About

I am a PhD student in the E-IPER program in Environment and Resources at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. I am part of the ECHO lab and advised by Marshall Burke and Gabrielle Wong-Parodi, as well as many wise post-docs, research staff, and peers. I am supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation Stanford Graduate Fellowship.

Prior to starting my PhD, I worked on the economics team at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and was a climate resilience research fellow at the Wharton Risk Center at U Penn. I completed a master’s degree at the Energy & Resources Group (ERG) at UC Berkeley, during which I was a research assistant on the equity metrics team at the Othering & Belonging Institute. Before moving into research, I spent my early career working with local governments on climate resilience planning and policy.

Research Interests

I am interested in the economic and health impacts of climate change and disasters, and contributing to the evidence-base of what adaptation policies are effective. My work has touched on municipal fiscal impacts, disaster insurance access, and local housing policy in the US. I am currently working on research examining the role of social safety net programs (LIHEAP) on temperature-related mortality.

Feel free to contact me at ksfrench [at] stanford [dot] edu