Ousman Cheek

Ousman Cheek is the Rita Allen Civic Science Fellow for the Program on Sea Level Rise, part of a team dedicated to equipping coastal stakeholders with the tools, information, and products necessary to understand, communicate, visualize, and respond to sea level rise and coastal flooding. As a fellow, he is working to deepen existing relationships and forge new connections with various stakeholder audiences that reflect the breadth of communities affected by sea level rise, such as city planners, community leaders, and nongovernmental organizations. He is working to improve the accessibility of Climate Central’s innovative web tools and climate communication resources for coastal resilience.

Previously, Ousman worked as the Just Transition Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club, where he managed national and regional coalitions leading local implementation of sustainable development, guided by community-driven strategy and empowered by federal resources such as the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. He has also worked in environmental education, urban agriculture, policy and climate communications with City Blossoms, the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership. He holds a BA from Howard University in Environmental Studies and Japanese.