Rachael Petersen

Experience

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  Rice University

  May 2009 - Jan 2011

  Research Assistant, Anthropology Department

  Interviewed 15 mayors, ejidatarios, landowners, superintendents, professors, reporters, and government officials in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Oaxaca, Mexico regarding wind energy development. Archived and summarized over 100 Mexican press releases on Oaxacan wind energy. Completed literature review and bibliography for National Science Foundation proposal, "Winds of Desire." ($148,000 granted).

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  Environmental Defense Fund

  May 2010 - Aug 2010

  Amazon Basin Project Intern

  Accompanied indigenous leaders to World Bank’s Forest Investment Program Sub-Committee Meeting • provided translation services (Spanish<>English) and technical guidance in meetings.• Wrote grant and organized logistics/finances for stakeholder meeting of 20 indigenous representatives from Guyana, Suriname, Peru and Ecuador to discuss REDD with World Bank administration. •Traveled to Guyana to coordinate said meeting•Edited indigenous organization’s curriculum on climate change, REDD, and forest policy. •Wrote multiple blog posts and authored content for Amazon Basin page Show less

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  James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy - Rice University

  May 2012 - Jul 2012

  Energy Forum Research Assistant

  Researched oil drilling, alternative energy, and climate change in the Arctic. Coordinated logistics for research trip to Alaska for July 2012; conducted interviews with over twenty federal, state, and local policy makers involved with oil, gas, and climate change, as well as NGOs, academics, and industry representatives; authored policy reports on the impacts of climate change in Alaska, implications of the failure of OCS in Alaska, and strategies for relocating threatened Alaskan communities.

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  Watson Foundation

  Jul 2012 - Aug 2013

  2012-2013 Thomas J. Watson Fellow

  I was a 2012-20213 Thomas J. Watson Foundation Fellow. My year-long transnational research project that examines how indigenous communities are harnessing digital tools to assert their cultural identity and sovereignty around the world. I work with indigenous groups in Canada, Ecuador, Brazil, Malaysia and Australia to support and examine their technology initiatives. My writing has been republished by Ecosystem Marketplace, Environmental Defense Fund and Woods Hole Research Center.

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  World Resources Institute

  Sept 2013 - Jan 2016

  Research Analyst
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  World Resources Institute

  Jun 2016 - Aug 2018

  I supported core functions of the Director, including fundraising, developing and implementing strategy, and representing the initiative to important external stakeholders including donors. In addition to supporting to lead and fundraise for Global Forest Watch, I managed teams and workstreams related to forest monitoring research and engagement with partners to utilize GFW tools. Acting Director July 2018-Jan 2018/ Dept Director Jan - July 2018

  • Deputy Director, Global Forest Watch

    Sept 2013 - Aug 2018

  • Impacts Manager

    Jun 2016 - Jan 2017
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  Earthrise Services LLC

  Apr 2019 - now

  Founder and Principal

  Earthrise Consulting provides strategic advisory services to nonprofit and philanthropic clients tackling our greatest ecological challenges. Current and former clients include: - Bezos Earth Fund- Climate Leadership Initiative- ClimateWorks Foundation- World Resources Institute- National Geographic Society- Digital Democracy- Rainforest Foundation US- Riverstyx Foundation

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  National Geographic

  Apr 2019 - Sept 2019

  Senior Advisor

  Consultant and Advisor to the Geographic Visualization Labs and Earth Pulse Initiative

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  The McGovern Foundation

  Sept 2019 - Dec 2019

  Climate Change Explorer

  Hired to scope and launch a climate portfolio for a new major Boston-area foundation. Led over 80 interviews with climate change experts and completed literature review to evaluate solutions to mitigate emissions and adapt to a warming world; delivered a theory of change, and strategy for new multi-million climate portfolio, with goal of reducing global emissions and supporting vulnerable populations globally; proposed $3M in learning grants grants for 2020, managing grantee relationships, including proposal evaluation, due diligence, grantee convening, and educating peer donors on climate change opportunities Show less

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  Harvard University

  Jan 2020 - now

  “Thinking with Plants and Fungi” explores how inquiry into plant and fungal life illuminates the nature of mind and matter, and humans’ relationship to the more-than-human world. We engage fundamental questions arising from academic scholarship and traditional wisdom, including: what is “intelligence,” where does it extend, and how? What is matter, and what does it mean to label it “animate” or “inanimate”? How can we broaden practices of “care” to include other forms of life? How does the study of plants enrich or complicate our understanding of humans’ place relative to other beings?We seek to enhance interdisciplinary cooperation between biology, ecology, and the humanities, nurturing current and future leaders in plant studies. Through scholarship and public outreach, we aim to demonstrate how nature's intelligence can inspire new models of cooperation, flourishing, and coexistence amid ongoing crises. ​ Show less

  • Program Lead, Thinking with Plants and Fungi

    Aug 2024 - now

  • Graduate Student Research Assistant and Head TF

    Jan 2020 - now
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  Climate Leadership Initiative (CLI)

  Feb 2020 - now

  Global Climate Solutions Partner

  The Climate Leadership Initiative aims to rapidly and exponentially increase climate philanthropy by connecting donors with peers, experts, and high-impact solutions that restore our planet. As a partner, I advise large new private foundations and individuals on how and where to scale their giving quickly to tackle climate change. I source, vet, and elevate high-impact philanthropic climate opportunities by bridging the scientific, grantee, and funder communities.