Lecturer in the Fred Kiesner Center for Entrepreneurship, College of Business Administration, M.S. in Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Innovation program. Environmental Problems, Issues and Impacts.

CIV:LAB is an innovative grantmaking network that channels global funds and resources directly to community climate initiatives. They leverage global capital to connect community stakeholders with the resources and funding required to launch bold responses to the threats of the climate crisis. They do this through a two pillar approach to help scale place-based climate efforts: 1) The Climate Fund supports initiatives that advance environmental justice and economic and social equity through… Show more CIV:LAB is an innovative grantmaking network that channels global funds and resources directly to community climate initiatives. They leverage global capital to connect community stakeholders with the resources and funding required to launch bold responses to the threats of the climate crisis. They do this through a two pillar approach to help scale place-based climate efforts: 1) The Climate Fund supports initiatives that advance environmental justice and economic and social equity through workforce development, education, and innovative climate technology; and 2) Co-Labs are local networks of change makers, including Climate Fund grantees that collaborate to address pressing climate issues facing their communities. Show less

MorphoStrategies is a woman-owned sustainability and climate strategy consulting service founded by Dr. Cassie Rauser in 2023. After nearly a decade of working on urban sustainability challenges in Los Angeles, Dr. Rauser saw the need for more collaborative and community-inspired approaches to accelerate our response to the climate crisis and implement solutions that are centered in equity and justice. Dr. Rauser’s services include Strategic Vision & Planning; Program Development; Strategic… Show more MorphoStrategies is a woman-owned sustainability and climate strategy consulting service founded by Dr. Cassie Rauser in 2023. After nearly a decade of working on urban sustainability challenges in Los Angeles, Dr. Rauser saw the need for more collaborative and community-inspired approaches to accelerate our response to the climate crisis and implement solutions that are centered in equity and justice. Dr. Rauser’s services include Strategic Vision & Planning; Program Development; Strategic Partnerships & Relationship Management; Knowledge Translation & Synthesis; Stakeholder & Community Engagement; Sustainability & Climate Action Planning; Sustainability & Climate Metric Development; Policy & Data Analysis; Technical Writing & Editing; Facilitation & Moderation; Strategic Proposal Development; Grantwriting & Fundraising; Strategic Grantmaking; and Program Monitoring & Evaluation. Show less

Competitively selected to be a part of the inaugural Climate Resilience Leadership Network (CRLN) program, a leadership development program for professionals working within and across the diverse and intersectional issue of climate resiliency in Los Angeles County. CRLN brings together a diverse cross-sector cohort of professionals for an immersive experiential program committed to building the leadership capacity of Los Angeles County’s climate policy, advocacy and community-based change… Show more Competitively selected to be a part of the inaugural Climate Resilience Leadership Network (CRLN) program, a leadership development program for professionals working within and across the diverse and intersectional issue of climate resiliency in Los Angeles County. CRLN brings together a diverse cross-sector cohort of professionals for an immersive experiential program committed to building the leadership capacity of Los Angeles County’s climate policy, advocacy and community-based change makers. From February until September, I focused on building my leadership skills, systems-based knowledge, and issue-centered networks, exposing myself to cross-sectoral and intersectional perspectives on climate issues and policy, community and issues advocacy, environmental justice, and land conservation and transformation. The curriculum includes a wide range of professional skills-building, such as Adaptive Leadership; Coalition Building and Community Engagement; Effective Communication, Storytelling, and Advocacy; Effective Inquiry and Critical Thinking; Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging; Group Dynamics; Living Infrastructure Concepts; Negotiations and Managing Conflict; Place-Sourced Practices; Public Narrative Frameworks; Regenerative Approaches; Self-Awareness and Self-Management Tools; and Stakeholder Analysis and Power Analysis. Learn more about CRLN at https://corola.org/crln/ Show less

The Sustainable LA Grand Challenge is an interdisciplinary university-wide initiative aimed at applying UCLA research, expertise and education to help transform Los Angeles into the world’s most sustainable megacity by 2050 — making it the most livable, equitable, resilient, clean and healthy megacity, and an example for the world. Built and oversaw a team of professionals to support research development, strategic partnerships and communications necessary to accelerate the region's response to… Show more The Sustainable LA Grand Challenge is an interdisciplinary university-wide initiative aimed at applying UCLA research, expertise and education to help transform Los Angeles into the world’s most sustainable megacity by 2050 — making it the most livable, equitable, resilient, clean and healthy megacity, and an example for the world. Built and oversaw a team of professionals to support research development, strategic partnerships and communications necessary to accelerate the region's response to the climate crisis and established the initiative as a collaborative model for universities and other sectors. Created new intersections of discovery, funding and solutions; Developed and executed competitive funding opportunities and competitions; Established an equity-focused graduate fellows program; Shaped the evolution of an undergraduate research scholars program; Facilitated collaborations across disciplines and sectors; and, Defined and executed a multi-faceted funding strategy. Show less

The Sustainable LA Grand Challenge is a campus wide initiative launched in 2013 that is organized around the goal of transitioning Los Angeles County to renewable energy, local water, and enhanced ecosystem health and human health and wellbeing by 2050 through coordinated research across disciplines and strategic partnerships with external organizations. As the first employee, led the development of the research, education and outreach programming for the initiative.

Led the oversight, strategic planning and day-to-day operations of the Research Development office in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, which develops major disciplinary and multidisciplinary and/or multi-investigator research, training and outreach grant proposals to federal and state government agencies and corporate and foundation entities. Hired, supervised, trained and evaluated Assistant Directors assigned to individual STEM Schools (Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences… Show more Led the oversight, strategic planning and day-to-day operations of the Research Development office in the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, which develops major disciplinary and multidisciplinary and/or multi-investigator research, training and outreach grant proposals to federal and state government agencies and corporate and foundation entities. Hired, supervised, trained and evaluated Assistant Directors assigned to individual STEM Schools (Biological Sciences, Physical Sciences, Medicine, Engineering, Information and Computer Sciences), and coordinated directly with the Dean of these Schools to lead, develop and implement funding strategies. Responsibilities included research program strategy development for the Schools; coordination of team approach to large projects involving faculty and administrative staff from various academic schools and central administrative units; identification and promotion of funding opportunities; proposal preparation and submission; post-award follow-up and project implementation and renewal. Maintained liaison function among Deans, faculty and staff; the Office of Research, including the Vice Chancellor’s Office, Office of Technology Alliances, University Advancement and the Office of Research Administration; and academic units across the campus. Show less

Led the development of major disciplinary and multidisciplinary and/or multi-investigator research, training and outreach grant proposals to federal and state government agencies and corporate and foundation entities for the School of Biological Sciences. Coordinated directly with the Dean of Biological Sciences to lead, develop and implement funding strategies for the School. Responsibilities included research program strategy development for the School; coordination of team approach to large… Show more Led the development of major disciplinary and multidisciplinary and/or multi-investigator research, training and outreach grant proposals to federal and state government agencies and corporate and foundation entities for the School of Biological Sciences. Coordinated directly with the Dean of Biological Sciences to lead, develop and implement funding strategies for the School. Responsibilities included research program strategy development for the School; coordination of team approach to large projects involving faculty and administrative staff from various academic schools and central administrative units; identification and promotion of funding opportunities; proposal preparation and submission; post-award follow-up and project implementation and renewal. Show less

Provided initiation, coordination and support for all aspects of research and proposal development and submission for major interdisciplinary research, training and outreach programs representing faculty across departments and Schools with emphasis on the physical and natural sciences.

Edited and re-worked scientific research papers written by academics whose first language is not English into natural English prior to submission for publication in peer-review journals.

The Tamarindo Preserve Conservancy (TPC) is a 250 hectare Conservancy located in the heart of the Tamarindo Preserve community and borders Las Baulas National Park. The vision of TPC is to conserve, protect, and restore the land within and surrounding the Conservancy by implementing a preservation program that guarantees the enjoyment of the area’s flora and fauna for current and future generations. This preservation program incorporates both education and scientific research, with the goal of… Show more The Tamarindo Preserve Conservancy (TPC) is a 250 hectare Conservancy located in the heart of the Tamarindo Preserve community and borders Las Baulas National Park. The vision of TPC is to conserve, protect, and restore the land within and surrounding the Conservancy by implementing a preservation program that guarantees the enjoyment of the area’s flora and fauna for current and future generations. This preservation program incorporates both education and scientific research, with the goal of integrating local and visiting populations into Conservancy activities to contribute to a change in attitude towards nature and the environment. Show less

Developed content for online tutorials meant to supplement various courses in biology using powerpoint/flash movies, interactive problem sets, and organized summary sheets for each course topic.