DIEGO PONS GANDDINI
Guatemala, Guatemala. + (502) 47888884 [email protected]  https://www.linkedin.com/in/diegopons
EDUCATION:
University of Denver.
-Awarded with a Fulbright scholarship to study a Ph.D. at University of Denver in Geography. ABD status
Rafael Landivar University.
-Master´s in Public Health & epidemiology 2014 (Graduated with Honors)
Del Valle University
-Degree in Biology 2010
-BS in Biology 2011
OTHER HONORS
Co-Founder & CEO of CLIMA –Centro Latinoamericano de Investigación Medio-AmebientalFounded an NGO in Guatemala to help create and disseminate climate information in Latinamerica. Co-founders
are Matthew Taylor PhD, Kevin Anchukaitis PhD and Edwin Castellanos PhD among other researchers and
communicators.
Columbia University.
US Department of State funded internship on Paleoclimatology (Dendrochronology) at Columbia University,
Earth Institute, Tree Ring Lab, NY, 2011.
University of Denver.
Awarded with the Graduate Student Research Award for Excellence in Research. Division of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics. University of Denver. May 2016
Awarded with the Dr. Robert D.Rudd Memorial Award for outstanding graduate student performance. June 2016
Awarded with the Herold Memorial Fund to develop exploratory research in Guatemala to analyze the influence
of orographic precipitation on the Samalá River watershed. May 2016
Awarded with the Herold Memorial Fund to develop exploratory research in Guatemala to extend previous
paleoclimatology studies in the highlands of the country. May 2015
Awarded with the Herold Memorial Fund to develop exploratory research in Guatemala regarding
paleoclimatology in the highlands of the country. June 2014
Awarded with the University of Denver Graduate Studies Inclusive Engagement Fellowship. 2014-2015.
Association of American Geographers (AAG)
Awarded with the Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers (CLAG) field study award 2015
Awarded with the Latin American Specialty Group (LASG) field study award 2015
Awarded second place on poster session with the project “Projected Prevalence of Malaria in Alta Verapaz,
Guatemala for the years 2020 and 2050 using Global Circulation Models and Ecological Niches at the Regional
AAG meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2014.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI)
Invited to participate as an instructor for the 2015 Central American Dendroecological Field week (CADEF),
March 2015, Cuchumatanes Mountains of Guatemala.
Latin American Specialty Group (LASG) - Association of American Geographers
Board member as Graduate Student Director.
University of Zürich
Certificate on Geochronology techniques. September 2016.
LANGUAGES
-Spanish (native): Advance writing and editing skills in any subject area.
-English (Advanced): Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. (TOEFL IBT 99 & ELASH certification)
APPOINTMENTS
Environmental & Biodiversity Research Center (Universidad del Valle de Guatemala)
-Lecturer on the course: Management of Natural Resources
Developed AFOLU methodological protocols for the REDD+ baseline
University of Denver
-Teacher assistant for the Global Environmental Change Course. September 2013 – June 2014.
-Teacher assistant for the Human Population Course. September 2014
-Teacher assistant for the Human-environment Summer Course. June- July 2014.
-Teacher Assistant for the Geography statistics Course June 2015
-Teacher Assistant for the Digital Earth Course January-March 2015
-Teacher Assistant for the Environmental Systems Course September 2015.
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Universidad Rafael Landivar.
-Lecture the course “Research Methods” in 2013 to incoming undergraduate students.
Environmental & Biodiversity Research Center (Universidad del Valle de Guatemala) August 2009- 2013
-Collaborated on projects related to adaptation strategies to Climate Change.
Fundación Solar. 2009
Supervision of project on demonstrative actions in Nebaj, Quiche and San Marcos (Guatemala) to prepare
vulnerable populations to mitigation- adaptation to climate change.
Cementos Progreso. Sanarate, El Progreso. 2006- February 2009.
Implementation of conservation plan for wildlife in the cement plant.
University of Washington & Canada Museum. June- July 2009.
LLAMA (Leaf and Litter Arthropods of Mesoamerica) project collaborator both on field and laboratory.
Consultoría y Tecnología Ambiental (CTA) 2008
Consultant to monitor water quality using macro-invertebrates in Guatemala.
Universidad del Valle de Guatemala. Biology Department. 2004-2005.
Assistant on live wildlife management. Implementation of Terrarium and Entomology lab assistant.
PUBLICATIONS
Pons, D., M.J. Taylor, D. Griffin, E. Castellanos, K.J., Anchukaitis, On the Production of Climate Information in the High
Mountain Forests of Guatemala. Annals of the American Association of Geographers. Special Edition on Mountains. November
2016.
Anchukaitis, K.J., M. J. Taylor, C. Leland, D. Pons, J. Martin-Fernandez, E. Castellanos, Tree-ring reconstructed dry season
rainfall in Guatemala, Climate Dynamics, 2014.
Anchukaitis, K.J., M. Taylor, J. Martin-Fernandez, D. Pons, M. Dell, C. Chopp, E. Castellanos, Annual chronology and climate
response in a high altitude conifer from Central America, The Holocene, 2012.
Castellanos, E., Quilo, A., Pons, D., Estudio de Línea Base de Carbono en Cafetales. Centro de Estudios Ambientales y de
Biodiversidad, y Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala City.2010.
PRESENTATIONS Invited or Recent
-Pons,D. Climate change and Coffee adaptation. CLAG meeting. New Orleans. 2017
-Pons, D. Produciendo Información Climática en los Bosques Montañosos de Guatemala. II Congreso Nacional de Cambio
Climático. Quetzaltenango. 5-7 de Octubre 2016.
-Pons, D. Tropical Dendrochronology: Closing the Gap. University of Zürich. Geochronology Summer School. Bergum,
Switzerland. 2016.
-Pons, D. Climate Change in Central America: Current status and future struggles. Climate, Migration & Health in Latin America:
Connections through Urbanization.CU Population Center, IBS, Boulder, Colorado. May 26-27, 2016 (Invited).
-Pons, D. Coffee and Climate Change: Past, Present and Future. Rural Development in Guatemala, Summer Course, L.D. Wilder
School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University. Taught in Quetzaltenango to undergraduate and
graduate students. July 2015 (Invited).
-Pons D. Coffee and Climate Change: A biogeographic perspective. Biogeography Lecture Series, Del Valle University,
Guatemala, July 2015 (Invited).
-Pons, D. Coffee and Climate Change in Guatemala. Geographies of Migration, Department of Geography & the Environment
April 2015 (Invited).
-Pons, D. Coffee and Climate Change in Guatemala. Geographies of Migration, Department of Geography & the Environment
April 2014 (Invited).
COMPUTER SOFTWARE: COFECHA• ArcGIS• ENVI• MATLAB• Microsoft environment (Word, Excel, Power Point) & any web
browser (Mozilla, Internet explorer, Opera)
DEVELOPING SOFTWARE SKILLS: Course “Mastering Microsoft Visual Basic 6 Fundamentals” • Course “Mastering
Development Microsoft Visual Basic 6” •Course “Mastering Enterprise Development Using Visual Basic 6” Course •
“Developing Microsoft ASP. NET” Course• “Programming with Microsoft ADO.NET”