ISTF-NC State University Presents: New Leaves – Early Career Voices in Tropical Forest Sciences 1 Apr 2026
ISTF-NC State University Presents: New Leaves – Early Career Voices in Tropical Forest Sciences. Wednesday, 1 April 2026, 15:00-16:30 EDT (UTC-4)
Join us! For short presentations by early career scientists (PhD candidates to postdocs) from NC State and Duke Universities, on their research in tropical forests. For information on our presenters (NC-State: Alejandra Betancourt, Ana Cubas, Shila Pokhrel, and Laura Arango; Duke: Danny Tobin), see below.
Register up to 2 hours before the webinar at THIS LINK. We will send the Zoom link before the presentations.
Alejandra Betancourt-Rial: 4-year PhD candidate in Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State. She is interested in community-engaged and equitable science and has experience planning, evaluating, and prioritizing conservation areas across tropical, subtropical, and urban forests, with expertise in landscape ecology and remote sensing. Her recent research focuses on urban forest condition, vine dynamics, and landscape ecology, integrating field measurements with spatial analysis. A central component of her work is generating science that is directly useful for conservation planning and management while promoting community-engaged and equitable approaches to ecological research.
Ana Cubas-Baez: Ana Cubas-Baez recently earned her Ph.D. in Forestry and Environmental Resources from NC State. Her research focuses on tropical forest governance, forest-based climate mitigation, and the human dimensions of conservation. Through qualitative and mixed-me thods research, she explores how local communities, experts, and institutions experience and interpret initiatives such as REDD+ and carbon markets. Her work highlights the importance of equity, local participation, and strong governance in shaping conservation outcomes, and reflects her broader interest in supporting community-centered approaches to tropical forest conservation and climate solutions.
Shila Pokhrel: 2nd-year PhD student in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources at NC State University. She works under Dr. Joshua Gray, focusing on remote sensing of forest drought sensitivity in the Terai Arc Landscape of Nepal. She completed her M.S. in Forestry at NC State in 2024 and previously earned an M.S. in Natural Resources Management from Pokhara University, Nepal. Professionally, she has served as a Senior Forest Officer in the Ministry of Forest and Environment, Government of Nepal, since 2017.
Laura Arango: Laura is an ecologist and linguist with postgraduate studies in forestry, biodiversity, and ecological restoration from a socio-ecological perspective. She is passionate about contributing to Community Forestry Management and Community-based Carbon Markets as strategies for climate mitigation and resilient livelihoods. Currently pursuing a PhD at NC State, Laura studies pine–oak forest regeneration and sustainable community forestry practices in Oaxaca, Mexico, in collaboration with local communities. Her research also examines tree species distributions and their ecological responses to rising temperatures in the region, integrating interdisciplinary approaches to biodiversity conservation and land-use planning.
Danny Tobin: Danny Tobin is a Postdoctoral Associate at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. His research focuses on the design, effectiveness, and equity of global afforestation and reforestation programs, with particular attention to smallholder landholders in the Global South. Combining field experiments, large-scale program evaluations, and advanced econometric methods, Danny studies how tree-planting initiatives can better align environmental goals, such as carbon sequestration and biodiversity conservation, with local livelihoods. His work examines farmer adoption decisions, heterogeneity in preferences, and the policy mechanisms that can scale up tree growing while generating durable ecological and socioeconomic benefits.