Ruchi Patel

Ruchi Patel is a senior policy analyst with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s Land and Water impact area, where she leads research and initiatives advancing effective policy, best practices, and innovation in conservation and sustainable resource management worldwide. A broadly trained human–environment geographer, she possesses more than a decade of cross-sector experience working at the nexus of environmental conservation, land use policy, community development, and social equity, in both domestic and international contexts.

Prior to joining the Lincoln Institute, Ruchi served as director of environmental and climate justice initiatives at the Pittsburgh-based UrbanKind Institute, where she led research and programs focused on housing and land use, water equity, and environmental justice. She has collaborated with organizations including the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, as well as other nonprofit and community-based partners, to study and address issues related to livelihoods, land and resource rights, environmental governance, and land use change across the United States and Latin America.

Ruchi is a former Fulbright Fellow to El Salvador (2021–2022) and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay (2013–2015). She also previously worked with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics in Washington, DC. She holds a PhD and MS in geography from Pennsylvania State University and a BS in ecology and natural resources from Rutgers University.