Erika Svendsen

Dr. Erika Svendsen serves as Program Director for the Yale Urban Climate Leadership Certificate Program, bringing over two decades of experience connecting environmental science with community action. Erika is a Research Social Scientist with 20+ years of service with the US Forest Service and was the team lead for the agency’s ground-breaking NYC Urban Field Station.  Erika’s science-practice work has centered on the importance of local environmental stewardship, community well-being and urban forestry.  She is a recipient of the Forest Service Chief’s Award for the application of her science in engaging communities and improving connectivity to the environment and has received the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America award for collaborative, multi-city work on improving urban waterways.  Prior to her work with the Forest Service, Erika served as the Director of NYC Parks’ GreenThumb program and as the leadership and environment fellowship coordinator for The Rockefeller Foundation. Erika has an MES from YSE and a PhD in Urban Planning from Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Preservation and Planning.  

In addition to her work with the Urban Climate Leadership Certificate Program, Erika advises several related initiatives, including the Urban Design Forum's Civic Stewardship Census, City Parks Foundation's NYC Green Fund, NaturePLACE, and the Science & Resilience Center at Jamaica Bay.