Daniel Lapidus

Daniel Lapidus has nearly two decades of experience leading programs and guiding efforts at the intersection between food security, climate change, and the environment in both high and low resource settings. As RTI’s climate liaison, he leads RTI’s Center for Climate Solutions, coordinating and representing RTI on institute-wide climate issues and capabilities. Mr. Lapidus’s technical work spans several areas, including socioeconomic analyses, remote sensing, and technology transfer, always employing these technical skills to inform client and stakeholder decision-making.

Currently, Mr. Lapidus leads the data and analytics component of a multi-year initiative to advance Monitoring, Learning, and Evaluation (MLE) systems for a global philanthropic donor who seeks to accelerate country-led agricultural transformation in Africa and Asia. In this role, he coordinates across multiple partners to apply ex-ante modeling tools and agricultural indicators to monitor performance and inform strategic decision-making across multiple countries.

Mr. Lapidus has spent several years supporting multiple clients with valuing the socioeconomic benefits derived from remote and ground based sensors and technologies. Examples include projects focused on valuing the impact of GPS on the agricultural, surveying, and maritime sectors in the US (NIST); the impact early warning systems in Bangladesh (NASA); a ground based fertilizer efficiency technology in Mexico (CIMMYT); and the potential benefits of NASA’s planned Surface Biology and Geology mission (NASA).

Mr. Lapidus has also led and contributed technically to research and analytical studies focused on varied areas such as the unintended consequences of agricultural investments (private foundation); the causes of deforestation in protected areas (EPA); food safety in the United States (USDA); the impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity (RTI); and sectoral economic impact assessments for clients in the US and Canada.

Before joining RTI, Mr. Lapidus worked at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, where he led multi-country initiatives that focused on the sustainable agricultural and climate change, including the agricultural sector components of the Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development Strategies program and the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas program. He has led and provided technical expertise to projects funded by governments, private foundations, and NGOs.

Additionally, Mr. Lapidus is fluent in Spanish.