Our Values

Nichole’s career began as an intern in Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg, FL, where she joined fire crews performing perscribed burns and surveyed endangered species. She taught environmental educator and eco-friendly landscaping before moving to Illinois, where she researched soil health and plant productivity in USFS tallgrass prairie restorations. She gained her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois-Chicago in 2022. That same year she accepted a position in the Global Drylands Center, where she worked alongside scientists from the USDA Agricultural Research Service, the National Science Foundation, and the US Geological Survey characterizing drought and grazing impacts on vulnerable plant communities in the U.S.A. Southwest. After consulting independently for a year, Nichole founded Reed Nature and Climate Solutions to bring enhanced climate resilience approaches to restoration and conservation initiatives. 

 Dr. Osvaldo Sala is the founding director of the Global Drylands Center and is among the most cited authors in the fields of ecology, sustainability, and biodiversity. His international leadership includes terms as President of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), as a contributor to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, his involvement with the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, and his term as president of the Ecological Society of America. As a world-renowned grassland ecologist, Osvaldo brings decades of experience in foundational and applied research to our projects.