Joe Casola, Deputy Director of the Climate Impacts Group.
Joe Casola, Deputy Director of the Climate Impacts Group.

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) welcomes Joe Casola as its new Deputy Director, effective July 22. He comes to CIG with experience that fits well within their scope, and will also help them grow into new arenas surrounding climate change.

“We’re thrilled to have Joe serving as the new Deputy Director,” says Amy Snover, Director of CIG. “Joe has worked with public and private sector decision makers across the nation on climate adaptation, and also has a strong scientific foundation in atmospheric dynamics and Pacific Northwest climate. This combination of applied knowledge and technical expertise builds on CIG’s strengths while also bringing a new set of perspectives and opportunities that will grow our work both regionally and nationally.”

Casola’s most recent post was as Director of Science and Impacts with the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, where he was responsible for translating information about climate variability, climate change, and climate impacts for use by policy makers and business leaders. Part of that job also tasked him with building relationships among academic, philanthropic, and NGO partners to help advance progress toward a low-carbon, more resilient future, which will be key assets to effectively carrying out the duties of deputy director.

Casola received his Ph.D. from the Department of Atmospheric Sciences in 2009, and previously worked with CIG as part of a team developing climate impacts syntheses for the 2005 climate change conference CIG co-hosted with King County.

Part of the College of the Environment, the Climate Impacts Group is an interdisciplinary network of scientists and technical experts who work closely with decision makers to provide the fundamental scientific understanding, projections, modeling, and adaptation guidance needed by decision makers to prepare for and manage the impacts of climate variability and change. Their data, tools and approaches are widely applied by decision makers at local, state, and national levels to increase social and ecological resilience to climate variability and change.

Read more about the Climate Impacts Group on their website.