Unreasonable Fellows
Susan Graham
CEO and co-founder at Dendra Systems
Susan is an Unreasonable Fellow. Susan has participated in 3 programs, including Shell StartUp Engine UK 2020.
Dr. Susan Graham is an engineer and entrepreneur working with AI and analytics to restore and protect global ecosystems.
As the CEO of Dendra Systems, a data analytics company that uses AI and drone technology to restore natural ecosystems, Dr. Graham leads a team of ecologists, engineers and computer scientists to assess ecosystems and execute customized restoration plans to support plant, animal and microbial life. Dr. Graham’s deep understanding of the biodiversity that makes up complex ecosystems as well as the incentives that drive global change has led Dendra to partner with leading Fortune 500 Companies and the world’s top regulated resources companies to comprehensively restore the land they manage.
With a mission to create scalable, impactful solutions to climate change, Dr. Graham levied her expertise in engineering and natural sciences to co-found Dendra Systems in 2014, bringing an unprecedented level of cost efficiency and effectiveness to land restoration.
Dr. Graham’s innovative approach to ecosystem restoration has earned her numerous accolades including Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and a finalist position for 2020 Pritzker Prize. She has spoken about the impact of land degradation on climate change at the United Nations at the launch of the SDGs in New York ‘15 to Eco Summit Berlin ‘19. Her vision on the need for scalable technology solutions for land restoration has appeared in Wired, Fast Company, Engadget, Forbes and other elite global publications.
Graham earned her PhD from Oxford in Biomedical Engineering after completing her undergraduate degree from the University of Sydney. She lives with her husband and her acoustic guitar.