Bridging Tech, Policy, and Nature: My Work on the PCAST Environmental Capital Report to President Obama

I'm proud to have served as a co-author and working group member on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) report, Sustaining Environmental Capital: Protecting Society and the Economy. This influential report, delivered to President Obama, outlines a national strategy for preserving the ecosystems and biodiversity that underpin our economy, public health, and quality of life. It provides actionable policy recommendations for integrating ecosystem service valuation into federal decision-making, investing in conservation more cost-effectively, and deploying data and informatics tools to better manage environmental assets in the face of accelerating climate change.

As one of only a handful of experts invited to join the PCAST Biodiversity Preservation and Ecosystem Sustainability Working Group, I contributed directly to the report’s recommendations around data integration, informatics, and innovative approaches to environmental policy. Drawing from my background in technology, science policy, and sustainable enterprise, I helped shape strategies such as the proposed EcoINFORMA initiative—an effort to make biodiversity and ecosystem data more interoperable and accessible across agencies and sectors. This work reflects my ongoing commitment to bridging science, technology, and policy to protect the systems we all depend on.