Dr. Joy E. Hecht
consultant
traveler
writer
photographer

My professional life is devoted to work on environmental issues in the developing world. I am something of a data geek, and derive great pleasure from analyzing tangled problems through the application of logic and numbers. I've had a chance to do that in many contexts and many parts of the world, and I usually even get paid for it, so I consider myself quite lucky.

My life as a consultant gives me considerable freedom, which I've taken great advantage of over the past few years. In 2004 I moved into an old VW vanagon named Matilda, which has for the most part been my home since then. You can read about my travels with Matilda on this site, by clicking on the links to the left.

I've always been a graphic designer "on the side," dating back to the days of x-acto knives, rubylith, and transfer type. Since I bought my first digital camera, I've also done a lot of photography. Recently, I'm returning to my early interests in graphic design, looking for design opportunities wherever I can find them. You can see some of the results by clicking on the "photography and graphics" link to the left.

For more information about any of this,
please feel free to contact me.
Chances are, I'll even reply!


Latest update - study on costs of climate change in East Africa

Two colleagues and I have recently completed a study of the costs imposed by climate change in East Africa, a project carried out for USAID's East Africa Office of Regional Economic Growth and Integration through the ENCAP project of International Resources Group. This innovative study estimated the economic values of the impacts of climate change, bringing together data from a wide range of sources

The full study, including all of the data used, our calculations, and the references we relied on can be accessed by clicking here.