Joan Alexander is Senior Research Scientist, Vice President, and Director at the NorthWest Research Associates (NWRA) Boulder Office where she has worked since 1998. She holds a simultaneous Adjoint Professor appointment at the University of Colorado, Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences where she advises students in their research. Directly after completing her PhD she held a Postdoctoral Faculty position at the University of Washington (UW) Atmospheric Sciences and became Research Assistant Professor at UW from 1994-1998, a time when she also taught courses in Dynamic Meteorology. After joining NWRA in 1998, she retained an affiliate faculty appointment at UW until 2011.

Joan has participated in ten aircraft and ballooning measurement field campaigns, and served on two NASA satellite science teams. Among other activities, she served as Co-Chair of the Scientific Steering Group for the Stratosphere-Troposphere Processes and their Role in Climate (SPARC) project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP), and has served as President of the Atmospheric Sciences Section of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). She also served as a member of the National Research Council's (NRC) Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, and on other committees and special projects for the AMS, NRC, AGU, WCRP, SCOSTEP, and IAMAS. She was elected Fellow of the AMS in 2006, and became Fellow of the AGU in 2017.

Kristen Averyt currently serves as the climate policy coordinator for the State of Nevada and is a research professor at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. As the top climate official in the state, she is responsible for coordinating climate activities across state agencies to support the governor’s Nevada Climate Initiative. Prior to her current role, Averyt served as president of the Desert Research Institute. She has also held positions at the University of Colorado Boulder, including as the associate director for science at CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences) and as the director of the Western Water Assessment—a NOAA Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program. During this time, her research focused on characterizing risks at the energy–water nexus, as well as understanding linkages between climate and water resources.

In general, Averyt’s career has centered on connecting science with society and decision-making. As a graduate student, she was a Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Academies. After completing her Ph.D. in 2005, she worked in the U.S. Senate as a NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Fellow. She then moved to Colorado to join the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as part of the Technical Support Unit for the Working Group I contribution to the 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. She served as a lead author for the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment, and has coordinated state climate assessments for both Colorado and Nevada.

Averyt received her Bachelor of Science degrees in marine science and chemistry from the University of Miami and her Masters in chemistry from the University of Otago (New Zealand) as a Fulbright Fellow. She holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University in geological and environmental sciences.

Anjuli S. Bamzai currently serves as Senior Science Advisor, Global Climate Change in the Directorate for Geosciences, National Science Foundation (NSF).  In this role she represents NSF at various leadership positions in interagency Working Groups e.g.,  U. S. Global Change Research Program,  Interagency Arctic Policy Research Committee,  Climate Security Advisory Council, U.S. Climate Variability and Predictability program, as well as ad hoc Working Groups convened by the Office of Science and Technology Policy e.g. Fast-track Action Committee on Earth System Predictability.   

At NSF, she has served as Division Director, Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, Section Head Atmosphere Section, program director Arctic Natural Sciences and program director Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics.  She has worked as a program manager at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Atmospheric and Oceanic Research, Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and NSF.  She has highlighted the role of science diplomacy through an Embassy Science Fellowship at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul Republic of Korea, and will be doing a stint as Embassy Science Fellow at the Embassy in Cairo Egypt this summer. 

She has served as the US Government reviewer for the IPCC AR4 and was the NSF ex-officio member on the National Climate Assessment and Development Advisory Committee for the third National Climate Assessment. She was program manager for the International Research Institute, Columbia University during its formative period.  

Bamzai earned a Ph.D. in Earth Systems and Global Changes from George Mason University (1997).  The training she received in India includes the following: Ph.D. in Theoretical Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay India (1979); Masters in Physics from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay India (1973); and Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics (major), Mathematics and Statistics from Fergusson College, Pune India (1971).  

Mona Behl is the associate director of Georgia Sea Grant. In her current role, she provides administrative and financial leadership to Sea Grant, directs its research and fellowship portfolios, builds partnerships, and ensures the quality, relevance, and impact of Sea Grant activities in Georgia.

Behl also holds public service and academic appointments at the University of Georgia and is a nonresident fellow with the AMS Policy Program. All her applied research, education, and extension projects focus on building the adaptive capacity of local communities to impacts of extreme weather and climate change; preparing people for the future of work; and broadening participation in science. Her work is supported by the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Behl is passionate about improving access, engagement, and leadership development of women and minorities in science. She serves on the leadership board of Earth Science Women’s Network, is a member of the AMS Culture and Inclusion Cabinet, and was recently selected to cochair the Mentoring Physical Oceanography Women to Increase Retention program. Behl is the founding member of the AMS Early Career Leadership Academy and Sea Grant’s Community Engaged Internship program. She is also the former chair of AMS Board on Women and Minorities (now the Board on Representation, Accessibility, Inclusion, and Diversity).

Behl earned her B.Sc. and M.Sc. in physics (Honors School) from Panjab University (India), and her Ph.D. in physical oceanography from Florida State University.

Dr. Kandis Y. Boyd, PMP, is a federal government employee, an AMS Fellow, and the 2020 AMS Charles E. Anderson Award recipient for her career-long efforts to support Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She currently serves as the deputy division director at the National Science Foundation. In this Senior Executive Service position, she oversees 33 individuals and a $5 billion annual budget to promote the progress of science.

Dr. Boyd’s career started as a summer intern at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, where she developed research analyses for the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment (TOGA COARE) and presented her findings at her very first AMS conference in 1995.

As the first African-American female to receive an undergraduate degree in meteorology from Iowa State University, Dr. Boyd entered NOAA as an operational meteorologist at the Des Moines Weather Forecast Office. Her career highlights include spearheading the Turn Around Don't Drown (TADD) program, delivering around-the-clock on-site meteorological forecasts during the 2005 landfall of Hurricane Katrina, serving as the designated federal officer for the third National Climate Assessment Development Advisory Committee, and leading as both the acting director and deputy director of the NOAA Weather Program Office.

Dr. Boyd is highly recognized and has published over 50 articles, hosted 30 podcasts, provided over 100 presentations, and authored three books. In addition to her AMS accolades, she has received three Bronze Medals, three NOAA Administrator's Awards, the 2020 Black Engineer of the Year Award for Career Government Achievement, and the 2020 National Weather Association’s Special Act Award. She serves on a variety of AMS committees including the 102nd Annual Session’s Planning Committee’s Subcommittee on Water Security, the Awards Nomination Committee, the Membership Committee, the 2021 Ron Przybylinski Research Operations Nexus, and the Board on Enterprise Decision Support.

DaNa L. Carlis, Ph.D. is an award winning meteorologist and serves as the Deputy Director at NOAA’s Global Systems Laboratory (GSL). At GSL, he responsible for leading the scientific and information technology efforts of the laboratory. Along with the GSL Director, he leads a laboratory of almost 200 scientists, engineers, and administrators. Prior to GSL, DaNa worked at the Weather Program Office (WPO) in Washington, DC where he was the founding program manager of the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) program. DaNa enjoys the fact that he’s able to work between science, policy, and society to ensure better products and services to the American people. 

DaNa attended “The Mecca” Howard University in Washington, DC where he obtained a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Chemistry (2000), as well as a MS (2002) and PhD (2007) in Atmospheric Sciences. In 2007, DaNa was the 2nd African American male to receive his PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from Howard University. 

DaNa is originally from Tulsa, OK where he developed a love for science and math at an early age and in 2018 was inducted into the Booker T. Washington High School Distinguished Hall of Fame. As an active member of the community, DaNa serves as Chair of the American Meteorological Society Forecast Improvement Group. In his spare time, DaNa enjoys cheering for his favorite sports team the Oklahoma Sooners, mentoring and coaching students, and spending time with his family. DaNa is married to Dr. Lydia Carlis, Chief People and Program Officer at Acelero Learning and Founder/CEO of Eyemagination Enterprises LLC, and they have a daughter, Dia Carlis, who is earning a Master’s degree at Georgia State University.
 

Shuyi S. Chen is a Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington. Her research focuses on understanding high-impact weather such as hurricanes and intraseasonal variability that affect the global weather and climate system and improving their prediction. She studies air-sea interaction and precipitation in the tropics and coastal environment using airborne and satellite observations and coupled atmosphere-wave-ocean models. Dr. Chen has led national and international research programs in both field observations and coupled atmosphere-ocean modeling. Her research group at the University of Washington has developed a first-generation high-resolution Unified Wave Interface – Coupled Model (UWIN-CM) to better understand and predict hurricanes, winter storms, coastal flooding, and ocean transport in events of oil spill and other hazards. Shuyi is a lead scientist for several major field campaigns including Coupled Boundary Layer Air-Sea Transfer (CBLAST), Hurricane Rainbands and Intensity Change Experiment (RAINEX), Dynamics of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO), Convective Process Experiment (CPEX) and CPEX-Aerosol and Winds. She was an editor of Weather and Forecasting of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and currently serves on AMS Fellows Committee. She served as Vice Chair of the National Academies’ Board on the Atmospheric Science and Climate (BASC) in 2016-2019, and member
of Steering Committee for the Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space (ESAS) in 2016-2018. She was elected the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Board of Trustees in 2017. Shuyi is a Fellow of American Meteorological Society. She received a B.C. from Peking University, an M.S. from University of Oklahoma, and a Ph.D. in meteorology from Penn State University.

Richard D. Clark is Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences and Professor of Meteorology at Millersville University. His research in boundary layers and air chemistry led to participation in major field campaigns involving over 200 undergraduate students, among them, NARSTO- NEOPS (EPA), DISCOVER-AQ (NASA), OWLeS, PECAN, and SEAR-MAR (NSF). He has contributed to many educational opportunities, including the development of a concentration in Heliophysics and Space Weather, an M.S. in Integrated Scientific Applications to prepare business-ready scientists, and a Certification in Space Weather and Environment: Science, Policy, and Communication to advance understanding and communicate risks.

Clark is a Fellow of the AMS and was elected to Council (2008-11). As an AMS member for 33 years, his service includes the International Volunteering Program, Board of Higher Education, Nominating Committee, STAC and APT Committees, and as co-organizer of several AMS conferences, workshops, and symposia, including the First Student Conference. Student participation at AMS, AGU, NWA, WRMA, and agencies’ functions are central to Clark’s commitment to student success and the viability of these organizations.

Clark was elected to the UCAR Board of Trustees (2009-2015) and has served on all UCAR governance committees, strategic planning workshops, and search committees. His contribution to science advocacy, building relationships, and access to data and tools on behalf of the university community is manifest through leadership on UASC, PACUR, and Unidata Governance Committees. His collaboration with NCAR/EOL and COMET on SEGUE (NSF) will soon result in modules on instrumentation and measurement being available to the community. Clark also served on other NSF initiatives (e.g. EarthCube) and panels, notably as chair of the NSF/NCAR/EOL Observing Facilities Advisory Panel (OFAP).

Clark has a Ph.D. in atmospheric science from the University of Wyoming (’87) and is the recipient of the 2006 Russell L. DeSouza Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Unidata Community and the 2008 AMS Teaching Excellence Award.

Bradley R. “Brad” Colman is the director of Weather Strategy for Bayer/The Climate Corporation. In this role, he coordinates across multiple business units to set Enterprise weather priorities, and works with vendors, engineers, and climate scientists to provide tailored decision-support information to Bayer’s global agricultural industry. Before working for Climate, he was principal program manager on a Microsoft team charged to develop a sole-source weather service for their ecosystem.

Prior to joining the private sector, Colman enjoyed a long and diverse career with NOAA, where he worked at NWS’s forecast offices in Seattle, Washington (MIC & SOO), and Juneau, Alaska (forecaster); NOAA’s Environmental Research Laboratory, Boulder, Colorado (research meteorologist); and NOAA’s Meteorological Development Laboratory, Silver Spring, Maryland (acting director). Colman has served as affiliate associate professor at the University of Washington and affiliate assistant professor at the University of Idaho.

He is an AMS Fellow (1995), recipient of the Mitchell Award (2000), and has served as commissioner of the Planning Commission (2012–15) and the Scientific and Technological Activities Commission (2001–06); councilor and member of the Executive Committee (1997–2000); chief editor of Weather and Forecasting (1992–97); and associate editor of Monthly Weather Review (1990–93).

Colman earned his Sc.D. in atmospheric sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1984) and a B.S. in Earth sciences from Montana State University (1977). He coedited an award-winning two-volume Handbook of Weather, Climate, and Water (Wiley Press, 2003). He has also authored or coauthored more than 30 journal articles, contributed content to 4 books, and coauthored the NRC report, Where the Weather Meets the Road (2004). He is a Bayer Science Fellow (2018), an elected Member of the Washington State Academy of Sciences (2014), cochair of the Environmental Information Services Working Group (NOAA-SAB, 2018–present), and a member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC, 2019–present).

Mark DeMaria is the Chief of the Technology and Science Branch (TSB) Chief at NOAA’s National Hurricane Center in Miami. The Technology and Science Branch is responsible for application development, transfer of research to operations to improve tropical cyclone and tropical marine forecasts, and support of NHC’s computer infrastructure and data flow.

DeMaria received his Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Florida State University in 1977 and his Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Colorado State University in Atmospheric Science in 1979 and 1983, respectively.

DeMaria began his career in Meteorology as a faculty member in the Department of Marine and Atmospheric Science at North Carolina State University in 1985, and his career with NOAA in 1987 at its Hurricane Research Division (HRD). During his eight years at HRD he worked on tropical cyclone modeling, data assimilation, and development of statistical models for prediction of hurricane track and intensity. From 1995 to 1998 he served as the NHC TSB Chief, and from 1999-2013 as the Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch Chief at the NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research, collocated with Colorado State University. During this time, he developed satellite applications to tropical cyclone analysis and forecasting, and led the development of NHC’s operational wind speed probability program. DeMaria returned to NHC in 2014, again as the TSB Chief. Since 1981, DeMaria has authored or co-authored more than 90 articles on tropical cyclones, numerical weather prediction, and satellite and mesoscale meteorology in the refereed literature. He received the Banner Miller Award from the American Meteorological Society four times for his work on tropical cyclone forecasting as well as seven NOAA and Department of Commerce Gold, Silver and Bronze Medals. He also received the NOAA Distinguished Career Award in 2014 and the NOAA Administrators Award in 2019.

Rebecca (Becky) DePodwin is a Strategy and Business Transformation Senior Consultant for Guidehouse, under their National Security Segment. She has over a decade of professional experience serving partners and clients, combining expertise in meteorology, emergency preparedness, business continuity, and risk communication. Becky holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Science degree in Emergency Management from Millersville University. 

Becky is very active within the American Meteorological Society (AMS), currently serving as the Chair of the Board on Enterprise Strategic Topics and a member of the Inclusion, Equity, and Justice (IEJ) working group. Previous volunteer positions include Co-Chair of the Planning Committee for the Early Career Leadership Academy and the 2020 Chair of the Board for Early Career Professionals. She was also a founding member of the Central Pennsylvania Local Chapter of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association.

Becky is an advocate for the discussion of the emotional well-being of meteorologists, emergency managers, and first responders and has discussed this topic in published articles, personal blog posts, podcasts, and conference sessions. This work earned her the Special Appreciation Award from the National Weather Association at their 2019 annual meeting. Becky was also part of the 4-person team that received the 2018 American Meteorological Society Award for Exceptional Specific Prediction.

A Colorado native now living in Pennsylvania with her husband and two cats, Becky enjoys spending time outdoors, traveling as much as possible, playing word games, and reading historical fiction books.
 

Michael R. “Mike” Farrar is is the chief scientist for weather operations for the U.S. Air Force (USAF). In this role, he serves as the primary science advisor to the USAF director of weather and coordinates science and technology activities related to weather operations with internal USAF and Department of Defense (DoD) stakeholders as well as with US interagency and international partners. Farrar served in 2017–18 as senior VP and chief operating officer of the University Corporation of Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and held several executive positions in NOAA from 2012 to 2017, including the Meteorological Development Laboratory (MDL) director and Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) director in the National Weather Service (NWS) and acting deputy director of the NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). Prior to that, he was VP of strategic and business development for Science and Technology Corporation (STC) from 2010 to 2012, and he began his career as a uniformed USAF meteorologist where he served for 24 years in several leadership positions in forecast operations, scientific development, program management, training, budgeting, planning/policy, and collaboration with U.S. and international partners. Within AMS, Farrar currently serves on the Commission on Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise; the Executive Committee of the Forecast Improvement Group; and on the Kenneth Spengler Award Committee. He previously served as a Mesoscale Processes Committee member (1999–2000), Weather Analysis and Forecasting Committee member (2000–02), and Committee to Improve Climate Change Communication member (2010–14). Farrar holds a B.S. in physics from Purdue University, a B.S. in meteorology from The Pennsylvania State University, an M.A. in national resource strategy from the Eisenhower School of the National Defense University, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in meteorology from Florida State University. He has received numerous military awards and decorations and has led two centers/ labs in the NWS to receive Department of Commerce Gold Medals.

Rong Fu currently serves as the director of the Joint Institute for Earth System Science and Engineering, and a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences, at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).  As the director, she is leading the collaboration between University of California and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) for building the California Climate Information System, a major effort funded by California and led by JPL to modernize the climate information for enhancing the resilience of the state to climate change impacts, especially to droughts and wildfires.  She is a co-lead of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Drought Task Force Phase IV, a member of the NOAA Science Advisory Board Climate Working Group, and of the Review team on NOAA “Precipitation Prediction: Grand Challenge Strategic Plan” and the “Report to Congress: Subseasonal and Seasonal Forecasting Innovation: Plans for the Twenty-first Century”.  She is a member of the AMS Fellow Committee, the chair of the Hydrosphere and Atmosphere Section of the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS), and a member of the selection committee of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Joanne Simpson Medal for Mid-Career Scientist.  She was formerly President of the Global Environmental Change Section (GEC) of the AGU, an AGU Council Member and Council Leadership Team.  In general, Fu’s career is centered on research of the precipitation-rainforest interaction over Amazonia and Congo, land-atmospheric interaction and mechanisms behind drought predictability over the western and central United States.  She received her BS from Peking University in China in 1984 and PhD from Columbia University in New York in 1991. She is Fellow of the AMS, AGU and AAAS, respectively, and a recipient of the AMS Award for Outstanding Achievement In Biometeorology. 

Michael (Mike) Henry is a a dedicated science policy & government relations professional, with over 15 years experience working for or adjacent to organizations central to the U.S. weather, water, and climate enterprise, including UCAR, AIP, NASA, and U.S. Senator Ben Cardin. Currently serving on a 4-yr appointment at NASA HQ supporting/advising the leadership of the Science Mission Directorate, the Earth Science Division, Heliophysics Division, and Joint Agency Satellite Division, which manages NOAA’s reimbursable satellite work. 2 years Capitol Hill experience working on environment, energy, and science & technology policy. University of Colorado at Boulder graduate education in S&T policy and environmental studies. Experience includes managing and editing a 4-person science policy news service and resource center; management of policy and independent review teams, studies, and projects; strategic planning; and advising and developing and maintaining relationships with and between scientists and federal stakeholders. Expertise includes S&T policy; climate change science and policy; environmental and energy policy; the federal budget process; and policy analysis, implementation, and communication.

As executive director of the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO), a non- profit worldwide scientific and educational organization of amateur and professional astronomers, Stella Kafka utilized a combination of talent, skills, and scientific accomplishments that she now brings to her new role as AMS executive director.

Kafka obtained her B.S. degree in physics at the University of Athens, Greece, and a master’s and Ph.D. in astronomy, with a double minor in physics and geophysical sciences from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. There she received the Hollis and Grete Johnson Award for Excellence in Graduate Student Research. After completing her Ph.D., Stella held a series of prestigious postdoctoral positions and fellowships, first at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, where she received the National Optical Astronomy Observatory Excellence Award, then at IPAC/Caltech, and finally as a NASA Astrobiology Institute Fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Stella also brings with her a wealth of managerial experience. In addition to serving as the director of two research and mentorship programs for undergraduates while in Chile, Stella managed editorial, marketing, financial, business development, operations, and production aspects of journals at the American Institute of Physics (AIP). As a journal manager at AIP, Stella successfully oversaw the launch of a new journal and served as a liaison between publishing and research communities.

On top of her research and management abilities, Stella brings an international perspective to her work. After growing up in Greece, she obtained a Proficiency Diploma in the French language (she has one in English, too), pursued higher education in the United States, and worked and traveled in South America (including Chile, Argentina, and Brazil). Stella is fluent in Greek and English and speaks Spanish and French.

Stella enjoys interacting with people of every age and background and has honed her communication skills through mentoring students, classroom teaching, and lectures to professional and public audiences. And then, like all good communicators, she knows when to stop and listen.

Dr. Andrea Lopez Lang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences at the University at Albany, SUNY. She is an active member of her department, where her research expertise spans synoptic to large-scale dynamics on the weather to subseasonal–to–seasonal (S2S) timescales. Outside of her role in developing a new M.S. Program in Applied Atmospheric Sciences, and serving on her department’s Graduate Curriculum and Inclusion & Diversity Committees, Dr. Lang has mentored students to successful careers in the public, private, and academic sectors.

She is committed to bridging the gap between academic experiences and employment in the breadth of careers for atmospheric scientists. She served as a co-organizer of the NSF sponsored “Mind the Gap” Workshop, which brought academic and industry leaders together to address educating the next generation of atmospheric scientists for industry needs.

In contributing to national and international projects, Dr. Lang serves as a co-lead for NOAA’s S2S Prediction Task Force and as a member of the Interagency Weather Research Working Group (IWRWG) coordinated by the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology. Dr. Lang is also a member of the steering committee for the Stratospheric Network for the Assessment of Predictability, a WMO/WCRP/SPARC activity focused on investigating the role of the stratosphere in S2S prediction.

Dr. Lang was in the inaugural 2018 class of the AMS Leadership Academy and is currently a member of the AMS Board of Enterprise Economic Development and the AMS Middle Atmosphere Committee. She is currently is an Associate Editor of Monthly Weather Review and has served as an Associate Editor for Weather and Forecasting and as a Guest Editor for a Special Collection on S2S prediction in Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres and Geophysical Research Letters.

She received her Ph.D. in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2011.

Michelle Mainelli currently serves as the Director of the Office of Dissemination at the National Weather Service (NWS).  She is responsible for the critical component of NWS’ mission to disseminate weather, water, and climate data, forecasts and warnings and enable impact-based decision support services for the protection of life and property in a manner that is both timely and reliable. Encompassing over 150 federal employees and contractor support services and an annual budget of $127M, her office and dissemination activities promote increased accessibility, interoperability, and stewardship of NOAA data. 

With 32 years of Federal Government service at the NWS, Michelle  has served in various positions, including a forecaster and hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center and software development team lead, branch chief, and Deputy Director  of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction Central Operations.  Of those 30+ years, she possesses over 15 years of operational forecasting experience in general, marine, and tropical cyclone forecasting.  She holds the honor of the first and only woman Hurricane Forecaster at the National Hurricane Center, to date.  Ms. Mainelli holds a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from St. Louis University, a Master of Science in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography from the University of Miami, a MBA in Technology Management from the University of Phoenix, and a Certified Senior Level FAC Program / Project Manager.

Erin Coughlan de Perez is the Dignitas Associate Professor at Tufts University, at the Feinstein International Center of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. Erin bridges science, policy, and practice in her research on climate risk management around the world. She focuses on extreme events, exploring how droughts, floods, heatwaves, and other climate shocks can be anticipated before they happen. This includes the use of short-term weather forecasts for anticipatory action, and Erin works with humanitarian teams on the development of early action protocols to avoid disaster impacts. In terms of long-term climate change, Erin studies unprecedented extremes and the adoption and effectiveness of climate change adaptation measures.

Erin comes to the Feinstein Center from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, where she built a global climate science team and led the first Forecast-based Financing pilots in the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement. Erin retains a technical advisor position at the Climate Centre, to maintain links to humanitarian operations around the world.  

Erin is also a Lead Author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report. Her chapter is Decision-Making Options for Managing Risk, as part of the Working Group II on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.

Bernadette Woods Placky is the chief meteorologist and Climate Matters director at Climate Central, a nonprofit research and communication organization. Climate Matters works with a network of more than 1,800 U.S. TV meteorologists and journalists, helping them to make climate change immediate, local, and relevant for their audiences through education, content creation, and network support. She also works with a global group of TV weather presenters. 

Woods Placky graduated from Penn State University in 1999 with a B.S. in meteorology and a minor in French, including a semester studying abroad. She began her career at AccuWeather before making the switch to broadcast television. Her first TV station was in Fayetteville, Arkansas, then she moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and eventually Baltimore, Maryland, where she was the first female meteorologist in the station’s history. This is also where she won an Emmy for Best Weathercaster and helped launch Weather Day at Camden Yards for area students. Woods Placky earned both the AMS Seal of Approval and the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist distinction. 

In 2013, Woods Placky made the transition to Climate Central in Princeton, New Jersey. During her time there, she has given numerous presentations and hosted many workshops around the world, including at COP 21 in Paris. 

Woods Placky has served on several AMS committees and task forces, and hosted several short courses. In addition to her work with AMS, she is deeply engaged in her alma mater, Penn State. She helped launch the Meteorology Alumni of Penn State group, served on the Graduates of Earth and Mineral Sciences Board, has been active in the Mentoring Program, and is the chair of the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science Department Advisory Board. Woods Placky is also very active in her local community, serving on the board of trustees for the Watershed Institute and as a science advisor for C-Change Conversations.

Dr. Keith L. Seitter currently serves as Executive Director Emeritus and Senior Policy Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.  From September 2004 to January 2022, Seitter served as Executive Director, after having been the Deputy Executive Director from 1999 to 2004.

Seitter joined the AMS in the early 1990s as Assistant to the Executive Director in the role of leading the Society’s publications department. His primary job was to improve the efficiency of the Society’s journal production process and prepare for the eventual transition of the journals to electronic delivery, at a time when the Internet was just beginning to flourish. Today, all of the AMS's prestigious journals are available online.

As Deputy Director, Seitter was involved in all aspects of the Society’s programs including moving the many AMS Specialty and Annual Meeting toward electronic submission and dissemination of author’s materials, implementing the recommendations from the 10-Year Vision Study, and continuing working with the publications department.

Before joining the AMS, Seitter was on the faculty at the University of Lowell, now University of Massachusetts at Lowell. He earned his undergraduate degree in meteorology at the Pennsylvania State University and a doctorate in geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago. A native of Marion, Ohio, Seitter had a postdoctoral appointment at the Air Force Geophysical Laboratory at Hanscom Air Force Base before moving to the University of Lowell.

Seitter is a Fellow of the AMS and Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society. He is also a member of many other societies and organizations in the sciences and scholarly publishing and serves on a number of advisory boards. He has given numerous invited lectures and published a number of papers in AMS and other scientific and publishing journals.

The AMS, founded in 1919, is the nation's leading professional society for those involved in the atmospheric and related sciences. With more than 13,000 members, the Society promotes the development and dissemination of information on atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences through scientific journals, conferences, and public education programs across the country.

A member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) since 1970, Bruce Telfeyan has been active in local AMS chapters in Omaha (where he served as president for two years), Dayton, and St. Louis.  He chaired the AMS Weather Analysis and Forecast Committee from 2012 - 2014, chaired the AMS Board for Operational Government Meteorologists, and was a member of the AMS Local Chapter Affairs Committee and the AMS Board for Enterprise Planning.  He served three-year terms on the NWA Awards Committee and Membership and Marketing Committee.  In October 2014, the AMS Council selected him to serve as the incoming commissioner for the Scientific and Technological Activities Commission (STAC), a term that began in January 2015.  He became the current STAC Commissioner in January 2017, and has been the past commissioner since January 2019.  He became the Secretary-Treasurer of the AMS in Jan 2021. 

Bruce majored in mathematics at the University of Kentucky, then entered graduate school and earned an MS in meteorology from Cornell University in August 1972.  He began Air Force active duty in 1972 and spent his initial assignment of 7 years at Air Force Global Weather Central (AFGWC).  Initially, he worked as a computer operations manager, but after a year, obtained an assignment into the weather forecasting division.  For the next three years, he wrote centralized terminal forecasts for 103 locations across the U.S., issuing a total of nearly 30,000 individual weather predictions.  Later, he advanced to become an assistant team chief, and eventually, as a team chief, he directed the efforts of 32 weather forecasters.  He was then reassigned to the Air Force ROTC program and spent four years as an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  His next destination was Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, Alabama.  Subsequently, he served three years as the Weather Detachment Commander at Plattsburgh AFB, New York.  In July 1987, he was reassigned to HQ Seventh Weather Wing, Scott AFB, Illinois, where he served as the Weather Liaison Officer to HQ Air Force Communications Command and then as the Wing Commander’s on-scene representative in HQ Military Airlift Command.  In August 1990, three weeks after the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, he reported to Izmir, Turkey where he served as the Director of Meteorology and Oceanography for NATO's Sixth Allied Tactical Air Force.  He was responsible for weather support to the Allied Command Europe Mobile Force deployment of Italian, Belgian, and German fighter squadrons into Turkey for defensive purposes during the Gulf War.  Upon leaving Izmir, he headed to Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, and served as Deputy Directory of Weather for Air Force Materiel Command. 

He retired from active duty as a lieutenant colonel in 1993 and began working at AFGWC as a civil servant.  Initially, he spent 19 months as a Chief Forecaster in the Meteorological Products Branch.  He served as the Technology Exploitation Branch Chief for 10 years and directed the development of the Interactive Grid Analysis and Display System – IGrADS.  He retired in Dec 2020, closing out his 48-years of service with the USAF as the chief requirements meteorologist for the 557^th Weather Wing.  

He served as the primary night shift meteorologist during Steve Fossett's three around-the-world balloon flight attempts in 1996, 1997, and 1998.  He conducted critical analyses of northern hemisphere circulation patterns in preparations for these flights.  He also performed precedent-setting work in developing techniques for avoiding unfriendly countries during Fossett’s 1997 flight.  Then, in Feb 2000, he was a meteorologist for Kevin Uliassi’s around-the-world balloon attempt that went from Illinois to Burma.  In addition to ACSC, he is a graduate of Air War College, Squadron Officer School, the Air Force Academic Instructor School, Introduction to Acquisition Management, and the NATO Officer Orientation Course.  His military decorations include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the Air Force Achievement Medal, and the Southwest Asia Campaign Medal.  He is married to Connie, retired from 26 years of service as the Omaha Public Schools Risk/Safety Manager, and resides in Bellevue, Nebraska.  His children are Brad, an attorney in Nashville, and Jennifer, a realtor and leader in the Slow Food Movement in California.  He has two grandsons, Henry and Gus, and a granddaughter, Abigail, in Nashville, TN.  He and Connie are legal guardians of her grandson, Elijah Theulen.