Alumni spotlight: Rachel Martin, Extinction Solutions Index and research manager at Conservation X Labs

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Environmental Studies program at Ohio University. All members of the OHIO community are invited to attend an alumni panel to reconnect with fellow alumni and celebrate 50 years of environmental education, research and stewardship. 

One of the panelists will be Rachel Martin, a 2020 graduate of Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, who now works on combatting and finding solutions for biodiversity loss. 

From campus leader to global conservationist

Martin graduated from OHIO with a degree in environmental studies with a focus on biological sciences and political science. 

“I got involved in a lot,” Martin said about her time at OHIO. The truth in her statement is clear when listing her accomplishments.

She was involved in the OHIO Student Senate with the Environmental Affairs Commission and helped launch the Environmental Justice Summit. As a member of Delta Zeta, she worked to advance sustainability in Greek Life. She worked alongside community members to help protect the bobcat with new Ohio Department of Natural Resource (ODNR) legislation on trappings. 

Martin studied abroad both in the Balkans and the Bahamas, where she built on her knowledge of environmental peacebuilding. She was a NOAA Hollings Scholar, a DAAD RISE scholar and a Udall scholar. In addition, she was a Voinovich Research Scholar at the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service. 

“I think I always knew that I could handle school, but then I always wanted to be doing more,” Martin said. “Sometimes, I didn't even know what I wanted to do until I saw a really cool opportunity, or someone mentioned something they thought I'd be a good fit for.”

The job of problem solving

Martin has worked as a researcher at the Conservation X Labs in Washington, DC for the past four years. There, she leads the Extinction Solution Index (ESI), an initiative which aims to evaluate, compare and rank solutions to biodiversity loss. 

“I have been able to work with some amazing conservation organizations on this idea to generate and evaluate creative solutions to biodiversity loss,” Martin said. 

She also manages research across the organization and has led the delegation at various international events, such as CBD COP15, IUCN's World Conservation Congress and more. Her team recently had a paper published about their work on the ESI framework, which highlights the importance of their work. 

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Finding community at Ohio University

Martin was in the Honors Tutorial College at OHIO, an honors program which requires students to develop a thesis in their senior year. Her “ah-ha” moment occurred when developing ideas for her thesis project. 

“I felt that everything I had learned – no matter how disparate it may have seemed – came together because I could approach problems from a lot of different angles,” Martin said. “And by that point I also learned how to ask for help when I needed to learn something.”

Martin credits much of her success at OHIO to the community and the people she surrounded herself with, especially her professors. 

“My thesis advisor, Dr. Don Miles shaped my love for data analytics, using R and understanding species’ responses to a changing world,” Martin said. “What started as a frustrated email about R in his Field Ecology class has turned into me writing script for other researchers to advance our collective knowledge.”

Encouragement from Dr. Geoff Dabelko and Dr. Geoff Buckley led Martin to the Scripps Innovation Challenge and other upper-level coursework, where she developed a deep understanding of the knowledge she uses today. 

“[Dr. Derek Kauneckis] pushed me beyond the limits that I imagined for myself, including me in his research group of graduate students,” Martin said. That research resulted in her first abstract acceptance at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management, and her first publication. 

She admires Dr. Sarah Davis, Dr. Rebecca Snell, and Molly Gurien for their amazing mentorship, and credits them with sharing opportunities and resources that made her better professionally and personally. 

“The one thing I miss about being at a university is being surrounded by brilliant and passionate people in an ecosystem built for learning and challenging ideas,” Martin said. “I got so much better at asking for help over the four years I was at OHIO. There are a lot of people that make up a university and if you're willing to ask, someone is willing to help.”

Uphill battles and word of advice

Martin’s biggest uphill battle at OHIO was learning how to balance her studies with her personal life and how to take time for self-care.

“I didn’t know I needed to prioritize [that],” she said. “Building those skills early only sets you up for better success later.”

And when faced with academic challenges, she created a system that worked for her. 

“I tried to prioritize what I could do in that moment to handle the challenge and break it into tangible tasks,” Martin said. “I try to keep the big picture in mind as to what needs to be accomplished but also leave some room for improvisation in the plan.”

Her advice for current OHIO students? Don’t miss anything that interests you. Whether that be a seminar from a guest lecturer, an on-campus club, the pawpaw festival, or the international street fair. It is a great time to see what you like to do and see what you don't like, and to just enjoy the environment you are in.

“I've been able to travel to some other college campuses for work,” Martin said. “And I still think OHIO is the best one to be on.”