Melaina Dyck

Melaina is an analyst at Climate Focus, where she conducts research on land use practices and nature-based solutions. She has experience investigating the impacts and potential of carbon offset projects, as well as conducting analyses of domestic and international policies for forest conservation and climate change adaptation.

Melaina holds a Master in Environmental Science from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science with a minor in Spanish from the University of South Carolina. For her Master's thesis, Melaina worked with indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, investigating smallholder farming practices in response to climate changes. She received the Yale University Gruber Fellowship in Global Justice to support Farmacia Viva Indigena, a community-led project to conserve medicinal forest plants and indigenous knowledge. Melaina is committed to advancing climate policy and finance approaches that enable local communities to lead in mitigating and adapting to environmental change. Melaina is fluent in English and Spanish. She spends her spare time traveling, dancing, hiking, and learning to be a better advocate for climate justice