Leafbird is an environmental services consulting business run by Deborah Gross and Vishal Mehta. We have a combined 35 years of work experience in the climate, energy, and water sectors. Leafbird offers applications in solar energy, urban and agricultural planning, water resources management, conservation and climate change services.
Leafbird is a woman-owned, registered small business.
The name for our business is inspired by our daughter’s love for birds. Maya’s drawing of the Leafbird, found in India among other places, is our logo.
We are especially interested in supporting community-based development.
Deborah Gross
After working for 12 years in the solar industry, Debbie created Leafbird Consulting to pursue solar energy as well as conservation-related work. She has a background in forestry, environmental education, water management and city and regional planning. Debbie graduated from Yale and Cornell University with degrees in Environmental Science and Natural Resources Management.
Debbie also serves as Board President for the Davis School Arts Foundation (DSAF) in Davis, California.
Vishal Mehta
Vishal has 20 years of work experience in 10+ countries. He is trained in engineering, hydrology, forest conservation and water resources systems analysis. Vishal has extensive experience in climate change (impacts, mitigation and adaptation), and land-use change especially in integrated water and energy systems modeling. He is skilled at project management, data science applications and facilitation. Vishal enjoys working with creative people on innovative solutions across disciplines, and is especially fond of science-art collaborations.