Maren Friesen, Project Director
Maren Friesen is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Plant Pathology and Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University (WSU). Maren is an interdisciplinary scientist whose collaborative research on mutualisms spans molecules to ecosystems. She has served on 15 funding review panels for NSF, USDA-NIFA, and DOE and currently sits on the Advisory Boards for the Pacific NorthWest Farmers’ Network and the WSU Food Systems Team. Maren holds a BSc in Mathematics and Biology from the University of British Columbia and a PhD in Population Biology from the University of California, Davis.
Venkatesh Srinivas, Deputy Project Director
Venkatesh Srinivas is a Software Engineer at Google and has been active in the Effective Altruism community, focused on Global Health/Development since 2018 and science philanthropy since 2020. Venkatesh holds a B.Sci in Electrical Engineering from Johns Hopkins University and a M.Sci in Computer Science & Engineering from the University of Washington.
Benjamin Ridenhour
Ben Ridenhour is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Mathematics at the University of Idaho. Ben is part of the Institute for Modeling Collaboration and Innovation and previously worked for the CDC as a mathematical epidemiologist. He has served on NSF panels and conducted ad hoc reviews for the NIH. Ben holds a B.A. in Environmental Biology from Utah State University and a PhD in Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior from Indiana University.
David Stern
David Stern is a Professor at the Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research (BTI). David was President of BTI for 20 years and has served on numerous advisory boards, including those of HHMI and the NSF Biology Directorate. He led an effort to vision the future of plant sciences which catalyzed the publication of two successive Decadal Visions for the field, including recommendations for ways to create and reward new modes of recruitment and collaboration. David holds an A.B. in Molecular Biology from the University of California, Berkeley, an M.Phil in Biochemistry from Cambridge University, and a PhD in Biological Sciences from Stanford University.
Ford Ballantyne
Ford Ballantyne is an Associate Professor in the Odum School of Ecology at the University of Georgia. Ford has expertise in systems modeling and was a rotating program officer at NSF for 2 years. Ford holds a B.Sci in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.Sci in Statistics and a PhD in Biology from the University of New Mexico.