Deborah Lawrence
Professor of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
Deborah Lawrence is a Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia. She studies the effects of tropical deforestation on ecosystems and climate and teaches about climate change. Prof. Lawrence has conducted research in Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Costa Rica, Cameroon and the Great Lakes region of Africa. She works with partners in environmental science and geography, ethics, anthropology and politics, economics, urban planning and public health to understand the impacts of global land use decisions on climate, ecosystems and humanity. Prof. Lawrence’s research has earned her a Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Jefferson Science Fellowship from the National Academy of Sciences, and a Fulbright Scholarship. She enjoys tending her garden, hiking in the woods, and spending time with her husband and two children.