PanNature
Bryan Vadheim will work with PanNature (People and Nature Reconciliation), a Vietnamese not-for-profit organization dedicated to protecting and conserving diversity of life and improving human well-being in Vietnam by seeking, promoting and implementing feasible, nature-friendly solutions to important environmental problems and sustainable development issues. Established by a diverse group of dedicated Vietnamese environmental professionals, PanNature thinks creatively about solving the most salient environmental issues facing Vietnam, seeking to preserve Vietnam’s natural heritage and promote sustainable development nationwide. Nick Thorpe, a recent Luce Scholar, was placed with PanNature in the 2015-2016 year.
Bryan Vadheim is an economist interested in natural resource management at the intersection of science and policy. A Montana native, Bryan has long been passionate about natural resources, and graduated with honors and degrees in both Chemical Engineering and Economics from Montana State University. During his undergraduate career he conducted a variety of research on natural resource topics, resulting in academic publications on low-cost water sanitation using concentrated ultraviolet light and conflict mineral policy in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as a patent in disinfection technology. Alongside his research activities, he also helped coordinate water and sanitation projects in rural Kenya with Engineers Without Borders, including on-the-ground implementation and stakeholder engagement.
A 2013 Marshall Scholarship recipient, Bryan earned graduate degrees in Economics (with merit) from the London School of Economics and in Climate Change Science and Policy (with distinction) from the University of Bristol. As a researcher at the Grantham Research Institute in London during his studies, Bryan worked on spatially disaggregated econometric models of forestry in Indonesia and infrastructure in Ethiopia. Since 2015, Bryan has worked as an economist on natural resource policy issues at Vivid Economics, a small consultancy in London. He has particular experience in forestry and water management policy, but has also applied his engineering background to work on the integration of renewable energy sources into electricity grids. He is a co-author of the World Bank’s State and Trends in Carbon Pricing 2016 report, and has led the development of land use projects in Ivory Coast and Peru that use satellite imagery to inform agricultural and forestry policy. He works extensively with developing country governments and NGOs, with on-the-ground experience in Ethiopia and Ivory Coast. Outside of work, Bryan is an avid traveler, Ultimate Frisbee player, outdoorsman, and unapologetic burrito snob.