Our Team
 Pankaj Bhatia |
Pankaj Bhatia is the director of the GHG Protocol Initiative project within WRI’s Climate and Energy Program (CEP). He is a leading expert on GHG Protocol Standards and tools particularly in the area of corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting and reporting. Mr. Bhatia’s work responsibilities include: overseeing the development of GHG Protocol product life cycle and supply chain inventory accounting standards; establishing GHG Protocol partnerships and programs in collaboration with businesses and governments in key developing countries; and providing advisory services in the design of emissions registries in the U.S. and internationally. From 1998 to 2000, he was vice president of Tata Energy & Resources Institute, a not-for-profit research organization based in Arlington, Virginia and affiliated to The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, India. From 1993 to 1998 he served TERI, New Delhi on various projects related to implementation of the Montreal Protocol in India and development of environment policy for technology transfer and capacity building in Indian industry. He holds Masters in process engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from the Institute of Technology, Banares Hindu University, Varanasi, India. | |
 Andrea Brown |
Andrea Brown joined the Energy and Climate Team of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in June 2008, where she works on the GHG Protocol and Adaptation work streams. Prior to joining the WBCSD, she managed intergovernmental relations and trade policy issues for the Department of Energy in the Government of Alberta, Canada. She holds a Masters of Asia Pacific Policy Studies focused on security issues, from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from the University of Alberta. She has previous experience working for the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT), as well as in international NGOs in Thailand and Vietnam. | |
 Cynthia Cummis |
Cynthia Cummis is a Senior Associate with the GHG Protocol team at WRI and currently manages the development of the GHG Protocol Scope 3 and Product Standards. She brings more than 10 years of experience in GHG accounting. Cynthia comes from Clear Carbon Consulting where she was Director of Carbon Management, managing carbon quantification and GHG management projects for multiple Fortune 500 clients. Cynthia was the founding Director of U.S. EPA’s Climate Leaders program, where for more than 5 years she led the design and implementation of the program and oversaw its’ growth to more than 90 corporate partners. In this position, she managed the development of the Climate Leaders inventory protocols and advised dozens of companies on completion of a corporate GHG inventory. While at EPA, Ms. Cummis was closely involved in the development of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard as a representative on the Editorial Committee for the first version and a member of the Revision Working Group for the revised edition. She is currently also a faculty member of the Greenhouse Gas Management Institute instructing a course on the basics of GHG accounting. | |
 Laura Draucker |
Laura Draucker joins the GHG Protocol team as a Life Cycle Assessment Associate working on the Product and Supply Chain Initiative. Prior to joining WRI, Laura performed life cycle inventory and cost assessments for the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) on electricity generation and liquid fuel production technologies. With NETL, Laura drafted a guideline document for performing consistent energy-based life cycle assessments and was involved in developing a framework document for consistent GHG accounting of alternative aviation fuels. Laura also completed a post doc with the EPA Office of Research and Development, where she performed MARKAL energy systems scenario modeling of the impacts of carbon legislation, efficiency measures, and technological advances on regional U.S. energy use and emissions. She has experience calculating the life cycle energy use and emissions associated with utility, industrial, and bio-energy processes. Laura holds Doctoral and Bachelors degrees in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and Villanova University, respectively. | |
 Wee Kean Fong |
Wee Kean Fong is an Associate with the GHG Protocol team and works out of the WRI China Office. He leads WRI China’s works in city-level GHG program and low carbon city planning. Fong has a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Technology Malaysia, and a Master of Engineering and Doctor of Engineering from the Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan. He has extensive experience in urban and regional planning, environmental management, and research on the estimation and projection of city-level energy consumptions and GHG emissions with particular focus on low-carbon city planning. Before joining WRI, Fong was affiliated with a Tokyo-based international consulting firm, where he involved in a number of Japanese ODA projects and gained international project experience in several Asian countries. Prior to that, he worked for an environmental consultant firm in Malaysia, where he built his strong technical background in environmental management and urban and regional planning. | |
 Taryn Fransen |
Taryn Fransen is a Senior Associate with the GHG Protocol Initiative at the World Resources Institute, where she oversees the design and implementation of GHG management programs in developing countries. She has led the design and implementation of national programs to measure and manage corporate GHG emissions in Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines, and contributed to similar programs in China and India. Ms. Fransen’s expertise includes corporate- and project-level GHG accounting and reporting, GHG program design, corporate climate change strategy, and international climate change policy. She has also authored curriculum on corporate GHG accounting for the GHG Management Institute. Prior to joining WRI, Ms. Fransen was Associate Program Officer at the United Nations Foundation, where she co-managed a portfolio of projects to engage institutional investors on climate change issues and attract financing for sustainable energy development. She has also served as a consultant on markets for ecosystem services for the World Wildlife Fund, and as Business Solutions Fellow at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. Ms. Fransen holds an M.S. and B.S. in Earth Systems from Stanford University. She has worked internationally throughout Asia and Latin America and speaks Spanish and Portuguese. | |
 Holly Lahd |
Holly Lahd is a Research Assistant on WRI’s GHG Protocol team and supports the Product and Supply Chain Initiative. Prior to joining WRI, Holly worked for the Metropolitan Council of Minnesota where she led the Council’s GHG emissions reporting efforts to the Climate Registry. She has also worked as a research assistant with the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment. Holly has a Bachelor of Science degree in Corporate Environmental Management and Applied Economics from the University of Minnesota. | |
 Laura Pocknell |
Laura Pocknell is the Communications Coordinator for WRI’s GHG Protocol team. Laura manages the development of the GHG Protocol’s communications strategy, including the GHG Protocol website and quarterly newsletter as well as media outreach. She also serves as project coordinator for the GHG Protocol, managing the project budget, reports and facilitating day-to-day operation. Prior to coming to WRI, Laura worked in Marketing and Brand Management for Avis Rent-a-Car in London. She holds a B.S. in International Management from the University of Manchester and spent a year at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. | |
 David Rich |
David Rich is an Associate with the GHG Protocol Initiative at the World Resources Institute. He focuses on the development of greenhouse gas accounting and reporting standards and emissions registries. Previously, David worked with the Climate Registry to develop a common GHG reporting protocol for use by companies across North America. He is currently developing new GHG Protocol standards for product life cycle and supply chain (scope 3) emissions accounting through a global multi-stakeholder process. He also focuses on mandatory GHG reporting to support regulatory policies, such as cap-and-trade. David holds a Masters degree in Energy and Environmental Analysis from Boston University and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley. | |
 Kaleigh Robinson |
Kaleigh Robinson is a Research Assistant for the GHG Protocol Brazil Program at WRI, where she works with some of Brazil’s best known companies to quantify and report their emissions. Kaleigh coordinates closely with WRI partners to develop curriculum on GHG accounting and reporting; research Brazilian climate policy; and manage the Brazil Program’s day-to-day operations. Prior to joining WRI, Kaleigh worked on local, regional and federal climate policy issues at the Climate Trust and provided research and analysis for the Offset Quality Initiative. She holds a Master’s degree in International Development with a focus on carbon markets and environment and development from Tulane University. Through a research fellowship, Kaleigh also studied small business loans in Northeastern Brazil. She is fluent in Portuguese and has previous work experience in microfinance and international education. | |
 Stephen Russell |
Stephen Russell is an Associate in WRI’s Greenhouse Gas Protocol team. Dr. Russell manages the development of GHG accounting and measurement tools for GHG-intensive sectors, including the power, cement, and iron and steel sectors. Stephen also provides technical support to WRI’s GHG program in China, engaging companies and key partners in creating GHG standards specific to Chinese industries. Additionally, Stephen’s expertise includes statistical modeling and software programming. Prior to joining WRI, Stephen conducted environmental research as a Post-doctoral Fellow with the Max-Planck Research Society in Germany. He holds a Ph.D. and B.S. in Environmental Biology from the Universities of St. Andrews and York (U.K.), respectively. | |
 Neelam Singh |
Neelam Singh is an Associate on WRI’s GHG Protocol team who supports the project’s developing countries program, focusing on China and India. Neelam designs and delivers training courses on corporate and project accounting for WRI’s programs in China and India, for companies from various sectors, including the emissions-intensive Chinese cement sector. She is also researching various design options for a sectoral crediting mechanism. Prior to joining WRI, Neelam worked as an environmental scientist with Potomac-Hudson Engineering (PHE), a private environmental and information technology consulting firm. Neelam also spent over four years as a research associate with the New Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment’s (CSE) climate change campaign and has worked as a short-term consultant with the World Bank. Neelam has an undergraduate degree in Physics from Delhi University and a Master’s degree in International Development Studies with a specialization in Environment Studies from Ohio University. | |
 Ranping Song |
Ranping Song, who also goes by RP, joins WRI’s GHG Protocol team as an Associate and project manager of the GHG Protocol work in China. RP will be working out of the WRI office in Beijing. Prior to joining WRI, RP worked as China Campaign Manager for The Climate Group in Beijing. There he worked to engage companies and government agencies to promote climate friendly products in order to reduce carbon footprint. Before working with The Climate Group, RP worked for the United Nations Development Group in New York, and for an environmental NGO in Guangzhou, China. RP has a Masters in Public Administration from New York University and a Bachelors degree in Law from Lanzhou University. | |
 Mary Sotos |
Mary Sotos is a Research Assistant on WRI’s GHG Protocol team and supports the project’s calculation tools development. Mary graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota in 2007 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies. She then spent a year in Brussels, Belgium conducting research through a Fulbright Fellowship, which analyzed regional energy demand projections and the anticipated impact of energy efficiency policies related to buildings. She also pursued graduate coursework in Science and Environmental Management at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles. | |
 Shu Yang |
Shu Yang joins WRI’s GHG Protocol team as a Research Assistant for the GHG Protocol work in China. She works out of the WRI office in Beijing. Shu holds a Masters degree in Global Policy Studies from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. She obtained her bachelor degree in Public Affairs Management from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China. |
