About Us
Integrated Solutions for Complex Challenges
Ceto is a climate-focused boutique consultancy offering pragmatic, interdisciplinary insight to help clients navigate complex planning, policy, and infrastructure challenges. We believe a flexible, systems-based approach is essential. It allows us to understand the issues communities face today and to evaluate the full range of impacts that potential solutions may create. Our work integrates economic, physical, and social dimensions, with a strong focus on environmental justice, to support outcomes that are resilient, equitable, and grounded in real-world context.
Our Story
Ceto grew from a shared commitment to bridging the gap between science, economics, and policy in the face of increasingly complex coastal and environmental challenges. What began as a focused effort on coastal access and economic valuation has evolved into a broader practice that supports interdisciplinary problem-solving across climate resilience, land use, infrastructure, and equity.
Our team brings together expertise in coastal science, economics, environmental planning, and public policy. We are united by a belief that real solutions must account for both technical realities and human impacts. We care deeply about protecting coastal environments and expanding public access, while also recognizing the tradeoffs and constraints that shape decision-making. That balance of values and pragmatism defines our approach to every project.
The Team
Dr. Phil King
Co-Founder | Principal Economist
Dr. Philip King is a founding partner of Ceto Consulting and serves as Principal Economist and Policy Advisor. He brings more than three decades of experience in environmental and coastal economics, fiscal policy, benefit-cost analysis, and climate adaptation.
Phil’s work spans shoreline management, recreation and public access valuation, infrastructure investment, sediment management, and regulatory analysis. He has advised local, state, and federal agencies and published extensively on the economics of beaches, coastal recreation, sea-level rise, and adaptation.
Phil is Professor Emeritus of Economics at San Francisco State University. His work combines rigorous economic analysis with practical policy and funding insight.
Sarah Jenkins
Co-Founder | Principal Consultant
Sarah Jenkins is a founding partner of Ceto Consulting and serves as Principal Consultant and Operations Lead. She specializes in environmental and natural resource economics, climate adaptation, infrastructure policy, and strategic planning.
Sarah leads many of Ceto’s economic valuation and benefit-cost efforts, including work on shoreline protection, stormwater infrastructure, coastal access, and community resilience. She also coordinates interdisciplinary project teams and helps translate complex technical analyses into clear, useful information for agencies, legal teams, and planning partners.
Sarah holds degrees in Applied Economics and International Relations from the University of the Pacific. Her work reflects a strong commitment to practical solutions that balance environmental, economic, and community priorities.
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Dr. Kiki Patsch
Co-Founder | Principal Scientist
Dr. Kiersten “Kiki” Patsch is a founding partner of Ceto Consulting and serves as Principal Scientist. She brings more than two decades of experience in coastal science, geomorphology, climate adaptation, GIS, and environmental planning.
Kiki’s work focuses on shoreline change, sediment systems, sea-level rise, coastal hazards, public access, and beach use. At Ceto, she leads geospatial and environmental analyses that connect physical coastal processes with recreation, equity, infrastructure, and planning decisions.
Kiki is Professor and Chair of Environmental Science and Resource Management at California State University Channel Islands. Her research and applied work emphasize interdisciplinary approaches that make complex coastal science understandable, useful, and directly relevant to real-world management decisions.
Dr. Nate Merrill
Co-Founder | Principal Economist
Dr. Nathaniel Merrill is an environmental economist specializing in water resources, recreation, environmental quality, and the use of large-scale spatial and behavioral data. At Ceto, he brings expertise in econometrics, ecosystem-service valuation, GIS, and innovative data sources such as mobile-device location data and remote sensing.
Nate’s work examines how environmental conditions influence human behavior, recreation, and economic value. His research has addressed water quality, coastal recreation, visitor use, environmental equity, and the economic benefits of protecting natural resources.
Nate earned his Ph.D. in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Rhode Island and spent nearly a decade as an environmental economist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development.
Our Clients
Ceto Consulting partners with state agencies, local governments, regional coalitions, law firms, land-use attorneys, NGOs, and public interest organizations on projects spanning climate resilience, economic valuation, coastal planning, and policy analysis.
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