Andy Bunn is a professor of environmental science at Western Washington University. He is a climate scientist who focuses on changes to arctic carbon cycling and paleoclimatology. He has worked extensively in the Russian Far East and in mountains systems around the world. Most of his current research focuses on the dendroclimatology of Ancient Bristlecone Pine.

Hydrology and Climate Change Modeling
I’m a hydrologist and have spent my 26-year career at Western Washington University working with students on water-resource issues in the Puget Sound region. During the last ten my research group has been modeling how warming climates are projected to impact mountain hydrology to inform salmon habitat adaptation strategies managed by the Nooksack Tribe and the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians.

Professor, Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington
Dale Durran is a professor and past Chair of Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington. His research spans several areas in atmospheric science including the predictability of weather events, mountain weather, and techniques for simulating the weather and climate on computers. Most recently he has been exploring how deep learning can change our current paradigm for numerical weather prediction, sub-seasonal, and seasonal forecasting. He is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and has written over 120 scientific publications, a graduate-level textbook and “perspective” articles about climate change for the Washington Post. His former graduate students include the Founding Director of the American Geophysical Union’s Thriving Earth Exchange and the Director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Division of Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology Laboratory. He received the AMS’s Jule Charney Award in January 2023 for “fundamental contributions to mountain meteorology”. His sculpture was included in the first ever ArtScience Virtual Exhibit exhibit of American Geophysical Union’s 2022 Fall Meeting.

Forest Ecologist

I’m a forest ecologist and have spent most of my career doing research on fire ecology and the effects of climate change on forest ecosystems in the western U.S. The complex web of ecological connections has always fascinated me both personally and professionally. Most of my work in the past 15 years has focused on finding ways to adapt to climate change, particularly helping land managers to increase the resilience of natural resources to a warmer climate. I enjoy working with all kinds of people and organizations to communicate how everyone can understand and respond to the challenges posed by climate change.

Environmental Risk Assessment I’ve worked in the environmental consulting field for the past 35 years, including 20 as Pascoe Environmental Consulting, evaluating human health and ecological risks associated with exposures to chemical pollutants. I received a doctorate in Toxicology from the University of California, San Francisco, and performed research in biochemical toxicology at Oregon State University and the University of Washington, prior to consulting work. Lately my primary role has been to advise governmental agencies such as the US EPA, US Air Force, and state regulators on the potential risks to public health and the health of ecological organisms from exposures to mining waste metals, petroleum components, and PFAS. These projects have included locations in Puget Sound, mine sites in the western state mountains, heavy industry sites in the eastern US, petroleum production areas of Prudhoe Bay AK, and PFAS-contaminated Air Force bases. Laboratory research and consulting projects have resulted in 50 publications in biochemistry, toxicology, and environmental risk assessment. In addition to consulting, I’ve served as a toxicologist on the Washington State pesticide (PIRT) panel and the Washington Department of Ecology Science Advisory Board, and on the board of directors of the Port Townsend Marine Sciences Center.

Climate Scientist

My work focuses on climate change impacts in floodplains, and how to help communities adapt to those impacts. In our region, three factors combine to make flooding worse: rising sea level, declining snowpack, and intensifying rain events. But other climate change impacts also affect people and ecosystems in floodplains, including reduced water available for farms and fish, higher water temperatures, and a likely increase in sediment transported downriver. I work on quantifying these changes and helping stakeholders understand and put those results to use. Science is only one piece of what's needed to address climate change impacts, and more science isn't always what's needed -- I'm interested in understanding where science can be helpful, and how best to engage stakeholders in putting it to use.

Dr. Donatuto is the Community Environmental Health Analyst for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. For more than 20 years, Jamie has been enacting investigations on behalf of the Tribe, including researching toxics in local traditional foods, evaluating tribal health - related impacts from climate change, launching an environmental health education program based on first foods and medicines, and developing community - based indigenous health indicators. Jamie completed her doctoral studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, in the interdisciplinary graduate program of Resource Management and Environmental Studies.

John Bower has spent 40 years studying the natural world. Getting his start as a birdwatcher, his research includes acoustic communication in bowhead whales and song sparrows, foraging competition between hummingbird species on a remote South Pacific island, and the population ecology of Pacific Northwest marine birds. John teaches a wide variety of courses at WWU’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, including “Field Ornithology,” “Evolution and Animal Behavior,” “The Music and Science of Natural Sound,” and “The Folk Music Experience.”

Coastal Systems and Resiliency to Sea Level Rise

Over the past 25 years, my students and I have measured, monitored, and modeled the effects of sea level rise on coastal systems. We use our models and data to guide the course of efforts to restore and maintain coastal systems that are resilient to a changing climate.

Glacial Geology and Climate Change

My career as an Earth Scientist has traced the imprints of past climate changes glaciers left on the Skagit landscape during the past 30,000 years. I have also monitored the sensitive response of glaciers in Washington’s national parks to recent climate changes and related those changes to summer streamflow. I am currently studying groundwater resources and the post-glacial history of the Skagit River from Gorge Dam to Skagit Bay.

Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

My career has focused on the ecology and stewardship of estuaries, rivers, and nearshore marine ecosystems, though I’ve also worked in forests, grasslands, and wetlands. As an ecosystem ecologist, I’m fascinated by the ways in which species and their habitats affect each other. For instance, as temperatures warm with climate change, this affects the populations of mud snails, eelgrass wasting disease, snow geese, diatoms, and European green crabs. Changes to any of these species could, in turn, broadly alter food webs and sediment dynamics across their respective habitats. As stewards of our ecosystems, our decisions and actions directly affect their resilience to change.

I’m recently retired, but spent the majority of his career working as a habitat biologist for a variety of northwest tribal organizations, most recently the Skagit River Systems Cooperative in La Conner. My specialties include riparian ecology, salmon habitat assessment, and computer mapping with Geographical Information Systems (GIS). I've worked in the Skagit basin exclusively since 2008 and on habitat assessment more generally (Alaska, Montana, Oregon, California...) since 1992. My work focuses primarily on the extent to which current and future riparian forests contribute shade and large wood to Skagit rivers and streams .

I work as professor in the civil and environmental engineering and environmental science programs at Seattle University. My research focuses on geomorphic change in river systems over decadal and longer time scales. The work relies on remote sensing, computer simulations, and focused field measurements. Applications include evaluation of the sensitivity of river systems to changes in land use, climate, and water resources management (especially dams).

The work also has applications in floodplain management and in the restoration/rehabilitation of degraded aquatic systems.

Dr. Terry Niblack is a Professor Emerita and former department chair and Senior Associate Dean at The Ohio State University. In her 30-year career, she held academic appointments at several midwestern universities before finishing her career at Ohio State, successfully supporting equity and diversity in food, agricultural, and natural resources faculties. She taught plant pathology (study of diseases of plants) and developed productive and collaborative research and extension programs on the biology, ecology, genotypic and phenotypic variability of an invasive root parasite of soybean. Her research resulted in more than 160 peer-reviewed and extension publications and election as a Fellow of the Society of Nematologists among other honors and awards. Today, she studies the natural history of the Pacific Northwest, pursues creative endeavors, and serves as Chief Mycologist for Skagit Gourmet Mushrooms, LLC.

Fish and Wildlife Biologist

The last 15 years of my career have focused on endangered species conservation and addressing threats to biodiversity. The long-term viability of fish, wildlife, and plant species depend, in part, on their resiliency to ongoing and future changes in their biological and physical environments. As a scientific diver, I've seen first-hand the devastating impact of warming oceans on some of the most remote and endangered corals in the world. I am currently working in partnership with private landowners, government agencies, NGOs, and other organizations to preserve habitat, restore ecosystem functions, and incorporate adaptive responses that increase aquatic ecosystems resilience in the face of climate change throughout the Salish Sea and its drainage basins.