Meet the Project Staff
Ruben Bergtraun
Project Manager
ruben@swape.com
Ruben graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Conservation Biology. His coursework included restoration, ecology, environmental policy, scientific communication, and sustainable business development. During his senior year he assisted with a GIS analysis project to find potential park locations in communities along the Los Angeles River. Before starting at SWAPE, Ruben worked on a natural wine vineyard in Italy and had previously interned with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Since joining SWAPE, Ruben has focused on projects pertaining to CEQA compliance, air quality modeling, health risk assessments, and analyzing greenhouse gas impacts.
Cameron Jewett
Project Manager
cameron@swape.com
Cameron graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and minors in Environmental Systems and Society and Digital Humanities. Her coursework included environmental policy, environmental business and communications, GIS, and data visualization. While at UCLA, she worked at the UCLA Heat Lab researching thermal inequality and how heat and urban planning intersect, directed an environmental justice committee for UCLA's student government, and completed a senior capstone with the Sustainable Production Alliance to create an excel tool for film production companies to establish sustainable practices. Since joining SWAPE, Cameron has worked on projects pertaining to carcinogens and consumer health, FELA reports, and data analysis.
Aidan Ryan
Project Manager
aidan@swape.com
Aidan graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Marine Biology and a minor in Spanish. His coursework included marine ecology, organic chemistry, statistics, biochemistry, atmospheric sciences, and courses in Spanish, including one about mining. While at UCLA, Aidan participated in research focused on heavy metal contamination in LA County urban gardens, studied abroad in Thailand, and interned with friends of Ballona Wetlands working to revive the wetlands. After graduation, he spent a year teaching English in Spain, and furthering his Spanish language development. Since joining SWAPE, Aidan has worked on projects involving data analysis, mapping, and environmental research.
Carolina Gomez Navarro
Project Manager
carolina@swape.com
Carolina graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Environmental Systems & Society, as well as a minor in Geographic Information Systems & Technology. She obtained a background in environmental engineering, environmental policy and regulation, environmental justice, and scientific communication through coursework. At UCLA, she conducted research for the Sustainable LA Grand Challenges Undergraduate Research Scholars Program on stormwater management. Her research explored the connection between gentrification and the negative public health impacts it has on the community of Inglewood. Carolina also worked as a Project Manager and Director of Operations for Clean Consulting, a student-run sustainability consulting organization at UCLA. Since joining SWAPE, Carolina works on projects involving environmental health, occupational risk assessments, and historical liability analysis.
Isabella Fraser
Environmental Analyst
isabella@swape.com
Isabella graduated from UCLA in 2023 with a B.A. in Human Biology and Society and a concentration in Environmental Justice. Her coursework focused on environmental justice, policy, and conservation. While at UCLA, she has worked as a research assistant for a human rights law firm where she researched climate change patterns and its effects on migration in South America. Since joining SWAPE, Isabella has focused on projects pertaining to CEQA compliance, air quality modeling, and health risk assessments.
Alex Martin
Project Manager
alex@swape.com
Alex graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and minors in Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences and Theater. His studies focused on chemical and biological oceanography, environmental health and air quality, and modeling using GIS and other coding software. While at UCLA, Alex participated in research examining the abiotic influences on kelp biomass in the Santa Barbara Channel. Combining his interest for the arts with his major area of study, Alex completed his senior capstone with the Sustainable Production Alliance, building a cost-benefit analysis tool for film studios to better understand sustainable decision-making practices. At SWAPE, Alex works on projects relating to air quality modeling, mapping, and health risk assessments.
Ahalya Sabaratnam
Environmental Analyst
ahalya@swape.com
Ahalya graduated from UCLA in 2024 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Environmental Systems and Society. Her coursework ranged from environmental policy and politics, GIS, environmental justice, statistics, coding and conservation. While at UCLA, Ahalya worked as a Research Assistant for the Longcore Lab studying and monitoring light pollution in the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve. She also worked as an Information Gathering Assistant for the Sustainable LA Grand Challenge Initiative within UCLA where she compiled information about California's wildfire regime, researched in a variety of disciplines and aided in data visualization. Since joining SWAPE, Ahalya has worked on projects related to asbestos, human health risk assessments, and environmental research.
Harrison Kohr
Environmental Analyst
harrison@swape.com
Harrison brings a background in Forestry, Natural Resource Management, and Environmental Protection from the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Having graduated in 2022, Harrison worked with the State of California for 2 years, doing prescribed burning and land management amidst the Central Coast. As a Steward of the land, Harrison strives to protect and preserve our ever changing environment.
Sarah Swinnerton
Outside Consultant
sarah@swape.com
Sarah Swinnerton graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2020 with a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a concentration in Political Science. While at UCSB, Sarah took courses regarding environmental law and policy, environmental chemistry, toxicology, and GIS. During her senior year, she was the Carbon Neutrality Initiative (CNI) Ambassador, which aimed at engaging and educating students on greenhouse gas emission goals at a local and state level. Sarah was also a representative on the Chancellor’s Sustainability Committee, and worked on the Energy and Climate Subcommittee. Since joining SWAPE in June, Sarah has worked on a variety of projects involving CEQA compliance, air quality modeling, environmental research, and data analysis.
Lina Savage
Outside Consultant
lina@swape.com
Lina graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences. Through her coursework, she gained background on environmental engineering, policy and regulation, GIS and coding software, and water resource management. While at UCLA, she has worked as a research assistant for a paleoclimatology lab regarding the dissolution effects of carbon isotopes, written for various campus magazines, and is leading a senior capstone project consulting various production companies towards more sustainable practices. Since joining SWAPE in August 2021, Lina has worked on a variety of projects pertaining to FELA reports, air quality, and occupational exposure analyses.
Mahliya Purificacion
Environmental Analyst
mahliya@swape.com
Mahliya graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Environmental Systems and Society. Her coursework included environmental policy, GIS, scientific communication, and environmental justice. While at UCLA, Mahliya worked as a Research Assistant for the Longcore Lab monitoring and evaluating light pollution in the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve. After graduating, she has worked on learning data analytics and earning a certificate in Geographic Information Systems. Since joining SWAPE, Mahliya has worked on projects related to occupational risk assessments.
Savannah McCarthy
Environmental Analyst
savannah@swape.com
Savannah graduated from UCLA in 2022 with a B.S. in Environmental Science and a concentration in Environmental Health Science. Her coursework ranged from a wide variety of disciplines including biochemistry, environmental microbiology, public health, toxicology and risk assessment. Throughout her time at UCLA she was heavily involved in expanding UCLA’s COVID wastewater epidemiology program with Dr. Vanessa Thulsiraj and worked in the Ophoff lab under Merel Bot. Throughout her senior year she worked on the NASA JPL practicum project under Dr. Jennifer Jay to analyze coastal water quality using remote sensing data and assess the efficiency of the novel bottle method to analyze antibiotic resistant bacteria in L.A. coastal waters. She has a strong passion for public health, sustainable manufacturing, and environmental conservation. Since joining SWAPE, Savannah has worked on projects pertaining to human health risk assessments and environmental remediation.
Madison Wichert
Intern
madison@swape.com
Madison is a fourth year UCLA student. She is majoring in Environmental Science with a concentration in Environmental Engineering. Her studies are focused on the physical, chemical, and biological processes in the environment and engineering systems. Madison was previously part of an environmental engineering lab where she worked on mitigating the negative impacts of wildfires on water quality using green infrastructure. Specifically, she studied the effects of wildfire residue on denitrification, modeling these systems with columns and batch experiments. Since joining SWAPE, Madison has worked on projects involving environmental research, human health risk assessments, and occupational risk assessments.
Callum Man
Intern
callum@swape.com
Callum is a current UCLA student with an expected graduation date of June 2025. He is double majoring in Environmental Science B.S. and Sociology B.A. with a concentration in Environmental Systems and Societies. His coursework focuses on environmental justice, geographic information systems, oceanography, scientific communication, and climate change modeling. He currently works in Dr. Morgan Tingley’s lab investigating the impacts of wildfire smoke on the health and behavior of birds. His previous research has included two projects working under Professor Edward Walker: (1) an NSF-funded investigation of media coverage of corporate commitments to "climate neutral" or "net zero" and the effectiveness of those commitments and (2) a project researching how organizations involved in fire fighting discuss climate change. On campus, he is involved in climate change advocacy and environmentally based corporate consulting. Since joining SWAPE, Callum has assisted on various projects pertaining to PFAS, ethylene oxide, and PCB contamination.
Claudia Rajski
Intern
claudia@swape.com
Claudia is a current UCLA undergraduate student with an expected graduation date of June 2025. She is studying Environmental Science B.S. with a concentration in Environmental Systems and Society and a minor in Global Studies B.A.. Her coursework includes environmental justice, coding, geographic information systems, and environmental policy. Claudia has previous research experience working for the Open 4 Good team at UCLA's Anderson School of Management where she tabulated the GHG scope emission goals of Fortune 500 companies and business sustainability in general. On campus, she is involved in environmental consulting and sustainability-led initiatives. Since joining SWAPE, Claudia has worked on projects related to asbestos, human health risk assessments, and environmental research.
Amy Jordan
Intern
amy@swape.com
Amy is a current UCLA undergraduate student with an expected graduation date of June 2025. She is studying Environmental Science B.S. with a concentration in Environmental Systems and Society. Her studies are focused on environmental policy and regulation, data analysis, environmental justice, and geographic information systems. Amy is currently working on a senior practicum project focused on analyzing community solar initiatives in Los Angeles and Medellín. She previously worked with nonprofits, the US EPA, the USDA Forest Service, and UC Berkeley’s Center for Occupational and Environmental Health. On campus, she is involved in UCLA Farmers Market and runs a handmade jewelry business. Since joining SWAPE, Amy has worked on projects pertaining to environmental regulation and research.