Gina LaCerva

I was born and raised in lovely Santa Fe and have been involved in some way or another with the Santa Fe Institute since high school. This early exposure to systems science (and the awesome lifestyle of an academic) has been a major influence in my inter-disciplinary and slightly schizophrenic career path. I was an Earth Science and Society Major at Vassar College for my undergrad degree and wrote my thesis on the "co-evolution of mangrove ecosystems to the periodic disturbance of tsunamis in Indonesia". This sparked my interest in the interplay between natural hazards, ecosystem services, and the vary risk profiles of different socio-economic groups. Post-college, I decided to sail across the Pacific Ocean, and then moved home to work for a while as the Director of Sustainable Technology for a large commercial real estate company where I hung out with men in suits and prentended to know what I was doing.

This fall I will be trading New Mexican chile, sunsets, and mountains for British beer, rain, and books. I will be attending Cambridge University for an MPhil in Society, Environment, and Development where I will conduct research into the disruption of ecosystem services during periods of extreme coastal hazards. Through a comparative study of two regions experiencing the same type and level of hazard intensity but with different economic resources, I hope to 1)understand the role ecosystems play in the vulnerability of communities to a physical risk and 2)look at the nature of the social hazard, namely how economic development affects risk profiles. Broad research questions include: What are the basic underlying dynamics of coupled human-ecological systems in the context of coastal hazards (cyclones, groundwater salinization, etc.)? How does variability in economic development, the opportunity costs of ecosystem preservation, and socio-political situations affect reliance on ecosystem services and the ability to prepare for natural or human-induced hazards? Can the standard approach to vulnerability assessment in OCED countries be extrapolated to developing countries?

I am happy to show folks around town, give advice on where to eat and play, or just generally expose you to the fun and adventurous lifestyle of a local Santa Fean with 16 marginal odd jobs. Feel free to give me a call or email me. 505-670-7325 and gilacerva@gmail.com