People

Who We Are

Our team is made up of experts hand-picked from top organizations and educational institutions around the world. Most have advanced or doctoral degrees and years of applied experience, making them uniquely skilled at taking on complex challenges.

We also have deep, long-standing relationships with researchers in a variety of fields. Where others seek out third-party studies and present insights based on second-hand knowledge, we go straight to the source.

Dr. Beth Karlin founded See Change in 2015 to take the world’s leading academic research “to the streets” and help good people do good better. Before receiving her Ph.D. in Social Ecology, Beth spent nearly a decade working in K-12 education, holding positions as a teacher, counselor, and school administrator. She has published her work in venues ranging from Psychological Bulletin to Peace Studies (as well as some others that don’t start with the letter “p”) and is a sought after speaker and trainer on Storytelling, Smart Homes, and the Social Science of Sustainability. Beth has a complete inability to remember people’s names at conference but somehow still knows the lyrics to most 90s hip hop songs.

Jim Mead has worked in technology for 23 years in areas including the Internet, telecommunications, interactive television and data storage. Throughout his career, Jim has focused on bridging the gap between the technology and the strategy of using it to achieve business results by maintaining strong technical and management skills. After growing a software development team and enterprise software product through a startup to acquisition by IBM Global Services, Jim developed a model for consulting that focuses on the business results. At See Change Institute, Jim works to lead technical aspects of projects and create a strategy for the growth and efficiency of the organization. Personally he enjoys creative writing, snowboarding, camping, swimming and pretty much anything outdoors.

Aviva Mohilner is a self-described “brand girl.” For more than a decade, she has worked with agencies and independently to use business as a force for good. With a background that entwines marketing and brand strategy, innovation, public relations, social media, and workshop facilitation in all of the above, Aviva is a bit of a Swiss army knife. Her clients have come in all shapes and sizes, from Fortune 500s to startups one step beyond a twinkle in a founder’s eye. Outside (and inside) of work, Aviva likes to spend her energy connecting with people, collecting experiences, and getting her passport stamped. She counts being bitten by an anaconda in the Amazon as a highlight of her adventures.

Dr. Lisa Zaval holds a Ph.D in Judgment & Decision-Making Psychology from Columbia University and completed her post-doctoral training jointly at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions and the Center for Decision Sciences at Columbia Business School. Her research has been cited over 400 times, published in leading academic journals, and summarized in a variety of venues, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. In addition to her academic experience, Lisa leverages the knowledge gained from years of applied behavioral science research and consulting to help guide decision-making across a range of business sectors and industries (e.g., energy efficiency, health care, insurance, and marketing).

Dr. Sea Rotmann was the Principal Scientist at New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) before starting her own consultancy called SEA – Sustainable Energy Advice Ltd, in 2011. She is the Operating Agent on Task 24 of the International Energy Agency’s Demand-Side Management (IEADSM) Programme on ‘Behavior Change in DSM’. In this Task, she worked on field pilots across the world in sectors as varied as hospital sustainability in North America; solar PV in New Zealand; green leases in Sweden; and library loan kits in Ireland. The newest Phase of the Task will focus on hard-to-reach energy users in the residential and commercial sectors. Dr. Sea is actually a coral reef ecologist by background and has a deep and abiding obsession with all things tentacled – particularly, ‘the Kraken’ – which covers 90% of everything she owns.

Dr. Phil Ehret received his Ph.D. in Social Psychology with an emphasis in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences from UC Santa Barbara. At the core of his research and consulting approach is his desire to leverage behavioral science theory to create meaningful and lasting change to address society’s most pressing issues. Dr. Ehret’s specialty is in the design and evaluation of behavior change interventions, and he has worked on interventions in a variety of domains, including sustainability, health, and education. His research has been published in numerous journals and has been cited in media outlets such as the New York Times. To recharge, he loves to get out to the Sierras and backpack, where he is regarded amongst his backpacking friends as a gourmet, backcountry chef.

Matt Chester is a subject matter expert in the energy industry, particularly as it relates to energy policy, efficiency technologies and initiatives, and the clean energy transition. Matt studied mechanical engineering at the University of Virginia, where he decided that helping the energy field make the necessary changes to prevent climate change was the best use of his technical background. He also runs a blog and consultancy on all of these issues, Chester Energy and Policy, where he frequently seeks to take technologically and politically complex energy issues and break them down so they’re understandable by technical and non-technical audiences alike. When not putting his data analysis powers to use fighting for clean energy, Matt tries to use data analysis in the world of fantasy sports– but let’s just hope he’ll be more successful in aiding the energy transition than he is in bringing home fantasy football trophies.

Ari Rosenblum received his BA from Oberlin College with majors in psychology and politics. He is primarily interested in how we can use psychology to expand our knowledge about social/environmental issues and make the world a better place. In his time at Oberlin, he was involved with several research projects, including research on community based social marketing, connectedness to nature, and stereotypes/prejudice. At See Change, Ari supports the research team across the board, assisting with literature reviews, research design, survey construction, and report writing, among other things. When he’s not working, you’re likely to find Ari out exploring his surroundings with his camera in hand and hiking/ski boots on his feet!

Dr. Daniel Chapman received his PhD in the Psychology of Peace and Violence from UMass Amherst. Dan’s areas of research expertise include environmental social science, science communication, and quantitative research methods. His work has been published in an array of academic journals such as Nature Climate Change and Global Environmental Change, and has been featured in press outlets such as Scientific American, the Guardian, Vox, Vice News, Bloomberg, and others. Dan is currently finishing a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania and the Yale Law School. When not steeped in research, Dan thoroughly enjoys traveling, hiking and backpacking, biking, and music production.

Dr. Rebecca Ford is a Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland. Her work focuses on transitioning toward a sustainable energy future, exploring how people interact with energy systems, and how social science and technological insights can be co-developed to better inform policy, business, and technology. In addition to her role at See Change, Dr. Ford is the research director of the UK’s EnergyREV research consortium, which brings together 22 Universities to explore whole systems challenges and opportunities around the country’s transition toward smart local energy systems.

Dr. Cindy Frantz is the Norman D Henderson Professor of Psychology at Oberlin College. She received her PhD from University of Massachusetts Amherst in social psychology, and has spent her career studying humans’ relationship with the natural world with an emphasis on promoting sustainable behavior. Dr. Frantz has expertise in the use of feedback technology to encourage conservation behavior and promote systems thinking. Dr. Frantz also directs the Community Based Social Marketing Research Lab, a collaborative research program between faculty, students and staff to develop, test and promote behavior change programs that reduce carbon emissions on campus.

Dr. Angela Sanguinetti is an ecological behaviorist. She studies relationships between people and their environments, including benefits of spending time in nature and how we understand our interdependence with natural resources. Dr. Sanguinetti is a researcher at UC Davis, where she directs the Consumer Energy Interfaces Lab and brings her behavioral expertise to projects for the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle Research Center, Center for Water and Energy Efficiency, and Western Cooling Efficiency Center. Dr. Sanguinetti is also the Director of the Cohousing Research Network, which seeks to strengthen the rigor and impact of research establishing the personal, societal, and environmental benefits of living in collaborative neighborhoods.

Amanda Reinhart graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with an emphasis in Applied Ecology from the California State University, Chico. On her campus, she was the Student Sustainability Coordinator and managed a student sustainability project grant, while also being a part of numerous environmental committees. She has three years of experience in environmental campaigns and is passionate about influencing others to get involved. She also had the opportunity to speak at the This Way to Sustainability Conference- the largest student run sustainability conference in the nation. After graduating, she came a LEED Accredited Professional for Neighborhood Development and joined See Change as a Project Coordinator. In her free time, you can find her reading in a self-made reading nook out in nature.

People

Who We Are

Beth Karlin

Jim Mead

Aviva Mohilner

Lisa Zaval

Sea Rotmann

Phil Ehret

Matt Chester

Ari Rosenblum

Dan Chapman

Rebecca Ford

Cindy Frantz

Angela Sanguinetti

Amanda Reinhart

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