Sophie O'Brien

Sophie joined Motu in July 2018, having completed her masters in ecology at the University of Canterbury. Her thesis explored the effectiveness of environmental restoration at reinstating ecosystem functioning, with applications for planning and delivering cost-effective restoration that yields realised gains for biodiversity. Prior to this, she completed a bachelor's degree jointly majoring in economics and biological sciences. During her undergraduate study, Sophie spent a semester abroad at the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria.

At Motu, Sophie works on a diverse range of topics. At present she manages the Waro Project, investigating the use of the New Zealand ETS to facilitate native forest regeneration on Māori land, focussed in Tairāwhiti. With Izi Sin she is investigating the drivers and consequences of parental leave decisions, and with Catherine Leining has been involved in the development of various resources around ETS dynamics.