My expertise is in global change ecology and I have passion for bringing robust science to bear on informing public understanding and motivating public policies. My research addresses multiple topics at climate science and policy nexus—from the role of forests in climate mitigation to the climate responsibilities of the fossil fuel industry to the governance of solar geoengineering research. I take great care to bring researchers together across disciplines to conduct and communicate actionable science.
Before joining Woodwell Climate, I served as the Director of Science and Policy and Chief Climate Scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists. There, I led major climate research initiatives, guided science, equity, and innovation fellowships and served as senior liaison between the scientific community, policymakers, funders, and the media. I was a lead author on the fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and on the IPCC Special Report on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry. I have also served on the board of various climate and ecological organizations and have taught at Stanford University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and the University of Maryland.
In addition to my work at Woodwell Climate, I currently teach climate science and policy at Harvard University and serve on committees at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Scientists, I believe, have a responsibility to not only conduct research, but to communicate their findings and advocate for research and evidence to inform the adoption of science-based policies. If climate change wasn’t such a pressing concern, I would return to doing curiosity-driven field research in one of my favorite ecosystems, tropical forests.
