Jane E. Barr
Board Director
Jane E. Barr, a Canadian Geographer and Environmental Consultant with an office in Montreal, Quebec, has worked on behalf of the environment since 1995. Ms Barr has developed an expertise in State of the Environment reporting and specializes in writing and editing concise educational and analytical reports, background documents, and communications outreach material about environmental issues for decision makers and the general public. She has thus acquired a broad and extensive knowledge of environmental issues at global and regional scales.
During her career, Ms Barr’s clients have included the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC); the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD); the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); the National Geographic Society; Unisféra International Centre; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; Environment Canada; UNESCO; and in particular, the United Nations Environment Programme (U
NEP).
Since 1998, Ms Barr has contributed the North American state and trendhttp://web.archive.org/web/20170517153650/http://www.undp.org/s chapters to UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO) series as a Lead Author. In addition, she was a Coordinating Lead Author for the North American regional chapters in GEO-4 and GEO-5. Her work for UNEP includes the authorship of two books about environmental trends in North America: North America’s Environment: A Thirty-Year State of the Environment and Policy Retrospective on Priority Issues (2002) and Environmental Indicators for North America (2006).
Ashbindu Singh, Ph.D
Board Director
Ashbindu Singh joined as the President of EPI in 2014 after the retirement from UNEP in 2013. He is a leading authority on environmental sustainability issues and bridging the gap between science and policy. He has over thirty years of experience working at the local, national and global levels and recently retired from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) after over two decades of service in various capacities and finally as the Director of the Early Warning, Division of Early Warning and Assessment.
He has a strong multidisciplinary background with postgraduate degrees in physical and natural sciences and a Ph.D. in environmental science. Before joining UNEP he worked with the Indian Forest Service (1977-1990) which is one of the senior level civil services in India. He joined UNEP in 1990, and worked at duty stations Bangkok, Nairobi, Sioux Falls, New York and Washington D.C.
He has over 100 publications in peer reviewed scientific journals and conferences, and 35 UNEP reports on various environmental issues. His scientific paper titled “Digital change detection techniques using remotely sensed data” is one of the top cited papers in the field of remote sensing. The team under his direction has produced highly influential reports on various environmental sustainability issues including global forests, threats to freshwater, coastal vulnerability, transboundary air pollutants, and the UNEP’s all time the best seller and award winning publication “One Planet many people: Atlas of our changing environment” and other regional, national and thematic Atlases including the “Africa: Water Atlas”
He represented UNEP’s on the United Nations Secretary General’s UN System wide Task Force on “Post 2015 Development Agenda” which produced the report titled “The Future we want for all“. The team under his direction was responsible for identification and communication of early warning of emerging environmental issues including the Foresight process, implementation of UNEP’s Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS), data and indicators, composite index for environment, and development of UNEP Live as an innovative web based platform for dynamic state of environment reporting.
He has won the prestigious UN 21 award for the “Team Productivity” in 2005 and the UNEP Baobab Award in 2008.
Veronica Grasso
Board Director
Since 2013, Veronica Grasso has been Project Officer at the Global Framework for Climate Services Office at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in Geneva. Veronica is a civil engineer with more than 10 years experience in disaster risk-reduction both at national and international levels. Before joining WMO, she was Programme Specialist in the Disaster Risk Reduction and Recovery Team at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), providing technical support to UNDP country offices on disaster risk reduction (2010-2013). In 2006-2010, she worked as project and portfolio manager at the United Nations Environment Programme, the Group on Earth Observations at WMO, and United Nations Volunteers. She holds a Ph.D. in disaster risk reduction with a focus on early warning systems from the University of Naples, in collaboration with the University of California at Berkeley and the California Institute of Technology. She is the author of more than 30 scientific publications.
Peter Gilruth, Ph.D
Senior Advisor
Retired Director, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) , currently Senior Policy Advisor at World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
Associated Experts
EPI has a network of experts associated with the organisation to undertake relevant project work with matching expertise. Some of them are listed below:-
Zhiliang Zhu, Ph.D
Climate Change Expert
Environmental scientist with over 35 years of experience in climate change, carbon cycle science, disaster response, land change, and remote sensing. Internationally recognized leader in carbon sequestration assessment and wildfire research, with more than 125 peer-reviewed publications, an h-index of 60 and over 25,000 citations. Extensive experience in directing large-scale interdisciplinary research programs, coordinating interagency science initiatives, and mentoring students and early-career researchers. Committed to advancing environmental science through teaching, international collaboration, and applied research to address climate challenges.
Denis Rugege, Ph.D
Environmental Expert
Dr Rugege is a lead expert in advisory and support for translating national policy into implementation strategies, plans and programmes. As Chairman and Managing Director of Green Economy Advisory and Research (GEAR) Ltd, a Rwandan company carrying out an impact assessment of Lake Kivu methane gas extraction operations. He led the preparation of Rwanda’s first Adaptation Communication (AdCom) to the UNFCCC1 in advance of the proceedings of the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP 26), as well as Rwanda’s Preliminary Assessment of Loss and Damage Report in 2023. In 2022, he led the preparation of Rwanda’s revised Environment and Natural Resources Sector Strategic Plan (2018-2024). In 2018, he led the preparation of the Green Growth readiness assessment in Africa for the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and, in the same year, conducted the evaluation of Rwanda’s Green Growth and Climate Resilience Strategy, which led to its current revision. Earlier in 2017, Dr Rugege led a team of experts who assessed the interim results of a USD 7 million investment, funded by IFAD through CIAT, intended to support climate change adaptation and resilience-building among farmers’ cooperatives in Rwanda. He participated as a key expert in the preparation of the Rwanda 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th SOERs.
Current activities include technical support to World Bank teams in providing technical support in: the preparation of Environmental and Social risk management instruments required by the laws of Rwanda and by the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) for the implementation of the Rwanda Health Emergencies, Preparedness, Response and Resilience programme using the Multiphase Approach (HEPRR-MPA); the preparation of a capacity building program for Environmental and Social Risk Management in Rwanda; the preparation of legal instruments for the implementation of the Law on National Parks and Nature Reserves; preparation of investments investment plans for Rwanda Climate Investment Funds – Nature People and Climate (CIF-NPC) and GEF8; and well as providing technical advice on the sustainable implementation of other World Bank supported projects in Rwanda. He served as chair of the Environment sub-committee in the review of the Management Prescriptions (MPs) for the development of Lake Kivu Gas Resources, which concluded in 2023, and is currently participating in the Lake Kivu Methane Gas Extraction Impact Assessment study.
Previously, he served in senior academic and research positions for 15 years respectively at the Institute of Natural Resources and the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the National University of Lesotho, a Master of Science and a PhD degree awarded by the International Institute for Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation and Wageningen University, the Netherlands.
He is adept at directing teams of professional, technical, and administrative personnel from diverse cultural and academic backgrounds to deliver impactful environmental assessments and policy-relevant reports.
June Thormodsgard
Senior Program Manager
Ms. June M. Thormodsgard recently retired from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) after a 40-year career in science and technology. Her educational background includes a B.S. degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of South Dakota and an M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Wisconsin.
Before joining the USGS, Ms. Thormodsgard worked as a mathematician in the Space Science Division of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. where she conducted research on SKYLAB’s satellite radar altimeters and passive microwave instruments. SKYLAB was the world’s first space station. Following this early involvement in the exploration of Earth from space, she returned to South Dakota in 1979 to join the staff at the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. As Chief of the EROS Center Science and Applications Branch, she guided the science programs through a period of significant growth and change. Through her leadership, the range of science initiatives broadened and the size of the science staff doubled.
During her career, June has been involved in leadership and planning activities across the USGS. She served on the two most significant planning teams for the USGS in recent history. In 1992 the USGS Transition Team’s focus was to integrate the disciplines (geography, biology, geology, hydrology) to more comprehensively address earth science problems. As part of the USGS Science Strategic Team in 2007, she helped frame the vision for the current scientific mission areas of climate and land use change, hazards, water, environmental health, ecosystems, and energy and minerals. During the last 15 years of her career, June took extended assignments across the USGS as the Chief Scientist for Geology, the Chief Scientist for Geography, the Deputy Director for Climate and Land Use Change Mission Area, and as the Regional Executive for Alaska. June has received many awards including the highest honor of the Department of the Interior, the Distinguished Service Award, and completed the two-year Senior Executive Service training program.
June is coordinating research projects with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and other agencies.
Charles Sebukeera
Conservation expert
Over 35 years of work experience in various aspects of the environment at the national and regional levels of NEMA Uganda, as a science policy program officer at UNEP. National Environment Summaries, which he conceptualised in 2018 to strengthen UNEP’s engagement in UN Country programming by providing data to the Common Country Analysis; enhancing data visualisation in the assessment reports by the production of environmental atlases for evidence-based reporting in Africa, also adopted by several countries like Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, as well as international agencies like the Nile Basin Initiative, AfDB, Africa Regional Mountains Forum, and ECOWAS; and Policy Briefs of topical issues of debate to inform decision making, including UNEA Africa Group meeting and the forum for African Diplomatic Corps.
Elizabeth Gowa Kironde
Elizabeth has worked in several State of Environment and Outlook reports. Her work experience spans the areas of information management, environmental assessment (including post-conflict assessment), scenario development and writing, policy analysis, environment communication and teaching. She has worked with international organisations, communities, schools, NGOs, research institutes, and government officials at regional, national, and sub-national levels.
Ruseh Oghenekaro
Energy expert and SDGs
Ruseh is a Solution-focused professional with over 8 years of experience spanning programs and projects in energy and energy efficiency, stakeholder engagement, and development and management. Enthusiastic about sustainability
Management in the transition to net-zero economies and the role of energy as the key lever. She has worked in the private sector and published a paper, ‘Interactions between proposed energy mix scenarios and non-energy SDGs: a sub-Saharan African perspective’. She is a part of the EPI team. She has worked on numerous reports, including the Africa Environment Outlook for Business, the Natural Capital Atlas of Africa, the Mauritius State of the Environment and Outlook Report 2025, and the National Environmental Summaries.
Jayasurya Kalakkal
Social scientist and environmental policy
Seasoned international environment policy and project management expert with ~7 years of experience designing and implementing technical cooperation projects focused on multilateral climate, biodiversity and pollution targets through green economic policies. Proven ability to synthesise economic and environmental data, develop policy-relevant recommendations, and coordinate with governments, UN agencies, and private sector actors across Europe, ASEAN and Africa. Demonstrated expertise in biodiversity, circular economy, sustainable trade, and energy policy, with practical experience supporting projects for UNEP, UNDP, IEA, PAGE, and EU and UK-funded initiatives. Fluent in English and French.
Min Feng, Ph.D
Dr. Feng completed his Ph.D. degree of Cartography and Geographic Information System at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2008. He has been working at the Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF), University of Maryland, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, and Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). He is currently a Professor at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, CAS, and serves as Deputy Director of the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center (TPDC). His current research focuses on AI-driven geospatial analysis for Earth system science. His research involves extensive integration of data, models, and computing, based on understanding of the data and their uncertainties. Dr. Feng has been the PI or Co-PI of projects funded by the National Nature Science Foundation of China, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and the Global Environment Facility. Dr. Feng is leading or co-author of more than 100 papers published in journals of remote sensing, environmental sciences, and computer sciences. He is also the leading patentee of 3 patents in China. He was also certified as Advanced Programmer by the Ministry of Information Industry of China in 2002.
Mesfin Tilahun Gelaye, Ph.D
Dr. Mesfin is a Research Associate at the School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway, and a Guest Associate Professor at Arba Minch University, Department of Economics. He is an environmental and natural resources economist, an agricultural economist, and a behavioural economist with over 15 years of experience. He has produced many reports on the Sustainability and wealth of nations (natural, human, produced/physical, financial, and social capital) and the impacts of risk factors (market risk, policy/regulatory risk, natural hazards, climate risk, conflicts/war) on the livelihoods of people and the economy of a nation. Successful experience of writing research outputs and country profiles. Written and co-authored over 80 publications on natural resources and agricultural investment needs.
Eugene Apindi Ochieng
Remote Sensing, GIS and Data Visualization
Eugene is an experienced GIS specialist with over 15 years of expertise in geospatial analysis, remote sensing, and data visualization. Skilled in applying AI and GIS tools to support environmental, agricultural, humanitarian, and health initiatives. Adept at leading projects, analyzing spatial datasets, and building organizational capacity.
Prachi Joshi
Visual Communication Expert
Prachi is a communication, narrative and interpretation designer with over 13 years of experience working on a variety of projects across museums, exhibitions, websites, publications, and spaces of informal learning. Expertise lies in narrative building, experience and service design; communication strategy development; and visual communication including illustrations and visual thinking for physical and virtual spaces.
Svetlana V. Gaidashova, Ph.D
Dr. Svetlana Gaidashova has 27-year experience in agricultural research in Rwanda and East African region, she has published over 50 peer-reviewed papers on various aspects of agricultural sustainability / work on banana cropping systems productivity under pest pressure, impact of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, plant parasitic nematodes, management practices and topography) , agro-biodiversity conservation: collection and establishment of banana germplasm collection at ISAR-Rubona Research station in 1999, field genebank (116 varieties), variety characterization work (morphological and agronomic), farm surveys (in 2000 and 2001) with characterization of varietal diversity and abundance at farm; descriptions of new free-living nematode species from Nyungwe forest (2003); and animal science : work on heavy metals in fish (2025); livestock feed intake, assessment of greenhouse gases emission factors for livestock sub-sector (6 livestock species) in Rwanda (2026); consultancy report on Assessment of Methane emission sources from Livestock and Agriculture in Rwanda with IFAD, 2025).
Dr Gaidashova has contributed to the development of various national policy documents for Rwanda: Strategic Plan for Agricultural Transformation – PSTA 3 , PSTA 4 and PSTA 5; Rwanda Vision 2050, Rwanda Nationally Determined Contribution 2.0 and 3.0, Agriculture sector characterisation and greenhouse gas inventory for Rwanda Third National Communication (2017), Rwanda Biennial Update report (2021) and Rwanda Biennial Transparency report (2024).
Rohan Shanbhag
System Analyst (Volunteer)
Rohan has an academic background in international politics (BS) and communications, culture and technology (MA) from Georgetown University. He also completed a degree in management and systems from New York University (MS) in 2016. His previous work experience includes over two years of web design and web development for UNEP, and is currently working in the private sector within the field of cyber security.