People
Members of the Climate Central staff and board are among the most respected leaders in climate science. Staff members are authorities in communicating climate and weather links, sea level rise, climate modeling, engineering assessments, graphic representations of climate data, and other climate science areas. Our journalists have extensive experience in mainstream print, television, digital and social media.
Board
Dr. Pacala is Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University and Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute. He also co-directs...
Decker Anstrom recently retired as President of Landmark Communications and Chairman of The Weather Channel Companies (Cable TV Network, Weather.com, and WSI). He now serves on...
Dr. Benson was appointed to the position of Director of Stanford University’s Global Climate and Energy Project in January 2009 after holding the Executive Director post since...
Jim Bildner is the Managing Partner and CEO of the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation where he focuses on investing in nonprofits and social enterprises that are working to solve...
Carl Ferenbach is Chairman & co-founder of High Meadows Foundation and High Meadows Fund. He is Chairman of the Board of Environmental Defense Fund, an international...
Mr. Hack is a 1969 summa cum laude graduate of Princeton University. He received his MBA from Harvard University in 1972 and began a career in commercial real estate development,...
Bob Litterman is the Chairman of Risk Committee and Advisory Panel. Prior to joining Kepos Capital in 2010, Bob enjoyed a 23-year career at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he served...
Kathryn Murdoch is an advocate for aligning economic and environmental health. She champions organizations that are solutions- based, economically and scientifically literate,...
Michael Oppenheimer is the Albert G. Milbank Professor of Geosciences and International Affairs in the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Geosciences at Princeton...
Wendy Schmidt is President of The Schmidt Family Foundation that supports programs in renewable energy, healthy food and agriculture, and human rights. The foundation supports...
Founding Board
Dr. Lubchenco serves as Administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Prior to her Senate confirmation in early 2009, she resigned from the Board of...
Dr. Pacala is Frederick D. Petrie Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University and Director of the Princeton Environmental Institute. He also co-directs...
Wendy Schmidt is President of The Schmidt Family Foundation that supports programs in renewable energy, healthy food and agriculture, and human rights. The foundation supports...
Staff
Leadership
Dr. Benjamin Strauss was elected President and CEO of Climate Central in April 2018 and also serves as Chief Scientist. He is author of numerous scientific papers and reports on...
Dan Dodson returned to Climate Central as Chief Technology Officer in September, 2019, having worked previously at Climate Central as Software Developer for the Program on Sea...
Karen Florini is Vice President for Programs at Climate Central, where her roles include developing and implementing communications strategies that reach and move large U.S. and...
Steve Rush is the Vice President of Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Climate Central, Rush worked for many years in the banking industry,...
Development
Barbara Charbonnet, Senior Director for Development, is responsible for Climate Central’s giving programs with professional and family foundations as well as with individuals....
Regie Roth, Development Operations Manager at Climate Central, is responsible for managing the internal operations for the development team. Her role includes managing the donor...
Anne Hayes is Director of Development, Western Region, where she focuses on increasing support from individual donors. Prior to joining Climate Central, Anne was Director of...
Communications
Peter Girard directs digital communications and media relations for Climate Central. His previous experience includes heading research, audience development, and public relations...
Editorial
Working closely with researchers in academia, at Climate Central and elsewhere, John Upton leads journalism partnerships with local and national print, radio, television and...
Allison Kopicki serves as a writer and researcher for Climate Central. Most recently she worked on planning and policy issues concerning economic development, smart growth, urban...
Multimedia
Megan Martin is a Multimedia Designer and Meteorologist at Climate Central. She has a B.S. in Meteorology and a B.A. in Visual Arts, both of which are from Rutgers University....
Science
Dr. Tebaldi collaborates with Climate Central's Climate Science and Impacts group and provides scientific oversight and advice on the organization's programs. She is a scientist...
Bernadette Woods Placky is an Emmy Award winning meteorologist and director of Climate Central's Climate Matters program. In her role, Bernadette works with fellow meteorologists...
Sean Sublette is an award-winning meteorologist working on Climate Central’s Climate Matters program, bringing 19 years of experience as a broadcast meteorologist. Before joining...
Dr. Larson leads energy research at Climate Central. He is a senior research faculty member with the Energy Systems Analysis Group at Princeton University's Andlinger Center for...
Jennifer Brady is the Manager of Analysis and Production. In her role she uses data to identify significant trends, patterns and notable climate events, while managing a team of...
Dan Rizza serves as Manager for External Relations and Business Development for Climate Central, Program on Sea Level Rise. Previously, he worked at the Climate Policy Center of...
Dr. Scott Kulp serves as Senior Computational Scientist and Senior Developer for Climate Central's Program on Sea Level Rise, where his research interests include the impacts of...
Lisa Sheridan is a Research and Communications Fellow at Climate Central, working with the Climate Matters Program. She graduated from Princeton University with a B.A. in Ecology...
Kelly Van Baalen is the High Meadows Fellow for the Sea Level Rise Team at Climate Central. She recently graduated from Princeton University with degrees in Molecular Biology and...
Dr. Leila Hadj-Chikh serves as Senior Software Developer for Climate Central's Program on Sea Level Rise. Previously, she worked as Software Engineering Lead at Dunbar Security...
Don Bain, P.E., is a climate engineer and expert on climate change, adaptation and sea level rise. Dedicated to building a bright future in a dramatically changing climate, he is...
William (Will) Atkinson is a Research and Communications Fellow at Climate Central, working mainly with the Climate Matters program.He holds a B.A. in Geosciences and a...
Kaitlyn Weber is a data analyst for Climate Central's Climate Matters program. She has a B.A. in Physical Geography from California State University, Sacramento and a M.S. in...
Bill Atkins is a Senior Software Engineer at Climate Central. He has had diverse professional experience, including working as a software engineer for a global investment bank and...
Returning in 2020 to Climate Central and her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, Shari Bell works across programs as Regional Director. Her focus is building strategic...
Operations
Radoslaw (Rad) Slabinski is Systems Administrator for Climate Central, and is responsible for maintaining and monitoring a wide range of systems from local networks to complex...
David Hudasko is a Senior Accountant at Climate Central and holds a Bachelors of Science degree from Rutgers University.
Three years prior to joining Climate Central, he was the...














































