Molly Burhans

Molly Burhans is an internationally recognized environmentalist, cartographer, and social entrepreneur. Molly has been publishing professional design media since 2004 and holds an M.S. from the Conway School. She is the founder of GoodLands, an organization whose mission is to mobilize large landholders to use their property for environmental and humanitarian good. Molly oversaw the creation of first unified data-based global map of the Catholic Church’s governing (ecclesiastical) jurisdictions at ESRI as an invited researcher. These maps premièred at the Vatican in 2016.

Molly is a United Nations’ Young Champion of the Earth, representing North America in 2019. She is a Sierra Club EarthCare laureate, one of Encyclopedia Britannica‘s 2022 20 Under 40 in the category of Academia and Ideas, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer (2021), Ashoka Fellow (2018), Henry Arnhold Conservation Fellow (2020), and Grist Fixer (2020).

Molly has developed models and projects related to ecological restoration across geographic scales, global meta-state governance, conservation financing with non-taxable landholders, and data infrastructure deployment for global non-state actors. This work has gained interest and recognition from academic, governmental, and private sector organizations.

Molly’s work has been covered by major media outlets including The New Yorker, BBC, Forbes, and The Boston Globe. She is a leading voice and activist in the Faith for Earth space. She has been an invited speaker at universities, academic and technology conferences, the United Nations, and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.