Staff
Multidisciplinary Team
The multidisciplinary team of staff and students offer experience and expertise across a diverse range of areas. We are formally trained as public administrators, engineers, planners, attorneys, finance/business specialists, economists, policy specialists, information and data scientists, environmental scientists, and more.
Staff
Erin Riggs
Executive Director
Erin Riggs is the Executive Director of the EFC and conducts applied research surrounding legal, policy, and accounting framework that influences environmental finance issues around the country. She graduated from the University of Florida’s Levin … Continued
Christy Ihlo
Deputy Director
Christy Ihlo joined the EFC as the Deputy Director in 2021, overseeing the daily operations of the Center. She brings a diverse background including program management, monitoring and evaluation, technical report writing, spatial analysis, and … Continued
Tom Roberts
Senior Business Analyst
Tom Roberts is the Senior Business Analyst for the EFC at UNC. Tom has an Associate in Applied Sciences in Civil Engineering Technology from Delaware Technical and Community College and a Bachelor of Science in … Continued
Julia Cavalier
Research Director
Julia Cavalier joined the Environmental Finance Center in 2018. Prior to joining the EFC, Julia had 15 years of experience in the water sector and 13 of those years spent with the Public Water Supply … Continued
Elsemarie Mullins
Project Director
Elsemarie Mullins joined the EFC in the spring of 2020 as a Project Director. She provides trainings and technical assistance for water and wastewater providers, conducts applied research on affordability, paying for nutrient management, the … Continued
Hope Thomson
Project Director
Hope Thomson joined the EFC as a project director in April 2022. She focuses on providing technical assistance to utilities, as well as researching barriers and solutions to increasing water service connections in underserved areas. … Continued
Evan Kirk
Project Director
Evan Kirk joined the Environmental Finance Center at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2016. Evan is currently Acting Senior Project Director. He manages statewide water, wastewater, and stormwater rates surveys in multiple … Continued
Garrett Basnight
Research Assistant
Garrett Basnight is a recent graduate of Environmental Studies at UNC working on research and outreach assistance at the EFC. He will be managing EFC social media accounts and providing graphic design and hands on … Continued
Radhika Kattula
Research Assistant
Radhika is an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is pursuing a double major in Economics and Environmental Studies with a concentration in sustainability. In her free time, … Continued
Evan Liebgott
Research Assistant
Evan graduated from UNC in May 2021 with majors in economics and philosophy and a Spanish minor. He worked at the EFC as a student for two years before joining the full-time staff and currently … Continued