Dick Cameron

Dick Cameron is the Chief Science Officer at Vibrant Planet. He brings 25+ years of experience of building  geospatial tools to guide investments in ecosystem conservation and restoration.  He was most recently Vice President of Science at Pachama, a technology company that pioneered the use of remote sensing and forest science in the voluntary carbon market. He led a team of multi-disciplinary scientists and machine learning engineers to build evaluation tools to make carbon markets more transparent and science-based. While there, he was a lead in developing the quality criteria for the Symbiosis Coalition, an advanced market commitment for nature-based carbon removal founded by leading technology companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Salesforce. 

Previously, Dick was the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy’s California Land and Climate programs. He led science teams researching approaches to integrate natural climate solutions and biodiversity conservation into California’s land use and climate policies. He co-authored numerous studies that projected future scenarios of the impact of climate change, wildfire, and land use on the carbon, water, and biodiversity of the state. His work shaped the development of the state’s Natural and Working Lands Climate Strategy and its 30x30 conservation commitment. His research has been published in journals including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Scientific Reports, and Global Change Biology, and covered in the New York Times, NPR, and the Associated Press. He has a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.A. from the University of Colorado, both in Geography.