Harnessing Nature Data & AI for Robust Conservation & Investment Decisions

About this event:

Decision-makers and practitioners across sectors increasingly depend on high-quality biodiversity and environmental data to meet management and reporting mandates of global biodiversity and sustainability frameworks and for financial and investment decisions. This online event brings together two leaders in biodiversity data analytics from the nonprofit and financial sectors who apply data, geospatial analytics, and emerging AI tools to inform decision-making. Through a moderated conversation with the director of the M.S. in Biodiversity Data Analytics program, they will share how biodiversity data is shaping financial and conservation decisions. Speakers will discuss the rapid evolution of nature-related datasets and data acquisition and processing technologies, and how AI is transforming and advancing decision workflows.

They will also highlight the challenges: data gaps, uncertainty, transparency, and the growing expectation that organizations demonstrate credible, science-based nature metrics.

The event will conclude with a discussion of the skills and training needed for the next generation of biodiversity and nature data professionals, and how the new M.S. in Biodiversity Data Analytics program prepares students to meet this emerging demand.

Speakers / Presenters:

Moderator:
Viorel Popescu, Lecturer and Director of MS Program in Biodiversity Data Analytics, School of Professional Studies.

Viorel Popescu is lecturer and Director of the M.S. in Biodiversity Data Analytics program at Columbia University School of Professional Studies and leads The BEAST Lab in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Environmental Biology. The research in his group is driven by the urgent need for rapid, effective strategies to address biodiversity loss, with a focus on understanding how biodiversity responds to human activities in order to inform conservation strategies. He works with management agencies, NGOs, industry and governments to provide concrete and applied solutions to real-world biodiversity conservation issues, such as overexploitation of wildlife species, tradeoffs between renewable energy and biodiversity or endangered species recovery. Viorel earned a Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from University of Maine, a M.S. from SUNY - College of Environmental Science and Forestry and a B.S. in Environmental Science from University of Bucharest, and is a recipient of the David H. Smith Conservation Research Fellowship.

Panel:

Carly Batist, Nature Tech and AI Innovation Manager, Conservation International.

Carly Batist is the Nature Tech & AI Innovation Manager at Conservation International, where she develops training programs, builds internal guidance, and supports teams exploring responsible applications of AI and technologies for conservation. Her career spans multiple nonprofits working at the intersection of conservation and technology, combining ecological fieldwork, community engagement, and experimentation with different nature tech applications. Carly earned a Ph.D. from City University of New York, applying bioacoustic monitoring and machine learning to study lemurs in Madagascar, and also holds an M.S. from Central Washington University and a B.S. from Cornell University.

Gillian Mollod, Senior Principal Product Manager, Intercontinental Exchange.

Gillian is a Senior Principal Product Manager on the Sustainable Finance Team within Fixed Income & Data Services at ICE (Intercontinental Exchange). In this role, she conducts research and product development focused on physical climate and nature risks faced by the investment community. Prior to joining ICE, Gillian spent 5 years at MSCI as a Senior Associate and then Vice President focused on ESG, climate, and biodiversity research. Prior to MSCI, Gillian worked in the non-profit sector as a geospatial analyst for the Nature Conservancy, a global nonprofit land-conservation organization. She received a master’s degree in sustainability management from Columbia University and a B.A. in environmental science from Barnard College.

This is a virtual event and will be hosted via Zoom. Registration is required.

For more information, please contact the Biodiversity Data Analytics team, biodiversityanalytics@sps.columbia.edu.

To obtain additional information about program offerings at Columbia University’s School of Professional Studies, please contact an Admissions Counselor at inquire@sps.columbia.edu.

If you require closed captioning, sign-language interpretation, or any other disability accommodations, please contact Disability Services, disability@columbia.edu, at least 10 days in advance.

Please visit Columbia University’s Hub for Emergency Preparedness (https://preparedness.columbia.edu/) to stay up to date on the latest campus health and safety policies.

This event is open to individuals irrespective of identity and sex.