Prior to forming ESG, Kenna managed the Parametrix Ecosystem Services Group. She specializes in the development and implementation of new programs, particularly those related to ecosystem services evaluation, impact avoidance and minimization, and impact mitigation. She has 22 years of experience providing program-level and project-level natural resource planning services.
Kenna’s diverse experience includes designing long-range sustainability strategies focused on project implementation; management and development of detailed, alternative natural resource mitigation and conservation approaches and associated accounting systems; and development of habitat assessment methodologies for terrestrial and aquatic habitats.
She is currently managing several ecosystem services assessments for Fortune 500 corporations that are exploring the use of ecosystem services concepts and measurement tools in their project-level and enterprise-wide decision making processes.
Kevin leads development of the ecosystem services decision support tools created by ESG. This includes managing the creation of the internal conceptual models and analytical frameworks that underlie ESG’s suite of tools. These tools address a range of decision support needs, including measuring potential change in ecological performance and change in ecosystem service benefits associated with proposed activities and understanding those changes within the context of different value structures. In addition to leading the refinement of ESG’s tools, Kevin is currently developing a new software system called Bayesian Analysis for Spatial Siting (BASS), a multi-scale, marine spatial planning tool.
In addition to his responsibilities at ESG, Kevin is currently an adjunct professor at Lewis and Clark Northwestern School of Law, where he teaches a course on identifying and managing environmental risk in business transactions. Kevin also teaches courses on ecosystem services and land use for the University of Oregon’s Sustainability Leadership Program.
Jim supports the development, implementation, and analysis of ESG’s ecosystem services programs. He was an integral part in the development team for EcoMetrix while working in his previous role with Parametrix. He developed several functions for ecosystem services tools, including anadromous fish biotic support, songbird biotic support, streambed stability, and others. He also tested and implemented the tool under a variety of scenarios. Jim brings 7 years of experience with ecosystem services tool development, from concept to implementation and analysis.
Jim is a fish and wildlife biologist with over 24 years of experience in both the public and private sectors resulting in a diverse background in fish and wildlife research and monitoring projects. The nature of the field of wildlife science has provided him with multiple opportunities to work in nearly every region of the U.S. His areas of expertise include project management, avian studies, fisheries research and management, habitat inventory and mapping, data analysis and management, etc.
In addition to his extensive experience in in his chosen field, Jim has an extensive background in GIS and database management and analyses. He has developed and managed complex spreadsheets used in function calculations. He is a certified and experienced GIS analyst and provides GIS analyses and materials for field mapping, analyses, publications, and presentations.
Paul develops the methods and tools communities can employ to better manage conflicted resource values and to discover dependencies to natural systems. As a policy and science analyst, he develops participatory decision support tools and methods that combine and synthesize expert opinion and community preferences. Recent efforts include spatially assisted public participation tools for ecosystem services planning in Nevada. This effort supports a local government policy for “no-net loss” of ecosystem services. Other projects includes Bayesian inferential modeling for marine ecosystem services through the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP). This project developed a methodology to manage uncertainty in science, and divergent stakeholder opinions.
Paul recently co-authored a Transportation Research Board report on the development of ecosystem service based crediting methods to better inform transportation decisions and measure progress. He is also a researcher and PhD student in the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University, and a National Science Foundation Fellow for the Ecosystem Services in Urbanizing Regions program also at Portland State University. Paul has a BA in Anthropology from Reed College, and an MPA from Portland State University.
Morgan assembles predictive models which allow characterization of ecosystem service values to support decision-making processes. These models provide both an estimate of value and a framework to explore the sensitivity of these values to their constituent attributes. They also allow for estimates of valuation and continued development of our knowledge regarding the state of the science.
Morgan has a BS in Geology and a MS in Oceanography with a focus in Marine Geology and Geophysics. Following his undergraduate degree, he spent three years with a consulting firm working on contracts supporting mitigation of groundwater contamination in the Pacific Northwest and the FEMA Public Assistance program in Florida. During his graduate work, Morgan collected and processed remotely sensed hydrographic data in support of the Oregon State Waters Mapping Project. Additionally, he performed analysis of ground truth sediment samples to determine particle size distributions for further characterization of the remotely sensed data into classified surficial geologic habitat maps of Oregon’s near shore environment. Morgan’s graduate thesis supported a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) project focusing on the development of a decision-support tool which applied Bayesian analysis principles to spatial data as a means to inform siting decisions for marine renewable energy.
Kenna Halsey, Principal Consultant
Kevin Halsey, Principal Consultant
Jim Koloszar, Consultant
Paul Manson, Consultant
Morgan Erhardt, Consultant