation Biology from Miami University and a BS in Zoology from North Carolina State University. Her professional background is in applied research in climate change mitigation projects, specifically in air pollution, greenhouse gas and criteria pollutants avoidance projects, environmental public health, and environmental consulting for state and federal agencies. She specializes in grant program management, project management, international projects, and ecological conservation. Her interests include biodiversity, conservation, sustainable land management, animal behavior, carbon markets, and science communication

Michelle “goldtooth” kirchner (she/her), research project manager, yale applied science synthesis program

Michelle is a community ecologist and entomologist with experience working in forest, agricultural, and urban systems. From identifying climatic drivers of biodiversity to quantifying impacts of pesticides on managed pollinators, Michelle is interested in basic and applied questions that address how human-mediated global change influences ecology at small and large scales.

Cameron mckenzie, research associate, yale applied science synthesis program

Cameron is a Natural Climate Solutions Researcher for the Yale Applied Science Synthesis Program. At YASSP, Cameron collaborates with the Environmental Defense Fund to synthesize available evidence for the climate mitigation efficacy of forest management interventions and develop recommendations for the role of d-MMRV technologies in scaling effective climate solutions. Cameron received his Masters of Forest Science from the Yale School of the Environment and his B.S.E in Chemical and Biological Engineering from Princeton University. His research interests include tropical forest restoration, urban ecologies, environment governance and policy, and environmental justice.

kira Biener (they/them), graduate student, department of earth & planetary sciences, Yale university

Kira studies carbon dioxide removal in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Yale. Their major discourse focuses on ocean geochemistry and alkalinity enhancement for marine carbon dioxide removal, while their minor discourse has brought them to The Forest School to study the interactions of fungal innoculation and crushed basalt additions on pine tree growth and soil inorganic carbon.

Ingrid Thyr (she/her), postgraduate associate, Yale Applied science synthesis program

Ingrid graduated from the Yale School of the Environment in 2025 with a Master of Environmental Management. She is focused on interdisciplinary approaches to managing human and natural ecosystems and how to use science and data for better policy and practice.