Scott-Buechler Lab Members

Abena Appiah-Ofori is a graduate of the Master of Public Policy program at Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy, concentrating in energy and environmental policy. A proud global citizen with roots in Ghana, she spent most of her formative years in Virginia, where she earned her undergraduate degree in Global Development and Religious Studies from the University of Virginia. Before beginning graduate school, Abena completed a gap year on a State Department fellowship in Germany, an experience that deepened her appreciation for cities and communities that invest in sustainable infrastructure, making environmentally friendly choices more accessible for everyone. This past year, she has focused her research and engagement on climate resilience and financial well-being in the Appalachian region. Through the lab, she hopes to weave together her interests in policy, storytelling, and grassroots advocacy to better support vulnerable communities. When she's not working, you can find her on the yoga mat, wandering through a sunny garden, or catching up on the latest binge-worthy show.

Ava Betanco-Born is a junior at Duke University from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She is majoring in Public Policy and Environmental Sciences & Policy and hopes to better understand how environmental laws and policies can be more effective to better serve both people and the planet. She has interests in international environmental agreements and natural disaster response policy. Her work in the Scott-Buechler lab seeks to understand how Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) is framed in national policy documents, and how this implicates addressing residual emissions, CDR governance, and international commitments. At Duke, she is involved in the Climate Coalition and Undergraduate Law Review. Outside of academics and professional work, Ava enjoys staying active, spending time outdoors, and collecting vinyl records.

Beck Woollen is a PhD student in the University Program in Environmental Policy at Duke. Before joining the Scott-Buechler Lab, Beck worked as a Postgraduate Associate at the Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture and as a Research Associate at the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative. His past work has focused on geospatial potentials for enhanced rock weathering, governing CDR interventions in open systems, intersections between coastal resilience and marine carbon dioxide removal (CDR), and novel policy support mechanisms for emerging CDR technologies. Across this work, he aims to ensure CDR interventions will be beneficial to local communities, in addition to the general benefit of removing carbon from the atmosphere. At Duke, he aims to continue investigating how CDR technologies can achieve climate-relevant scale, without compromising decarbonization efforts or just approaches to governance. Outside of work, Beck enjoys playing soccer, hiking, cross-country skiing, and birding.

Fridah N. Nyakundi is a Postdoctoral Associate in the SCALES program. Her research examines the intersection of large-scale deployment of enhanced rock weathering (ERW) and ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) and food systems (terrestrial and aquatic) in the Global South. She holds a Ph.D. in Environment and Resources from Stanford University's Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER), where her dissertation studied the long-term viability of Nile tilapia aquaculture in Lake Victoria, Kenya, examining farmer risk behavior, the spatial governance of cage expansion, and feed economics. Beyond her SCALES project, her research spans natural resource management economics, blue food systems, and the political economy of climate interventions across Global South. You can read more about her work on her website.

Irene is a graduate of the Master of International Development Policy program at Duke University as a Fulbright Foreign Student, with a strong interest in Latin American development, environmental justice, and community-centered approaches to social change. She believes that lasting reductions in inequality require affected communities to become protagonists of transformation rather than passive recipients of externally designed solutions.

She brings over ten years of professional experience in anti-corruption initiatives, community engagement, and education governance in Paraguay, working at the intersection of transparency, civic participation, and public policy. Outside of her professional work, Irene enjoys spending time outdoors, playing with dogs and cats, reading poetry, and practicing creative writing as a form of reflection and free fun therapy.

Lily Mefford is a junior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is pursuing degrees in Public Policy and Geography & Environment. Her work in the Scott-Buechler lab is framed by gaining a deeper understanding of sustainability challenges and the policy frameworks needed to address them. She studies the ways in which global organizational narratives shape the trajectory of Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) governance, and under what conditions discourse translates to policy action or inaction. Her global interests are complemented by an Appalachian upbringing which have shaped the way in which she thinks about just transitions at home and abroad. Her goal is to forge a career in environmental governance rooted in public service, where she can use her passion for science-based solutions, along with community engagement and advocacy, to drive just transitions. Outside of academic work, you can find her (trying to become better at) water coloring, frequenting local gardens, planning her next trip, spending time with friends and family, or being humbled at UNC Club Triathlon practices.

Lola Castorina is a fourth-year undergraduate at Duke University. She is pursuing a major in Public Policy and a minor in Environmental Science, with a focus on energy and environmental issues. For her Honors Thesis, she is examining the policy frameworks shaping data center development in Prince William, Virginia and Memphis, Tennessee. Her thesis research complements her professional work in place-based data center proposal evaluation. At Duke, Lola is involved in the Undergraduate Energy and Climate Club, Undergraduate Law Review, and Puppy Kindergarten. Outside of academics, she enjoys spending time outdoors (especially river rafting, hiking, cliff diving, and snorkeling) and working with animals.

Stephanie Yang is a Master of Public Policy Candidate ('27) at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, with a concentration in Environment & Energy Policy. Her interests include renewable energy policy, just transitions, and environmental justice. Stephanie's research at the Scott-Buechler Lab is focused on the policy implications of clean infrastructure and just transition projects in fossil fuel-dependent regions and alternative ownership models within these communities. Prior to Duke, Stephanie was Chief of Staff at Public Rights Project, a non-partisan non-profit helping local government officials advance civil rights, where she managed strategic planning, interdepartmental collaboration, organizational systems and processes, and special projects. Previously, she was a management consultant at A.T. Kearney. In her free time, Stephanie enjoys painting, photography, working on her Cantonese, and advocating for a clean and just future.

Taylor DeRouen is a second-year MS Environmental Health Sciences student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. She is interested in just energy transition and sustainable climate solutions, but aims continue her studies to better understand the process of achieving a cleaner future from both a science and policy perspective. Taylor is currently serving on the UCLA Sustainability Board as the Graduate Student Association Representative, and is a current Leaders in Sustainability Certificate Candidate. She currently holds a BS in Biology, with a Minor in Applied Mathematics, from Loyola Marymount University.

Vanessa is a senior at Duke University studying Public Policy and Political Science (Political Economy), with a minor in Environmental Sciences and Policy. She has followed the UNFCCC negotiations for three years, focusing mostly on Loss and Damage and Adaptation, and has engaged in advocacy both in and outside the negotiation rooms. She has worked extensively with civil society within the UNFCCC process, becoming a civil society lead for children and youth NGOs in 2025. As Global Focal Point to the Official Children and Youth Constituency to the UNFCCC in 2025, Vanessa became well versed in the relationship between civil society, especially children and youth NGOs, and the UN secretariat and the COP29, COP30, and COP31 presidencies. In the lab, Vanessa is focusing on the mapping of civil society actors in Brazil around the CDR environment. Vanessa is interested in the intersection of climate and international development, especially focusing on underprivileged communities like her own in rural Minas Gerais, Brazil.