Ismael Imports is delighted to include the following researchers among its partners:

Marta Ceroni
Marta received a degree in Biology and a PhD in Forest Ecology from the University of Parma, Italy. She moved to the U.S. in 1997 where she started working at the University of Maryland. She eventually discovered Burlington, Vermont and moved up here with her husband in 2002. Marta is a research assistant professor at the Department of Plant Biology and the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at University of Vermont. Her current research is focused on the benefits that societies receive from natural systems (especially forests) and ways to capture parts of these benefits to build economic opportunities for the rural poor. She teaches an honors course on ethnobotany and the sustainable use of plant resources. Marta is currently collaborating with the folks at Ishmael Imports to establish the ecology of sustainable harvests of frankincense in Somaliland.

Anjanette DeCarlo Merino
Anjanette received her MA in Geography from Hunter College in 1999 and her BS in Environmental Science from the State University of New York. She was awarded the EF Schumacher scholarship to study holistic science at the Schumacher Institute as well as the Irene P Goldring science award. She is trained in The Natural Step, a BEAC certified ISO 14001 auditor, Permaculture and Rapid Change.

Currently she is the Program Coordinator at the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont. She manages grants and ateliers including a USAID/HED project on watershed management in Mexico, a “Green Awassa” planning process in Ethiopia and is a collaborator on an NSF project on ecosystem services. She also serves as the central business manager for the Institute responsible for fiscal management, fundraising policy adherence, and daily operations.

Anajanette will be using the breadth and depth of her experience to develop models based on her concepts of: sustainable harvesting, development, and sustainable business. She is also interested in post conflict issues in addition to management of other natural resources and ecological economics.

Kim McRae
Kim McRae is a UVM graduate (May 2006) with a Master in Public Administration from the Community Development and Applied Economics Program in School of Ag and Life Sciences. During her Master's coursework, her main focus was on public policy, nonprofit administration, and the public sector. Kim is currently a PhD student. Her major concentration is Environmental Policy and Indigenous Rights.

Kim is conducting a study into the historical aspects of the global frankincense trade, particularly as it relates to the continent of Africa.