Guest Speakers Info!

Claire Zarakas is a Graduate Student of Atmospheric Science at the University of Washington with a focus on global-scale interactions between terrestrial ecosystems, land use, and climate.  After graduating from Princeton University in 2016, where she was a NOAA Hollings Scholar and Geosciences major focused on climate science, ecology, and biogeochemistry, Claire conducted research for government agencies, primarily to inform climate mitigation and adaptation policies.

Dr. David Bain is the Vice President of Cascadia Environmental Science Center and a leading authority on Killer Whales! David is a Post-Doctoral Fellow at UC Davis, he has a PhD in Biology from UC Santa Cruz, and Masters in Biology from San Francisco State University. He was distinguished by People for Puget Sound and Puget Sound Hero Award.

Dave Hunter is the founder and owner of Crown Bees, A Solitary Solution based in Bothell.  Through collaborations with researchers, peers, and community groups, Crown Bees sets the standard for best practices in solitary bee raising and have helped thousands of people across the United States and Canada grow fresh, healthy food.

Dr. Avnaesh Jayantilal is an expert on Community Microgrids for a Sustainable Future. He earned his  PhD in Electrical Power Engineering from University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST). Dr. Jayantilal is currently the Product Director at GE Digital Grid Software Solutions, assisting electric utilities in enhancing grid reliability, resiliency, and operational change management. He is also a Senior Member of the IEEE Power and Energy Society (PES) and spoke at TEDxEastsidePrep.

Aodhan Sweeney is a second year grad student at the University of Washington studying Atmospheric Science with focus on understanding physical processes in the atmosphere with the overall goal of helping humanity prepare for global climate change.  He graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Physics & Astrophysics.