Maya Bhalla-Ladd

Maya Bhalla-Ladd began her career at Bryn Mawr College and the Smithsonian's Environmental Research Center where she was trained as a biogeochemist. At SERC, she worked in a salt marsh ecology lab to investigate inter-ecosystem dynamics. Bhalla-Ladd finished her undergraduate degree investigating microclimates within Phragmites australis chambers simulating different atmospheric conditions.

For her graduate degree, Bhalla-Ladd started in an invertebrate and cnidarian wet lab to refine her marine biology skills at the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Sciences. However, she was frustrated that the ivory tower of research was cloistered off from actionable science and decided to transition to a Climate Risks & Preparedness lab with Dr. Katherine Mach. There she began exploring the interdisciplinary climate sector to investigate both the natural and social science dynamics of ecosystems of interest. For her Master's thesis, Bhalla-Ladd finished her degree with UM's School of Law in their Environmental Justice Clinic protecting the right of low-income neighborhoods to green spaces.

In 2022, Bhalla-Ladd was selected for the Young Leaders in Climate fellowship from the Aspen Institute's Energy and Environment Program. In her second year, she was granted alumni status and now helps plan engagement strategies for the annual Future Leaders Symposium. Bhalla-Ladd now works as a marine biologist coordinating and implementing conservation strategies across the only continental reef track in the US.

Bhalla-Ladd will be speaking alongside Bodhi Patil and Carissa Cabrera in the 2024 FLCS Changmaking through Ocean Solutions session. During this session, they will be discussing learning from indigenous leadership, fostering community action networks, and building climate sector capacity by increasing accessibility.