Image
Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory
Learn all about how the RSC accelerates our capacity to generate and sustain viable futures.
Equipping listeners to accelerate climate action by providing accessible information, amplifying diverse voices, and highlighting the intersections of environmental issues.
AmpliFIRE:
Raising Voices Against Rising Temperatures
Team
Image
Eri Saikawa, PhD
Director of Emory Climate Talks & Faculty Advisor
Eri Saikawa, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Emory University and the Director of Emory Climate Talks. Professor Saikawa's research is diverse covering areas of atmospheric chemistry, environmental health, biogeochemistry, climate science, environmental policy/politics. In addition to her work with Emory Climate Talks, she also serves as a Co-Director of the Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory.
Eri Saikawa, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Emory University and the Director of Emory Climate Talks. Professor Saikawa's research is diverse covering areas of atmospheric chemistry, environmental health, biogeochemistry, climate science, environmental policy/politics. In addition to her work with Emory Climate Talks, she also serves as a Co-Director of the Resilience and Sustainability Collaboratory.
Image
Lauren Balotin 19C
Amplifire Co-Producer and COP23 & COP24 Alumna
Lauren is a graduate student at the University of Michigan pursuing an MPH in Environmental Health and an MS in Environment & Sustainability. She is most interested in using communication and policy to adapt to help developing countries adapt to the health impacts of climate change. During her time at U-M, Lauren worked with the Washtenaw County Commissioner's Office to develop strategies for the county's forthcoming climate action plan, and she interned with the Adaptation division of the UNFCCC.
While at Emory, Lauren was a delegate to COP23 and COP24, and she conducted research with Dr. Saikawa to assess the knowledge of heavy metal soil contamination among Atlanta's urban gardeners. She has previously interned with the CDC, NASA, and Root Solutions, a nonprofit organization that uses behavioral science strategies to inform environmental policies and initiatives.
Image
Katelyn Boisvert 20C
AmpliFIRE Co-Producer and COP25 Alumna
Katelyn graduated from Emory in 2020 with a major in Environmental Science and a minor in Sustainability Sciences. During her time at Emory, she was involved with a number of climate and sustainability related initiatives, including helping to start the Climate Talks website and attending COP25 in Madrid in 2019.
Katelyn also completed research for her honors thesis with Dr. Shaunna Donaher studying the impacts of urbanization on environmental systems in Atlanta, GA.
Katelyn is now a graduate student at the University of Michigan, where she is pursuing a dual-degree Master of Management and Master in Environment and Sustainability. At U-M, Katelyn is a member of Net Impact at Ross, and is researching the potential for a carbon neutral COP conference as a member of the Climate Blue student organization. She plans to pursue a career in corporate sustainability, working to increase engagement with sustainability and environmental issues in the private sector.
Image
Halle Bradshaw 18C, 19G
AmpliFIRE Co-Producer and COP24 Alumnna
After her graduation from the Laney Graduate School, Halle spent a year with the UN Environment Programme before moving back to Georgia to become the Community Projects Coordinator for the City of Savannah. Halle’s time at Emory was enriched as a participant in the Emory Climate Talks group that attended the UNFCCC COP in Katowice, Poland in 2018.
Especially important for Halle during her time on campus was her involvement in residence life and her service as a Residence Hall Director on campus. Halle defended her master’s thesis, The Effect of a State’s Commitment on Policy Responsiveness of the Endangered Species Act,” in the spring of 2019.
Image
Marlon Gant 23G
Emory Climate Talks Contributor & AmpliFIRE Co-Producer
Marlon Gant is a master’s student in Environmental Sciences working with Professor Eri Saikawa. Marlon is part of the team researching elevated lead levels in Atlanta’s Westside neighborhood and is considering centering his thesis on the issue of environmental justice and racism. Marlon is a Georgia native and former competitive skateboarder.
Image
Emaline Laney 22M
AmpliFIRE Co-Producer
Emaline Laney is a fourth-year medical student at Emory University School of Medicine applying into internal medicine whose work is dedicated to furthering health equity with an emphasis on climate action. During medical school, Emaline co-wrote and implemented Emory University School of Medicine’s “Climate Change and Environmental Health” preclinical curriculum, one of the first longitudinal curricula on climate change and environmental health in US medical schools.
She coupled this with caring for those experiencing homelessness in clinics and on the streets where the theoretical was made real, witnessing largescale environmental and structural impacts at the individual level. To strengthen student involvement, she co-founded a student group, Medical Students for Climate Action, dedicated to leading climate and health education, environmental justice, and healthcare sustainability within the Atlanta community. Prior to medical school, Emaline worked with a range of organizations from Partners In Health and the World Health Organization to The Task Force for Global Health and the Nepal Cleft and Burn Center. She holds an MSc in Epidemiology from The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and MSc in Medical Anthropology from the University of Oxford made possible with the support of the Marshall Scholarship.
Image
Tyler Stern 16C
AmpliFIRE Co-Producer and COP22 Alumnus
Tyler first got involved with Emory’s Climate Delegation in 2015 when he spearheaded the creation and management of the delegation’s website and social media channels. The next year, he attended COP22 in Marrakech, Morocco and created videos of the conference to be used in a delegation fundraiser. He graduated from Emory University in 2016 with a B.S. in Applied Physics and from Carnegie-Mellon University in 2018 with a Master’s in Human-Computer Interaction.
Currently, Tyler serves as a UX Designer for a technology consultancy called Robots & Pencils and makes far too many Lord of the Rings references to be considered cool.
Image
Meg Withers 19C
AmpliFIRE Co-Producer and COP24 Alumna
Meg is a marine scientist and environmental educator. She graduated with highest honors from Emory University in 2019 with a B.S. in biology and environmental science. In her time there, she researched fishery management and disease transmission in Northern sea otters. After graduating, she worked for the Fernbank Museum of Natural History where she delivered educational programming.
She is now earning her masters in marine ecosystem management at the University of St Andrews with a focus on grey seal reproduction in the U.K. In addition to her work with the podcast, AmpliFIRE, she also manages two blogs: Climate Change and Society and The Colorful Life. She enjoys hiking, baking, and diving!
Students Podcasts
Paris is an Explanation: Emory @COP21
Nine students and two faculty members from Emory University are center stage for the United Nations negotiations on climate change, underway in Paris. The group, the university’s first delegation to a climate summit, represents different disciplines: the sciences, humanities, business and the social sciences. Climate change is an interdisciplinary problem that requires a multitude of backgrounds to understand and seek answers. These podcasts reflect the efforts of all 15 students enrolled in the Fall 2015 CoLA Course: Paris is an Explanation, where these problems were explored at Emory University and the greater Atlanta area.