Catherine Foster is the Research Program Coordinator at Project Drawdown and supports the Fellowship program and Research Coalition. She is passionate about collaborative initiatives and has a background in community engagement and environmental stewardship. Prior to Project Drawdown, Catherine worked as a Community Engagement Manager at Our City Forest, supporting the City of San Jose’s Green Vision Goals and the County of Santa Clara’s Climate Action Plan.

While completing her graduate degree, she interned with Seattle Public Utilities’ Environmental Partnerships Team as a Volunteer Coordinator for the Adopt A Street program. Catherine is also an AmeriCorps alumna and previously completed two terms of service in California and Washington.

Catherine holds an M.P.A from the University of Washington with a specialization in Environmental Policy and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.  

Chad is the lead researcher and principal architect of the methodology and models behind Project Drawdown. In collaboration with leading environmentalist Paul Hawken and a global team of researchers and thought leaders, Chad designed sophisticated models to assess the world’s most effective climate solutions and determine if, when, and how the world can reach “drawdown,” the point in time when the concentration of atmospheric greenhouse gases begins to decline on a year-to-year basis. As head of research since Project Drawdown’s inception, Chad is a key spokesperson and coalition-builder dedicated to sharing the message and model of Drawdown with the world.

With a multidisciplinary background in public policy, human rights, sustainable development, and environmental conservation, Chad provides a systems-based approach to research and strategic leadership. Previously, Chad was the Senior Program Officer at The Europaeum, an association of leading European universities; taught at the University of Oxford and the University of California at Berkeley; and worked as a consultant and researcher for numerous organizations, from small grassroots non-profits to UN agencies such as UNESCO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Chad’s talks have been featured at the University of Oxford, Harvard, COP23 in Bonn, World Business Council on Sustainable Development, 1% for the Planet Global Summit, Engineering for Change, ISEN Climate Change Symposium, University of California at Berkeley, the University of Washington, and the Carbon Leadership Forum, among others.

Chad holds a master's degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley, a master's degree in Art History from the University of Oxford, and a bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University.