Clare Kazanski

Clare Kazanski is an ecosystem ecologist interested in how global environmental change and land management practices influence ecosystems and the communities that rely on them. She was awarded the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant for her research on grasslands’ capacity to store carbon in soils and act as a natural climate solution. She currently works as a North America Region Scientist for The Nature Conservancy, based in Minneapolis, MN. Previously, Clare worked with Environmental Defense Fund in Washington, D.C. to advance federal legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through engaging with Congressional staff and stakeholders.

Clare first developed her interest in nature, and people’s connection to it, through family visits to the Leopold “Shack” on the Wisconsin River and spending time with her late grandfather, Luna Leopold, at his home outside Pinedale, Wyoming.

Clare received her PhD in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior from the University of Minnesota and her BA in Biology from Carleton College.