Mackenzie Jones, Phd Email & Phone Number

Buffalo, New York, United States

I work on Project BlueSky, a transformative initiative aimed at developing a next-generation energy systems model. This project seeks to create a comprehensive framework that will produce the Annual Energy Outlook, addressing the complexities and interconnectivity of the modern energy landscape. The new model is designed to be nimble and flexible, allowing for rapid updates and adaptability to emerging issues, while also accounting for uncertainties in markets, technologies, and international trade.I focus on the integration of modules within the BlueSky framework, utilizing innovative Python coding techniques to enhance model flexibility and reduce runtime. My work involves transitioning from traditional Gauss-Seidel algorithms—which iterate through various energy modules—to a novel joint solution algorithm that optimizes all modules simultaneously within a single structure. This advancement not only increases flexibility in module integration but also significantly accelerates computational efficiency.Key accomplishments include:-Developing a robust open-source prototype released on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license, providing the modeling community with early access to test and offer feedback.-Implementing advanced coding strategies that allow for rapid updates and adaptability to emerging energy issues, ensuring our models remain relevant in a fast-evolving landscape.-Collaborating with stakeholders to refine our approach, ensuring transparency and fostering a collaborative environment for model development.- Received the 2024 Administrator's Award for Project BlueSky Team contributionsFor more information on Project BlueSky, check out the open-source prototype on GitHub here: https://github.com/EIAgov/BlueSky and watch my run overview and solve options tutorial video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_TgvwKf5ro

I lead Community Inclusive Wealth (CIW), a consulting firm dedicated to transforming communities through sustainable practices and climate action planning. Our mission is to empower cities to achieve their sustainability goals by providing innovative financial tools and methodologies that consider a comprehensive range of sustainability outcomes. CIW's unique approach integrates over 100 co-benefits beyond carbon emissions, ensuring that our clients can make informed decisions that enhance environmental integrity, social equity, and economic resilience.At CIW, I have spearheaded the development of cutting-edge financial planning tools that assist municipalities in optimizing their climate action initiatives. Our flagship tool estimates the costs and benefits of various climate actions, allowing cities to prioritize investments effectively. We focus on stakeholder engagement and data-driven strategies to create actionable plans tailored to local needs. Key accomplishments include:- Engaging with over 300 stakeholders on projects, fostering collaboration and community involvement.- Developed a pioneering financial planning tool that outlines anticipated costs and benefits for climate action initiatives.- Developed an additional financial planning tool which optimizes investment in public projects to achieve any carbon emissions, environmental, social, or economic goal in the least-cost way- Establishing a comprehensive data bank accounting for 100 key local data items related to environmental, social, and economic factors.- Assisting Erie County, NY, in incorporating cost-effectiveness into its climate action plan across 170 initiatives.- Conducting analyses for Cleveland, OH, demonstrating potential savings of 21 times their initial emission reduction plan.Through our work at CIW, we are committed to driving sustainable development and fostering inclusive growth in communities across the nation.

Our project develops an integrated assessment model to study climate-agroecosystem interactions and their implications for sustainability in the Eastern Corn Belt Region (ECBR). We aim to enhance the capacity of local decision-makers to identify adaptive strategies that mitigate risks from climate extremes. In the long term, we seek to demonstrate a holistic approach for assessing adaptation policies at a regional scale, applicable to other agroecosystems. This approach will guide sustainable management that balances agricultural production with essential ecosystem services. To support these goals, our team has created a suite of models, including dynamic regional economic, general equilibrium, water quality, net carbon emissions, land use, and sustainability models. We also utilize a climate model to track temperature and precipitation changes, alongside models for farmer adaptation choices and ecosystem service impacts. By integrating these tools, we provide valuable insights for policymakers and researchers striving for a resilient agricultural future in the ECBR. My role in this project centered on the land use and sustainability models. I conducted in-depth analyses of county-level land use transitions to identify key drivers of change, which in turn influence carbon emissions, water quality, and economic growth. Additionally, I spearheaded the development of a novel sustainability model that incorporates critical resources specific to the Great Lakes region, such as economic growth, agricultural and timber value, and ecosystem services related to water quality, carbon emissions, and wetlands.

The DRFEWS (Dynamic Regional Food Energy and Water Systems) project is an innovative project that explores the regional impacts of shifting international dynamics on the sustainability of food, energy, and water systems. This multidisciplinary effort integrates crucial human and environmental connections across local, regional, and global scales. Our team has developed various models to assess the sustainability of these systems in the Great Lakes region, including dynamic regional economic, general equilibrium, water quality, net carbon emissions, land use, and sustainability models. By projecting scenarios to 2050 and considering diverse policy and climate variables, our work aims to equip decision-makers with the tools to craft robust policies in an uncertain and changing world.My role in this project centered on the land use and sustainability models. I conducted in-depth analyses of county-level land use transitions to identify key drivers of change, which in turn influence carbon emissions, water quality, and economic growth. Additionally, I spearheaded the development of a novel sustainability model that incorporates critical resources specific to the Great Lakes region, such as economic growth, agricultural and timber value, and ecosystem services related to water quality, carbon emissions, and wetlands.Key accomplishments:• Created a comprehensive land use dataset utilizing 502 million parcel observations from the Cropland Data Layer (CDL), aggregated to 5.25 million USDA fields, to analyze field-level land use transitions from 2008-2018 based on land characteristics and county economic trends• Designed a new model integrating climate projections to propose sustainability and land use solutions for achieving a 30% reduction in emissions by 2050 in the Great Lakes region• Presented research findings to 50 stakeholders, including prominent agencies such as The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Great Lakes Commission

This project formed a public-private partnership that included agricultural retailers who conduct soil phosphorus testing for farmers in the Western Lake Erie Watershed. Legacy nutrients in the soil impact water quality, however little is known about the location of fields with the highest soil nutrients so the partnership was created to gain access to private data leading to data on 443 fields. As part of this project I cleaned the survey data. I then ran regression analysis to answer broader questions about field and farm operator characteristics typically associated with elevated-P fields to better locate where best management practices should be localized to have the greatest impact on water quality.

Tutor students in mathematics courses including Calculus 1,2,3, and Ordinary Differential Equations.

This project examined changing family and labor force decisions over time and analyzed if the percentage of either men or women who can achieve both a family and career can be explained by changing attitudes on work and family life. I use individual data from the BLS and GSS to group people into ten-year birth cohorts and define a career as making a wage above the 25th percentile of the male wage distribution and having a family as spending at least as much time with their children as the 25th percentile of the female time distribution. I ran descriptive analysis on this data as well as probit regressions for meeting the qualification of having both a work and family life as a function of work and family perceptions. Worked extensively in STATA and learned how to run programs using cluster computing.

The University Of Wisconsin-Stout

The LAKES (Linking Applied Knowledge in Environmental Sustainability) project is a groundbreaking interdisciplinary initiative tackling the complex issue of phosphorus pollution in a highly eutrophic rural Wisconsin watershed. This pernicious pollutant, prevalent in areas of intensive agriculture, has led to toxic blue-green algae blooms in local lakes. Recognizing the intricate interplay of social, economic, and environmental factors influencing phosphorus use, the project employs a multifaceted approach. By leveraging social, economic, and environmental models, and collaborating with diverse stakeholders including community partners, local citizens, farmers, and policymakers, LAKES develops strategies for sustainable land use practices and community capacity building.As a member of the applied mathematics team, I spearheaded the creation and analysis of two critical mathematical models. These models, solved both analytically and numerically, serve as powerful public policy tools to prevent future algae growth. Utilizing advanced Python programming, I implemented sophisticated numerical methods and data analysis techniques to bring these models to life, providing valuable insights for environmental management.Key Accomplishments:- Developed an Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE) logistic growth model, offering short-term solutions by predicting lag times between rain events and bloom occurrences- Developed a Partial Differential Equation (PDE) advection-diffusion model, providing long-term strategies to alter lake secchi depth and turbulence for algae growth prevention- Presented findings to 200 local stakeholders and community members, authored an outreach newspaper article to disseminate our work to a broader audience, authored a peer reviewed publication with the results

I helped purchasers for the catalog with their daily tasks, including emailing vendors, creating spreadsheets for items to buy and creating purchase orders. In addition, I tracked purchase orders and changed their dates so the warehouse would have a good estimate of the workers needed.

I fax, update, copy, and file records along with use a computer billing system. I answer phones, forward messages, and solve problems for members.

I worked as a deli associate where I learned time management skills from working at the deli counter and cash register. I also strengthened my team work skills by working with a small group of people to get projects and orders done on time.

I learned the basics of stock trade and financial planning. I also updated, copied, and filed records.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Agricultural Economics

Bachelor'S Degree, Applied Mathematics And Economics, 3.98

Activities and Societies: President of Women In Mathematics, Economics Club, National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Orthodox Christian.