Nina Brander

Nina Brander weaves together experience in international development and sustainable design to build relationships and foster collaboration. She brings a systems-thinking, detail-oriented approach and a passion for art as a vehicle for changemaking and connection.

Before joining the ArtYard team, Brander co-founded Sourland-based Brander Art Furniture with her father, master furniture maker Robert Brander. The studio is an evolving father-daughter dialogue and hands-on exploration of how a business can advance values of circular bio-economy and place-based sustainability, while also cultivating a distinct design language and creating heirloom-quality furniture and cabinetry.

Brander holds a Master of Science in International Development from the University of Amsterdam and a Bachelor of Science in International Agricultural Development from the University of California, Davis. Her graduate research examined how philanthropic foundations can maximize their contributions to climate change mitigation by aligning and leveraging both charitable and financial activities. This work was part of Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground for Sustainable and Inclusive Development, a multi-year international research project that culminated in the book Leaving Fossil Fuels Underground: Actors, Arguments and Approaches in the Global South and Global North, where she contributed broadly to editing and received co-authorship credit on two chapters.