David LeZaks

David LeZaks (he, him, his)

Senior Fellow

Work:

(919) 794-7440 x 104

Email:

lezaks@croataninstitute.org

David LeZaks, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, is an environmental scientist and financial activist whose work is centered around developing innovative mechanisms for financing the transition to agroecological farming and food systems.

Before joining Croatan Institute, Dr. LeZaks led the Regenerative Food Systems initiative at Delta Institute in Chicago, where he managed a portfolio of projects that focused on the design and deployment of disruptive mechanisms to unlock substantial capital flows into regenerative agriculture. Previously, he served as an RSF Social Finance Integrated Capital Institute fellow. Earlier in his career, David was a postdoctoral scientist at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where he completed his Ph.D. in Environment and Resources and an M.S. in Land Resources. Afterward, he served as Managing Scientist of the Knowledge Systems for Sustainability Consortium and Program Director of the university’s Agricultural Innovation Prize. Currently, he serves in advisory roles to Mad Agriculture, the Savanna Institute, Nourishn, Council of Development Finance Agencies’ Food Systems Finance Advisory Council, and the Transformational Investing in Food Systems initiative, an allied initiative of the Global Alliance for the Future of Food.

He is based in Madison, Wisconsin, where he is active in a number of community organizations and spends his spare time gardening and participating in a variety of silent sports. 

Education

Ph.D., Environment and Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison

M.S., Land Resources, University of Wisconsin-Madison

B.S., Environmental Science, Michigan State University

Croatan Publications

Other Publications

“Food System Shock: The insurance impacts of acute disruption to global food supply.” Lloyd’s of London, June 16, 2015.

“Beyond climate-smart agriculture: toward safe operating spaces for global
food systems.” Agriculture & Food Security, 2013. (with Neufeldt, H., Jahn, M., Campbell, B.M. et al.) 

“Solutions for a cultivated planet.” Nature 478, 337-342, 2011. (with Foley, J., Ramankutty, N., Brauman, K. et al.)

“Data and monitoring needs for a more ecological agriculture.” Environmental Research Letters 6 014017, 2011. (With Christopher J. Kucharik).

“Producer and consumer responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions from
agricultural production – A perspective from the Brazilian Amazon.” Environmental Research Letters, Vol. 4, No. 4, 2009.

“Preparing for the future: Teaching scenario planning at the graduate level.” Frontiers in Ecology and Environment, 2009.

“Investing in Agriculture: Far-Reaching Challenge, Significant Opportunity – An Asset Management Perspective.” Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors, 2009. (with Bruce M. Kahn)

“From Miami to Madison: Investigating the relationship between climate and
terrestrial net primary production.” Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 2007.

“Our share of the planetary pie.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2007.