Our Team
History
In 2019, CAPA began conducting field campaigns to provide hyper-local descriptions of urban heat distribution in communities around the United States. Our efforts have translated into local hazard action and resiliency plans, the emergence of hazard-relevant nonprofits, and decision makers’ work to address the inequities inherent in natural hazard challenges. Examples of how we’ve supported organizations to address extreme heat are available in Recent Work.
Since then, CAPA has built additional tools to help build local capacity to adapt to natural hazards. These tools integrate social, infrastructural, and ecological aspects of any location for an equitable and holistic approach to community adaptation.
Today, our commitment to support community preparation for natural hazards has never been stronger, and our reach and publicity is growing. We offer the creation and integration of high quality data by engaging those who value proactive planning. Our promise is to provide 100% of our understanding, experience, and effort to support organizations that are taking swift action to prepare for natural hazards. We look forward to working with you!
Joey Williams, MURP
Campaign Manager
Joey directs operations of the CAPA Heat Watch program and assists with organizational growth of CAPA. He combines his process design skills with a passion for environmental human health. He earned an Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from Portland State University.
Dana Hellman, PhD
Resilience Manager
Dana manages the implementation of CAPA’s Resilience services. She is an environmental social scientist and earned her PhD in Earth, Environment & Society from Portland State University.
Bradley Wilson, PhD
Lead Geospatial Analyst
Bradley is the lead geospatial analyst at CAPA strategies and oversees the technical execution and scientific development of CAPA products. He is a Geospatial Data Scientist with a PhD in Geosciences and a M.S. in Geography from the University of Arkansas.
Zachary Boyce, MS
Media & Communications Lead
Zachary has worked at the local, regional, and federal levels of government helping effectively communicate the many dimensions of disaster risk through research, analysis, and design. He has a B.S. in Geography from Portland State University and a M.S. in Emergency Management and Community Resilience from Portland State University.
Eliza Amstutz, MS
Hazards Monitoring Program Associate
Eliza works as a Program Associate for CAPA, primarily supporting the Heat Watch program. Situated between data visualization specialists and clients, she applies both quantitative and qualitative based methods to climate programs and projects. Her background in geospatial analysis and social science informs study design, data management, client engagement and support. She is motivated by innovative approaches to environmental public health and science-to-solutions processes.
Hannah Goodman, BA
Resilience Associate
Hannah is a Resilience Associate for CAPA, working on projects that focus on community resilience to natural hazards. She holds a B.A. in Sociology from Reed College.
Erica Bestpitch, MS
Human Resources
Erica has a deep interest in values-based organizational leadership and social change. She has 10 years of experience in administration, HR, and feminist leadership at the University and non-profit level. As Human Resources manager and Admin Lead, Erica supports internal operations, billing, and supporting a positive work environment at CAPA.
Vivek Shandas, PhD
Founder / Advisor
Vivek brings over two decades of environmental and climate science experience to support CAPA's strategic direction as an advisor. Vivek's volunteer role at CAPA aims to grow the field of climate adaptation and establish impactful partnerships.