This year, GHGMI is honored to present Olga Lyandres with the Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award—congratulations, Olga!
Our alumni survey gives GHGMI graduates the chance to nominate the instructors who made their capacity-building journey unforgettable. This year, one name stood out: Olga Lyandres, praised again and again for her insightful guidance, thoughtfully designed training, and instruction that alumni described as clear and meaningful. As one nominator put it, Olga is always responsive, always clear, and always on top of every question and concern that comes her way.
Olga is a Senior Program Manager at GHGMI, where she brings sharp, critical thinking to the intersection of climate, ecosystems, and mitigation. Her technical expertise spans developing tools and training materials for countries, states, organizations, and offset credit quality projects—work that quietly shapes how the next generation of GHG practitioners learns their craft.
Her GHGMI story began with one of the Institute’s foundational resources: the ICAT (Initiative for Climate Action Transparency) Agriculture Methodology guide, which helps countries assess the greenhouse gas impacts of agricultural policy. From there, Olga’s involvement in GHGMI-implemented ICAT projects grew steadily, helping countries strengthen the institutional and technical muscle they need to measure, evaluate, and transparently report on climate policies, GHG inventories, and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.
Collaboration is where Olga thrives. She builds and leads partnerships that stretch across communities, governments, and businesses. In 2025 alone, she taught both English- and Russian-speaking technical teams, playing a key role in building GHG inventory and MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification) capacity for ICAT’s Regional Climate Action Transparency Hub in Central Asia.
Olga’s reach doesn’t stop there. She’s also contributing to:
- Nigeria–UK PACT (Partnering for Accelerated Climate Transitions)’s Building Robust Climate Data and MRV Systems initiative
- UNOPS’s project to build MRV infrastructure and national coordination for Mongolia’s NDCs
Most recently, Olga stepped into a new role as instructor for GHGMI’s online course Basics of GHG Project-Level Accounting, bringing her workshop philosophy to an entirely new audience.
What an unexpected honor—thank you for the nominations and the kind words! Most of my teaching happens through workshops and specialized training sessions, a format I love because it’s like building a mini course tailored to a specific need. I start by thinking about what learners want to walk away with, then work backward to the skills and knowledge that will get them there. Watching that progress unfold in real time is genuinely rewarding. I’m also a firm believer in learning by doing. Workshops are perfect for hands-on exercises, idea exchange, and practical experience. I’m looking forward to teaching GHGMI’s online course 202 next and connecting with learners in a new format.
I also want to thank my colleagues and collaborators—delivering a workshop is always a team effort, and I’m constantly learning from my peers and mentors!
Congratulations again, Olga! And thank you for everything you bring to the global GHG management community. GHGMI is lucky to have you on our faculty team.
Nominations for the 2026 Outstanding Faculty Achievement Award will be open during our next annual alumni survey period, March-April 2027. Watch for the survey in your inbox around those dates, or contact our registrar’s office for more information.
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