Luke Hamel

M.S. in Environmental Sciences & Policy from Johns Hopkins University
B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Notre Dame

As Conservation Data Specialist, Luke helps the Priorities & Monitoring team track, report, and visualize Re:wild's conservation impact. He is responsible for automating data workflows, creating interactive visuals and online mapping applications, and implementing data management and data governance best practices within the context of multinational and multipartner conservation initiatives. To this end, he builds automated systems for creating, storing, and tracking grantee proposals, and is developing an interactive mapping tool that allows users to visualize and analyze the conservation impact of their work throughout the lifetime of a project.

Before joining Re:wild, Luke spent nearly a decade working at the intersection of conservation and One Health, including helping to establish the Western Asia Bat Research Network in 2018. He obtained his master's degree from Johns Hopkins University, where he examined how pasture-driven forest loss (and the size and shape of resulting tropical forest habitat) affects the species richness of bird and mammal communities across the Brazilian Amazon's 'arc of deforestation'. Luke continues to remain interested in the ecological effects of commodity-driven deforestation and is particularly drawn to conservation solutions that emphasize joint health benefits for humans and wildlife.