Celeste Gunderson is a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Specialist for the Food, Land, and Water program at WRI. She supports the Land and Carbon Lab and Global Forest Watch, focusing on collecting and analyzing data to track progress and integrate lessons to enhance the impact of projects.

Celeste holds an M.S. in Geography from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she researched the drivers of deforestation and oil palm expansion in the Peruvian Amazon. She has presented her work to Peruvian universities and experts, USAID Peru, the Inter-American Development Bank, and academic conferences. She also earned a B.A. in Geography and Environmental Studies from UW-Madison.

Based in Washington, DC, Celeste enjoys exploring the outdoors, running, and reading fantasy and science fiction novels.