Leo D. Curran Email & Phone Number

Washington Dc-Baltimore Area

Oversee project scoping and design for projects that explore how advances in science and engineering affect society and the environment.Strategically engage and manage thirty volunteer Commission Members to write a consensus report on climate action in the United States and implement outreach activities, including with Congress and federal agencies.Design and facilitate collaborative events, including consistent meetings with project co-chairs, Commission project meetings, Academy Member events, external roundtables or panels, and Advisory Committee meetings, and support operations staff in meeting logistics.Supervise four staff across different career stages, including a science-policy fellow. Maintain general administrative oversight of the program area, including budgets and grant proposals. Work across the organization on fundraising, communications, and membership engagement.

Washington Dc-Baltimore Area

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Establish and implement a training and mentoring program for the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation to support mid-career researchers in connecting their science to policy or practice for marine conservation. Provide strategic planning support to the Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation, including developing and executing a monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess individual project impacts and impacts of networking and community activities. Organize, design, and facilitate collaborative events of an international network of fellows and alumni, including the logistics and programming of an annual meeting for about 130 people, public webinars, and small working groups.Design and facilitate a curriculum with a handbook for understanding research impact and tracking meaningful progress in a project or career. Curriculum facilitated from graduate student to full professor and across diverse disciplines. Facilitate national and international workshops of 10 to 100+ participants to explore innovations in research and policy engagement with academics, practitioners, and donors across multiple sectors, including environment, education, and health. Organize and facilitate cross-team learning sessions on program topics like DEI, monitoring and evaluation, and program management.Awarded 2020 Special Recognition Award for supporting transition to remote work and Fall 2018 Award for Consistent Excellence

Worldwide Office, Arlington, Virginia

Managed the NatureNet Science Fellows program, a research grant and mentorship program for post-doctoral scholars, including establishing and fostering relationships with 10 host universities, completing recruitment, application design, and a three-tier selection process, and facilitated orientation with fellows and mentors.Implemented a curriculum for a cohort-based science communication and leadership training with 30 TNC scientists, including overall program design, recruitment and application processes, securing training contractors, and coaching participants on individual projects.Additional tasks included implementing a monitoring and evaluation framework, continuous communication with participants, mentors, and alumni, fundraising support, and budget management.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Developed and managed small grants and fellowship programs with researchers, non-profit practitioners, and policy makers on issues of global environmental change, including climate change and disaster risk.Facilitated multi-day learning activities with grantees and fellows, including writing workshops and learning forums, of 15 to 60 participants, with focus geographies in Africa and Asia.Contributing author to academic and non-academic articles, including in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction and Urban Climate (nom de plume K. Dietrich).Managed projects from US federal agency grants and foundations, including writing proposals, maintaining budgets, developing programs, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting.Supported organizational growth, including completing outcomes-based planning, maintaining website content and brand management, and writing research syntheses.

University Park, Pa

Developed methods and collected and analyzed data using participatory and qualitative social science approaches, with an emphasis on social learning and adult learning theory.Managed project budget and schedule during field visits in Ghana and Tanzania and supervised Ghanaian and Tanzanian research assistants and university graduate assistants.Awarded 2009-2010 Research Assistant of the Year from the Department of Geography, over 20 presentations at various international conferences, and co-authored two publications (nom de plume K. Dietrich)

Ghana

Project focused on social learning and information exchange. Tasks included organizing and executing learning activities in Junior High Schools in Wenchi district, Ghana.

University Park, Pa

Teaching assistant for the following courses: Introduction to Physical Geography, Geographies of Sustainability, Biogeography and Global Ecology, and Human Use of the Environment. Duties included leading lectures or sections of small classes, grading, and other logistical duties of teaching.

University Park, Pa

Instructor for summer course of World Regional Geography.

Wausau, Wisconsin Area

Boulder Junction, Wi

Phd, Geography

Dissertation title: Envisioning an Uncertain Climate Future: Spaces, Resources, and Learning in a Participatory Scenario Building Activity

Master Of Science (M.S.), Geography

Thesis title: Water Management under Climate Variability and Change: Perspectives of Communities in the Afram Plains, Ghana.

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Environmental Studies, Communication And Media Studies

Environmental And Geographical Sciences

Study abroad program.