CV
Click here for a PDF version of my CV (Updated 01/27/2026)
Education
- PhD in Development Economics, ETH Zürich, 2022
- Advisor: Prof. Rachael Garrett
- PhD student in Earth & Environment, Boston University (transferred to ETH Zürich)
- MSc in Environmental Change & Management, University of Oxford, 2016
- BA in Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge, 2014
Professional Experience
- 2025-current Accountability Framework initative/Rainforest Alliance - Senior Scientist
- Responsible for research and development for the Accountability Framework initiative.
- Resposibilities include: Conducting and managing research projects; tracking and exploring developing issues related to ethical supply chains; engaging with partners, companies, and others on issues on issues related to AFi.
- 2025 Accountability Framework initative/Rainforest Alliance - Science & Policy Specialist
- Leading and supporting several workstreams within the Accountability Framework initiative, including related to improving AFi’s guidance related to non-forest ecosystems; examining and improving AFi’s theory of change work, and leading AFi’s South America strategy.
- Responsibilities include: conducting and contributing to scientific analyses, collaborating with AFi partners and experts, assisting AFi strategy, managing contractors, representing AFi at key events, stakeholder engagement, and product development.
- 2023-2025: Accountability Framework initative/Rainforest Alliance - Science & Policy Fellow
- Leading and supporting the Accountability Framework initiative’s work on defining, assessing, and analysing non forest natural ecosystems and their conversion for commodity production.
- Responsibilities include: contributing to scientific analyses, collaborating with AFi partners and experts, and assisting AFi strategy, stakeholder engagement, and product development.
- 2022-2023: New York University - Postdoctoral Researcher, Agricultural Land Systems Group
- Led project investigating the conservation impacts of Indigenous Lands in Indonesia and assisted in teaching, advising and grading in the department of environmental studies, NYU.
- Responsibilities included: designing the project research agenda, applying for federal and university grants, advising students, and lecturing to bachelors students in the department.
- 2017: Global Canopy - Research Intern (Supply Chains)
- Conducted research into the commodity-driven tropical deforestation on a number of initiatives including the Forest 500 and Trase.
- Responsibilities included: data analysis using QGIS and R, report writing and desk-based research.
- 2016-2017: Proforest - Environmental Consultant
- Worked with corporate clients in the paper, palm oil and soy sectorsto help achieve sustainable and equitable procurement of commodities and help improve supply chain management.
- Responsibilities included: Auditing sustainability reporting amongst suppliers for a major multinational consumer goods company, report writing and data analysis.
- 2016: University of Oxford - Research Assistant, Oxford Ecosystems Lab
- Conducted and supported analyses of the effects of El Niño on carbon cycling in tropical forests
- Responsibilities included: processing climate and geospatial data, planning and conducting research
- 2013-2017: Forestry Commission - Project Manager, Forest health survey
- Carried out Forestry Commission tree health field surveys, primarily for oak processionary moth caterpillars,contracted through Acres Wild Woodlands Ltd. throughout London, as the leader of a team of 11.
- Responsibilities included: managing/coordinating the surveying for SW London, working closely with both public and private landowners, Checking and analysing data recorded by team, leading design of training materials, and conducting training of over 50 members of personnel.
- 2009-2014: Coombe Forestry Ltd. - Sustainable Forester
- Worked part-time for a sustainable woodland company helping to manage FSC woodlands and produce sustainable products from them.
- Responsibilities included: producing sustainable firewood and charcoal; assisting tree felling and engaging with members of the public at large events.
Publications
S. Kan, J. Meng, B. Chen, S.A. Levy, E. Mazur, L. Samberg, G. Chen, H. Zheng, T. Kastner (2025). "Identifying global hotspots of agricultural expansion into non-forest ecosystems." Nat Commun. 16, 10739.
S.A. Levy, A.V. Nogueira Garik, R.D. Garrett (2024). "The challenge of commodity-centric governance in sacrifice frontiers: Evidence from the Brazilian Cerrado soy sector." Geoforum. 150.
A. Hänggli, S.A. Levy, D. Armenteras Pascual, B. Bovolo, J. Brandao, X. Rueda , R.D. Garrett (2023). "A systematic comparison of deforestation drivers and policy effectiveness across the Amazon biome." Environmental Research Letters.
S.A. Levy, F. Cammelli, J. Munger, H. K. Gibbs, R.D. Garrett (2023). "Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon could be halved by scaling up the implementation of zero-deforestation cattle commitments." Global Environmental Change. 80.
Grabs, J., F. Cammelli, S.A. Levy & R. D. Garrett (2022). "Designing effective and equitable zero-deforestation supply chain policies." Global Environmental Change. 70.
Garrett, R. D., J. Grabs, F. Cammelli, F. Gollnow, S.A. Levy (2022). "Should Payments for Ecosystem Services be used to implement zero-deforestation supply chain policies? The case of soy in the Brazilian Cerrado." World Development. 152.
Cammelli, F., S. A. Levy, J. Grabs, J. Valentim & R.D. Garrett (2022). "Effectiveness-equity tradeoffs in enforcing exclusionary supply chain policies: Lessons from the Amazonian cattle sector." Journal of Cleaner Production. 332.
Garrett, R. D., S. A. Levy, (2021). "Forests and sustainable devleopment in the Brazilian Amazon: History, trends and future prospects." Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 46:1.
Garrett, R. D.,S. A. Levy, F. Gollnow & X. Rueda (2021). "Have food supply chain policies improved forest conservation and rural livelihoods? A systematic review." Environmental Research Letters. 16.
Garrett, R.D., S. Levy et al (2019). "Criteria for Effective Zero-Deforestation Commitments." Global Environmental Change. 54.
Garrett, R. D., X. Rueda, S. A. Levy, J.F. Bermudez Blanco, S. Shah (2018). "Measuring impacts of supply chain initiatives for conservation: focus on forest-risk food commodities." Meridian Insitute. Washington, D.C.
Awards
- 2024 Research Featured on list of High Impact UK Research
- 2023 SFIAR Award, Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research, Switzerland (CHF 10,000), Jisc, United Kingdom
- 2022 Postdoctoral Travel Grant, New York University, USA (USD 700)
- 2021 International Geneva Award, Swiss Network for International Studies, Switzerland (CHF 5,000)
- 2020 Global Young Scientists Summit delegate, National Research Foundation, Singapore
- 2016 Environmental Change Institute Research Award, University of Oxford, UK
- 2016 Oriel College Travel Award, University of Oxford, UK
- 2014 Ernest and Carmen Frankl Memorial Award, University of Cambridge , UK
Talks
March 25, 2023
Conference session at American Association of Geographers Conference, Denver, CO, USA
March 25, 2023
Conference proceedings talk at American Association of Geographers Conference, Denver, CO, USA
October 09, 2022
Conference proceedings talk at FLARE Conference, Rome, Italy
November 25, 2021
Talk at Stockholm Environment Institute - Trase Research Dialogue no.6, Stockholm, Sweden
August 03, 2021
Talk at 59th Congresso da Sociedade Brasileira de Economia, Administração e Sociologia Rural (SOBER) & 6th Econtro Brasileiro de Pesquisadores em Cooperativismo (EBPC), São Paulo, Brazil
May 28, 2021
Talk at Swiss Knowledge Exchange on Research on Agriculture, Conservation & Development Issues in Forest-Risk Supply Chains, Zürich, Switzerland
December 08, 2020
Talk at Fourth Global Land Programme Telecoupling Webinar on Governing Telecoupling, Zürich, Switzerland
September 14, 2020
Conference proceedings talk at Earth System Governance Conference, Bratislava, Slovakia
May 14, 2020
Workshop at 6th Annual Duck Family Graduate Workshop on Environmental Politics and Governance, University of Washington, WA, USA
April 28, 2020
Conference proceedings talk at International Conference on Learning Representations, Zürich, Switzerland
October 14, 2019
Talk at Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon), Belem, Brazil
April 26, 2019
Conference proceeding talk at Global Land Programme 4th Open Science Meeting, Bern, Switzerland
December 07, 2018
Talk at Land Use & Livelihoods Initiative Student Conference, Boston University, Boston, USA
November 10, 2017
Conference proceeding talk at Sustainability & Development Conference, Anne Arbor, MI, USA
Teaching
Skills
- Quantiative research methods
- Panel regressions
- Difference-in-Differences
- Network analysis
- Qualitative & field methods
- Process-tracing
- Household survey execution
- Semi-structured interviews
- Statistical computing, Programming & Geospatial analysis
- R studio (advanced)
- Python (intermediate)
- ArcGIS (advanced)
- QGIS (advanced)
- Google Earth Engine (intermediate)
- Open Data Kit (advanced)
- Languages
- English (native)
- Portuguese (advanced)
- Photography
