Lisa Pascopella, PhD, MPH, recently retired from a 27-year career at the California Department of Public Health and University of California, San Francisco. Trained in molecular and cell biology, and epidemiology, her life’s work focused on tuberculosis prevention and building healthy communities informed by data. She received her doctoral degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and her masters in public health degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She led and managed epidemiologic research, including long-term studies with local, state and federal partners, created and implemented trainings for public health staff, mentored epidemiologists and students through research design, implementation, interpretation and publication. During the emergency response phase of the COVID pandemic, she provided strategic direction for complex data extraction, analyses, visualization and report generation to provide state and local public health departments with data to monitor efforts to limit transmission. Dr. Pascopella is inspired by the Bolivian people and the concept of Buen Vivir as underlying context for healthier communities and the planet.
Christian Stalberg, MSc is currently a PhD candidate in the Anthropology & Social Change program at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, California. His dissertation topic is environmental goverance in Bolivia. Stalberg’s professional background includes public policy, emergency management, telecomputing, energy efficient buildings, renewable energy, university teaching, cooperatives, and ecovillages. He has a BA in Environmental Studies and Planning from California State University at Sonoma with an emphasis in Energy Management and Design, and an MS in Biomimicry from Arizona State University. Christian has taught courses in energy modeling, renewable energy generation, ecovillages and disaster mitigation for utility companies, architect and engineering associations, colleges, and universities. Most recently he produced a series of reports for the United National Development Program (UNDP) in Bolivia analyzing previous work carried out by UNDP Bolivia for the themes of “Living Well” and “Urbanization” against the backdrop of accelerating climate chaos impacts.
Diego Vigabriel, MSc, is an environmental engineer and lecturer at Simón I. Patiño University in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He holds a master’s degree in Sustainable Development from Technological University Dublin, Ireland, and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering from the Bolivian Catholic University. Vigabriel’s work focuses on environmental education, community resilience, and sustainability planning. He has led initiatives with rural communities in the Cochabamba region to strengthen climate resilience, restore degraded ecosystems, and improve living conditions in areas affected by poverty. These projects, conducted with Bolivian NGOs and international organizations, introduced agroforestry systems, fostered native species, and built partnerships linking local communities, authorities, and global actors to promote sustainable livelihoods. At Simón I. Patiño University, he teaches and represents the institution in collaborations with international organizations, academic events, and workshops on topics such as climate risk management and natural resource governance, aiming to connect research and practice to inform sustainable development in Bolivia.
More soon!