Staff Bios

David Pennise, Ph.D. (Technical Director):

David has conducted air pollution research, monitoring studies, and training workshops related to household energy in developing countries over the past 14 years. He has led successful efforts in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, China, Thailand, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. His publications have focused on IAP monitoring and study design, measurement of greenhouse gas emissions from charcoal making, emission source sampling methods, and experimental atmospheric chemistry. His current research interests include indoor air pollution monitoring methods and the relationships between household energy, human health, climate, and development.

A lifelong interest in protecting the global environment and creating a sustainable, healthy world led David to complete a Ph.D. in Environmental Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. He also holds an M.S. in Environmental Sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a B.S. in Chemistry from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Dana Charron, M.B.A. (Managing Director):

Dana brings a passion for tackling environmental problems at home and as far away as Antarctica.  She has managed projects and founded new initiatives in both the private and non-profit sectors, including the Household Energy and Health program at the Center for Entrepreneurship in International Health and Development (CEIHD) and the Woodwise Consumer Initiative at Co-op America.  Through more than 15 years of experience, she has developed expertise in household energy, forest products, environmental analysis, and entrepreneurial and sustainable business practices. Dana has particular interests in 1) using scientific approaches to catalyze social change; 2) building entrepreneurial organizations; and 3) aligning sustainability with the profit motive to achieve success.  
 
Her skills include strategic planning, market research, writing and editing, group facilitation, stakeholder engagement, budgeting, and employee and contractor management. She has cross-cultural business experience in East Africa, China, Australia/New Zealand and Europe, and is fluent in French and German. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of California at Berkeley and a B.A. from Wellesley College.

Simone Brant, M.S., M.P.P. (Program Manager):

Simone Brant began her work on integrated air quality and climate change assessment while working at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency where she managed co-benefits and technology transfer projects in developing countries. She holds an M.S. degree from the School of Natural Resources and Environment and an M.P.P. degree from the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan as well as a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Science from Swarthmore College. Simone is conversant in Spanish, French and Portuguese.

Michael Johnson, Ph.D (Program Manager):

Michael has worked extensively on field-based methodologies to quantify greenhouse gas reductions achieved by improved stove projects, with an emphasis on monitoring instrumentation and study design. He has conducted stove emissions monitoring in Mexico, El Salvador, Kenya, and India, and worked on several air pollution studies, including exposure assessments of biomass stove users, wildland firefighters, and public transport commuters. His peer review publications include four on greenhouse gas emissions and stove performance testing, and several others on indoor air pollution, exposure assessment, and characterization of monitoring instruments. Michael has a Ph.D. in Environmental Health, Science, and Policy from the University of California, Irvine, an M.S. in Science Education from Oregon State University and a B.A. in Physics from Colorado College. 

Todd Wofchuck, M.P.A. (Field Supervisor):

Todd spent the year prior to joining Berkeley Air in Ethiopia, where he worked on an indoor air pollution monitoring project in collaboration with UC Berkeley. He has worked with environmental NGOs in Hungary, while volunteering as an Environmental Advisor in the U.S. Peace Corps. Todd has a Master of Public Administration in International Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He also holds a B.A. in Geography from California State University at Chico, and enjoys being in the high mountains.

Nick Lam, M.S. (Technical Associate):

Nick began his work with air pollution and monitoring as an undergraduate at the University of California, Irvine monitoring indoor air pollution from biomass cookstoves within rural homes in central Mexico. Under the expert tutelage of Dr. Rufus Edwards, Nick paraded around villages, monitors in hand, and after three months and several bouts of food poisoning later, was hooked. Since that time he has worked on a variety of other air pollution related studies. Most recent projects have included the development of field respirators and warning monitors for wildland firefighters and an investigation of oxidant driven lead paint degradation as a source of lead exposure in children. Nick is currently a PhD student in the Environmental Health Sciences Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He holds an M.S. in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. in Biology from the University of California, Irvine.

Seth B. Shonkoff, M.P.H. (Program Associate):

Seth is interested in the environmental health and equity implications of climate change mitigation strategies. His research looks at these issues within local and international contexts.  An increasing focus of his research deals with the intersections between climate forcing and population health outcomes associated with the shorter-lived greenhouse pollutants (i.e., black carbon, ozone, sulfates) with a special emphasis on the aerosols. Prior to his graduate work and joining Berkeley Air, Seth worked as an environmental analyst at the San Francisco Estuary Institute in Oakland, CA investigating fate, source, and transport of persistent organic pollutants, heavy metals, and other contaminants in watersheds. Seth holds an MPH in epidemiology from UC Berkeley and is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at UC Berkeley.