Stephen Hart

Stephen Hart is a Research Associate supporting MIT’s Resilient Communities Lab. His research focuses include climate adaptation & resiliency, biodiversity conservation, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK), and environmental justice. He recently completed his Environmental Science & Policy MPA at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs (SIPA) and has a BA in Environmental Studies & Political Science from the University of Vermont. For his master’s capstone, he consulted the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) on how to scale up the Restoration Barometer to help countries streamline reporting progress towards global targets such as the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration, the Bonn Challenge, The Paris Agreement, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
 
Before graduate school, Stephen was the Research Program Manager at the Earthwatch Institute. At Earthwatch, he helped manage an international research portfolio focused on connecting people with communities, advancing scientific discovery, developing corporate partnerships for sustainability, and conserving the planet. Working closely with Principal Investigators on their research to ensure science was rigorous, relevant, and impactful. As the Research Program Manager, he also tracked the impacts of field-based research projects on local ecological systems, social-cultural systems, management plans, and regional, national, and international policies. And he supported the creation of a strong coalition of partners with NGOs, research institutions, companies, and key decision-makers to enhance the delivery of programs.