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Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates is a small but high-powered analytical team based in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 2012, the group specializes in assessments of state, regional, and national energy initiatives and greenhouse gas emission reduction programs for their long-term contribution to a more robust and sustainable economy. Recent collaborations of the team include the development of a comprehensive renewable energy plan for San Diego County (California) and the crafting of what the Dutch refer to as the Roadmap Next Economy for the Metropolitan Region of Rotterdam and Den Haag (MRDH).
Other efforts of the team have supported a variety of assessments for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the International Energy Agency (IEA) based in Paris, and International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation (IPEEC), also in Paris, and ongoing work with the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). Activities also include analytical work for IMPLAN, LLC, a leading provider of macroeconomic structural data, and an initial review of the magnitude of resource waste for the Washington, DC-based Environmental Law Institute.
The team builds on the experience of economist John “Skip” Laitner whose expertise includes energy technology and policy assessments, resource benefit-cost analyses, studies on resource costs and constraints, the study of long-term economic and technology trends, and valuations of the net employment and macroeconomic impacts of innovative energy and climate scenarios. While a young firm, Laitner is a 48-year veteran in the energy and climate policy arenas with extensive publications to his credit. Both Laitner and the team have provided studies, regional assessments, lectures and technical seminars in diverse places as Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, and Spain as well as many jurisdictions within the United States.
Skip Laitner is an international resource economist who founded Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates—based in Tucson, Arizona in 2012. He is a researcher, author, lecturer, and consultant. He is also a Past President of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS), an independent interdisciplinary professional association in higher education. Skip also serves as chief economist for Third Industrial Revolution master plan initiatives spearheaded by well-known author and visionary, Jeremy Rifkin.
There is neither a law of physics nor economics that prevents us from quadrupling the productive use of energy and other resources. Rather, it is much more an issue of imagination and our political will to get it done.
– John A. “Skip” Laitner
John A. “Skip” Laitner is an international resource economist who founded Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates—based in Tucson, Arizona in 2012. He is a researcher, author, lecturer, and consultant. He is also a Past President of the Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences (AESS), an independent interdisciplinary professional association in higher education. Skip also serves as chief economist for Third Industrial Revolution master plan initiatives spearheaded by well-known author and visionary, Jeremy Rifkin.
Author of more than 320 reports, journal articles, and book chapters, Skip’s expertise includes benefit-cost assessments, the review of energy and non-energy benefits, exploring resource costs and constraints, and assessing the net employment and macroeconomic impacts of what he calls “Innovation Scenarios” as well as the more typical energy and climate policy scenarios.
Skip is a past Senior Research Economist for the Institute for Applied Economic Research, at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA). He previously worked as the Director of Economic and Social Analysis with the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Before that, he served 10 years as a Senior Economist for Technology Policy with the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In 1998 he was awarded EPA’s Gold Medal for his work with a team of economists to evaluate the economic impact of strategies that might assist in the implementation of smart climate policies.
Skip has a 1988 master’s degree in resource economics from Antioch University. And he has also undertaken work and given many lectures in a variety of countries including Australia, Brussels, China, France, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and the United States, among others. More details on Skip’s work and background can be found here.
Liz Burke is the executive assistant for Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates. Liz has spent her career in various administrative positions and has had the opportunity to work with scientists, researchers, attorneys, engineers, social workers, sales people and carpenters.
She is a natural problem solver, boundary pusher and can think on her feet. Her curiosity keeps her interested in continuous learning, and she has enjoyed collaborating with various teams to get things done, as well as finding solutions on her own. She received her B.A. in English Literature at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA.
Desiree Rose is the Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates’ newest Research Associate. She has over 17 years of experience in various non-profit administration/management roles. Her expertise ranges from policy research and analysis, grant-writing, large-scale fundraising event planning, member development, membership management, financial operations, and strategic communications and marketing.
Desiree is also recognized as a talented graphic artist, with an extensive portfolio of print and digital publications. She is skilled at web content management, copywriting, and design as well as developing and implementing brand identity strategies and guidelines.
Meagan A. Weiland is a research associate specializing in the social factors and impacts affecting populations experiencing climatic changes. She has conducted in-depth research on a broad range of environmental and energy efficiency topics including: socioeconomic influences in adapting to energy efficient technology, LED case studies, cross-country comparisons of environmental policy, EIA technology characterizations, appliances and fuel standards comparisons, and effects of public perceptions on climate change policies.
Meagan earned her Masters degree in Public Anthropology from American University.
Ryan M. Keller is a research associate and geographic information systems (GIS) analyst with Economic and Human Dimensions Research Associates. He has worked on a variety of both GIS projects and energy management issues with the National Park Service, the County of San Diego, and the City of Davis, CA.
He also maintains an active research portfolio on emerging energy technologies, geographic problem solving, and cartography. Mr. Keller earned his Masters of Science degree in Geographic Information Systems Technology in 2013 from the University of Arizona and a B.S. in Physical Geography from Louisiana State University.
André the Cactus, or more officially, André “The Cactus” Saguaro, was born over a century ago in the foothills of the Santa Catalina Mountains just outside of Tucson, Arizona. André’s journey from a simple column to a Shiva-like, multi-armed adult took a near-tragic turn when he was but a young juvenile saguaro, perhaps 75 years ago. As his young column reached toward the desert sun, striving for some moderate height in the future, and looking forward to his first production of flowers, the top of his trunk was somehow lopped off. André doesn’t discuss the details surrounding that awful event, and understandably so. He survived in spite of this trauma and redoubled his efforts toward the bright sky. Boy did he grow, and grow healthy he did! He now stands nearly 14 feet tall with more than a dozen arms about him. We are pleased to share he is now a very hardy (and dare we say handsome?) specimen.
We often visit André who is now well over 100 years old. We’ll find birds making a nursery for their young in his protective trunk. In the spring, his flowers offer nectar to the butterflies, bees, bats, and other sweet-toothed desert dwellers who regularly visit him when he’s in bloom. And when the coyote or cactus wren eat of his fruit, André’s offspring are eventually distributed throughout the Sonoran desert each year. In honor of his age and his many contributions as a community nurse plant within the desert eco-system, we now affectionately call him “Señor Saguaro.”