Team - SDG Policy Initiative, UCSD

Director

Gordon McCord is Associate Dean and Associate Teaching Professor of Economics at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California, San Diego. He is also Senior Advisor to the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations. He has an extensive background in sustainable development and works at the intersection of development economics, public health and the environment.

Faculty Affiliates

Dr. Lerner is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning. She was an assistant research professor in the National Laboratory for Sustainability Science in the Ecology Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM, Mexico City from 2015 to 2020. In Mexico City she led several research projects related to city-university partnerships, the persistence of peri-urban agriculture, and capacity-building in the local city government for risk management and resilience. Dr. Lerner’s research focuses on processes of landscape change and especially on the rural-urban frontier, sustainable aspects of city planning, including resilience, green infrastructure, and urban and peri-urban agriculture, and the science-policy interface.

David Victor is a professor of innovation and public policy at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at UC San Diego. He is the Peter F Cowhey Center for Global Transformation Endowed Chair in Innovation and Public Policy. Victor is also the co-director of the campus-wide Deep Decarbonization Initiative, which focuses on real world strategies for bringing the world to nearly zero emissions of warming gases. Victor is also an adjunct professor in climate, atmospheric science, and physical oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

SDGPI Team

Michael Andrews recently graduated from GPS and is currently working with the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. He uses an interdisciplinary approach to deconstruct and address complex environmental and socioeconomic questions in order to inform grounded policy solutions.

Katrina is pursuing a Master of Public Policy at GPS, specializing in Environmental Policy. With a background in global food security, policy research, and economic development, she aims to help build sustainable food systems in local and global communities.

Charlotte Gonzalez-Abraham is a science consultant associated with ISLA, AC in Baja California Sur. She is working on projects on land use and food systems with a focus on sustainability and conservation of biodiversity.

Elise is a Graudate of GPS with a Master’s in Public Policy, specializing in Environmental Policy. Elise has three years of ecological field research experience and aims to use the experiences gained in the field to create scientifically sound, research-based policy affecting ecological resilience and environmental justice.

Mario is a policy analyst with a background in public finance analysis and evaluation of infrastructure and energy projects in Mexico. Currently, he is pursuing a Master of Public Policy in the environmental and program evaluation specializations.

Fernanda Herrera holds a PhD in Economics from El Colegio de Mexico. She is doing geospatial analytical modeling for sustainable land use planning.

Dayra is a policy analyst with experience in government and politics. She has more than nine years of experience working for the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, the Organization of American States, and the private sector. Dayra holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Essex and is pursuing a Master of Public Policy focused on program design and evaluation at UC San Diego.

Jeff is pursuing a Master of Public Policy at UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy. He aims to fuse his experience in local politics with a focus on data analytics and program design, in service of regional efforts toward meeting the SDGs and combating climate change.

Josh Zajdel is a current MIA student at GPS focused on international economics and Latin America. He works with SDGPI and the San Diego Association of Governments building an SDG data reporting platform to align regional development initiatives with the global goals.