Dennis Vahid Best

Dennis joined the Center for Latin American Studies as a Graduate Affiliate in 2022 as he advances his interdisciplinary work and graduate research from the perspective of an economic geographer working at the intersection of fire ecology and decision. His most recent work is framed by considering historic immigration policies, operational decisions, labor and resource management in landscapes across fire ecologies of North America. Previously Dennis has worked as a policy analyst at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development at the International Energy Agency, engaged in program development and analysis of climate policies, bioenergy systems and sustainable energy and climate technologies. Dennis has collaboratively developed policy analysis and international sustainability initiatives with research partners in East, South East Asia, Latin America and Europe. In addition to caring for his family including two children, a few chickens and a backyard micro-farm, he has been learning alongside others in traditional fire stewardship practice and prescribed burn associations across California during his graduate studies. Dennis received his M.S. in Energy and Resources at UC Berkeley in 2017 and his BA in International Relations and East Asian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.