ECI Staff

Amanda Lynch

Director, Environmental Change Initiative
Professor of Geological Sciences
Amanda_Lynch(at)brown(dot)edu

Professor Lynch's interests lie in the application of climate and meteorological research to concrete problems of policy relevance. Her approaches include regional and global climate models of the contemporary and past climates, weather prediction models, statistical models, and quantitative and qualitative analysis. She has a strong interest in working with under-represented minorities, particularly indigenous people.

Amanda Lynch obtained her Ph.D. in Meteorology in 1993 from the University of Melbourne. From 1992-2003 she was in the United States, most recently at the University of Colorado. She was a Fellow of the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Science, a Visiting Scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and a consultant to Los Alamos National Laboratory. She returned to Australia in 2004 to take up a Federation Fellowship and head the Monash University Climate program. She was admitted as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2008, and returned to the U.S. in 2011.

Marty Downs

Associate Director
Martha_Downs(at)brown(dot)edu

The ECI Associate Director manages operations and contributes to the overall strategic direction of the ECI by identifying areas where research strength and opportunity coincide. The Associate Director convenes research partners and coordinates the development of funding applications to public and private funders.

Marty's background in climate change research and science writing helps to bridge the disparate disciplines that are part of ECI. In addition, Marty facilitates communication among ECI researchers, presents complex environmental research in an accessible way and and promotes ECI events and activities.

Bonnie Horta

Manager of Finance and Administration
Bonnie_Horta(at)brown(dot)edu

Bonnie Horta manages budgets, schedules, international travel, grant submisssions and other financial and administrative functions with efficiency and a cheerful smile.

Stephanie Viens

Administrative Coordinator
Stephanie_Viens(at)brown(dot)edu

Stephanie handles reimbursements, travel, and student payroll. She also coordinates the Reverse Ecology IGERT Program with the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.

Rose Kontak

ESWN Coordinator
Rose_Kontak(at)brown(dot)edu

Rose Kontak coordinates the Earth Science Women's Network. Coming from a background in energy and environmental policy, she is now in charge of organizing, promoting, managing and advancing ESWN. If you are interested in joining or contributing, please contact her.

ESWN is a peer-mentoring network of women in the Earth Sciences, most of whom are in the early stages of their careers. We have nearly 1000 members spanning at least 19 different countries. We represent most major universities, goverment agencies, and research organizations in the U.S. and abroad.