We are very excited to welcome our new Visiting Research Associate from Yale School of the Environment, Allyson Beach to the Iceland Ocean Cluster team this summer.
Allyson is a recent graduate of the Yale School of the Environment’s (YSE) Master of Environmental Management program and a current visiting researcher from the Center for Industrial Ecology at Yale. During her master’s program, Allyson focused on the intersection of business and the environment – specifically on social enterprise development, corporate climate strategy, and industrial ecology. At Iceland Ocean Cluster, Allyson will be researching opportunities for industrial symbiosis and circularity at the Iceland Eco-Business Park (IEBP) in Helguvík.
Originally from California, Allyson’s experience with global climate change motivated her career in environmental management. Her professional work includes the Energy and Geoeconomics program at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York and the Water Foundation in California. Allyson’s Fulbright research in South India focused on grassroots urban resilience to climate change and weather-related disasters. She also worked as the Communications Manager for WaterSHED in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where she supported the organization’s market approach to sanitation and strategic exit.
“I think my first day at Iceland Ocean Cluster was incredibly telling — I had the privilege of meeting the US Ambassador to Iceland and a visiting US delegation of senators and representatives who want to grow the US blue economy. I believe there are many opportunities for global collaboration and partnership within this sector – especially when it comes to innovation and the creative exchange of ‘waste’. I am excited to learn from IOC’s unique approach while exploring the vast potential of the IEBP. Given the growing interest in the field of industrial symbiosis this research stay comes at the perfect time”.
