Mike Koontz

Mike is a plant ecologist and geospatial data scientist that works to understand disturbance dynamics across scales in a changing climate. At Vibrant Planet, he is leading the development of a system for monitoring critical forest resources, and forecasting them into uncertain climate change futures. He is excited to contribute to Vibrant Planet’s blend of innovative data science and deep domain knowledge in the effort to aid management of disturbance-prone forests at the pace and scale necessary to increase community and ecosystem resilience. He earned his PhD from the University of California, Davis and also maintains an active research program at the University of Colorado Boulder.