PRESENT

We are in the midst of a Great Turning. The urgency of climate change, environmental degradation, and out of control capitalism has forced humanity to reconsider how we design our social and political systems.

Raffaele’s work as a PhD Candidate at Yale focuses on ways to support, co-create, and envision this new future. They work as a research assistant at Yale’s Center for Environmental Justice, in collaboration with Dr. Michael Gelobter and Professor Gerald Torres. Their research focuses on the “Rights of Nature” socio-ecological movements, Indigenous sovereignty efforts, theories of social-resiliency, “green capitalism”, and more.

In the in-between moments, Raffaele is a farmer, gardener, creative writer, rock climber, and watercolor painter.

PAST

Raffaele previously served as a Summer Fellow for Yale’s Environmental Justice Center, where they worked for the Yurok Tribe’s Carbon Projects team. They also worked as a fellow for Yale’s High Plains Stewardship Initiative (UCROSS), researching soil organic carbon, carbon markets, and conservation strategies across the American West. During their Master’s degree, Raffaele worked in Professor Justin Farrell’s lab for “Western Lands and People”.

Before attending graduate school, Raffaele advised a large collection of nonprofits pro-bono, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), The Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR), and SeedSF.