JO

JUSTIN OVERDEVEST

Sr. Climate and ESG Consultant at Parametrix

Eugene, Oregon

Overview

Work Experience

  • Practice Lead/Sr. Climate and ESG Consultant

    2023 - Current

    I am driven by engaging in projects and topics related to climate and sustainability and have been in the sustainability and climate consulting field since 2012. My work focuses on projects that meet human needs – serving mainly projects related to infrastructure, clean tech and food. I lead our corporate climate and ESG (environmental, social and governance) practice and specializes in climate risk disclosure, climate action for international and domestic companies including greenhouse (GHG) inventories, life-cycle analysis, disclosures (CDP, EcoVadis, Supply Shift, Walmart Project Gigaton) and supply chain engagement for reducing GHG emissions and eliminating deforestation from value chains. Aside from private sector projects, I have contributed to EPA air quality Targeted Airshed Grant work in Oakridge, OR and and public sector energy, transportation and water related infrastructure. I have contributed to specific National Academies of Sciences, Airport Cooperative Research Program and state DOT research and analysis on using renewable energy in the highway right-of-way (several states), stormwater best practices and benefit cost-analysis, and FWHA feasibility and implementation of electric vehicles.

  • Senior Associate

    2012

    Making Sustainability Work - Measure, Manage and Market. As a Senior Associate at Good Company, I provided our clients with market, business feasibility and technical research and analysis.

  • Sustainability and Community Asset Development

    2011 - 2012

    Following graduation I completed a short stint with Sitka Conversation Society offering an opportunity to dive into sustainability issues in the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the U.S., and one of the most unique ecosystems and cultural locations in the world. + Developed a business plan for waste stream to community value + Assessed frameworks for other community initiatives including products that market community values (e.g. salmon), renewable energy/energy efficiency + Researched local investment models and potential for local application including financial tools for renewable energy investment/financing and other local development initiatives

  • Graduate Student (MBA + MS Interdisciplinary Studies)

    2008 - 2011

    MBA Sustainable Business Practices MS Interdisciplinary Studies- Landscape Architecture, Business, Planning, Public Policy & Management (PPPM) Completed a self-designed dual master's degree program at the University of Oregon, which provided a conducive environment for continuing my path blending the worlds of social entrepreneurship, sustainability issues, public engagement, ecological design and community development. I combined a MBA in sustainable business practices with a MS in Interdisciplinary Studies coursework and consulting projects which has allowed me to engage in difficult conversations to find solutions to economic, social, and ecological challenges. Courses in architecture, landscape architecture, planning, environmental studies and business included: Life Cycle Analysis, Industrial Ecology, Energy and Ecosystem Finance, Sustainable Supply Chain Management, and Markets for Ecosystem Services. Completed Masters Thesis: Financial Mechanisms for Energy Design in EcoDistricts June 2011. Researched feasibility for energy efficiency, district energy, and distributed solar, as well as assessing twenty-three financial mechanisms for implementation in Lents EcoDistrict. All in all, experiences both academic and professional continued to provide a stepping stone to pragmatic change and involvement in forward thinking and engaging projects that have a positive impact on the world.

  • Graduate Teaching Fellow, Peace Corps Representative

    2008 - 2011

    Served as the campus representative for the University of Oregon and directly contributed to the University reaching the top 10 in the U.S. for student recruitment. Everyday activities included conducting marketing and informational campaigns for students and community members. Built relationships with department staff, campus organizations, and professors campus-wide to share information with students. Aided applicants through the application process including formal interviews as well as answering questions during office hours and via email communication.

  • Fellow

    2010 - 2010

    Participated on an interdisciplinary team of two MBA students, a law and PhD student to develop a feasibility study for a newly patented technology from Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL).

  • Project Manager

    2006 - 2008

    Managed a rural entrepreneurship grant of more than forty projects for the Connecting Oregon for Rural Entrepreneurship (CORE) program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation focusing in the areas of farmer's markets/artisans, social enterprise, youth entrepreneurship, adult entrepreneurship, and green/sustainable projects.

  • Peace Corps Volunteer

    2004 - 2006

    Facilitated the creation of the Non-Governmental Organization ALDEA (Alternativas para el Desarrollo Andino) providing development solutions in the fields of health, small business, and the natural environment in the northern Peruvian Andes. Planned, raised financing, and carried out a range of pilot projects. These projects included the production of thirty acres of organic wheat, the installation of twenty beehives, a vegetable garden project improving five hundred families’ nutrition, a pig raising project for a technical high school, and a latrine project, all of which culminated in raising the standards of living for the people in the District of Chalaco.

  • Peace Corps Volunteer

    2002 - 2004

    Worked alongside farmers in a community-based tree nursery and the installation of forty-three soil conservation plots using agro-forestry techniques resulting in the planting of 90,000 wood and fruit trees. Coordinated an animal husbandry project to utilize a Dominican government sponsored nine week veterinary course and a grant from USAID resulting in the purchase of cows and sheep following the Heifer Project model. Constructed forty latrines and twenty-five clay stoves to promote improved health and sanitation and, in the case of the stoves, to decrease deforestation. Planned and managed other community level projects. These include vegetable gardens, a solar panel project providing light to 60 families, a bio-sand water filter project carried out through Rotary International placing filter systems in both Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

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