"Our policies and programs must be guided by the latest data and cutting-edge science to better serve and protect our most vulnerable communities against climate change," said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. "We’re building out our capacity across agencies to ensure we’re using the best information to inform our policymakers and community partners. We’ll be guided by some of the top academics in the region through this panel."  

Launched in October 2023, OCS was established within the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs as part of the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s ResilientMass Plan. OCS supports agencies, municipalities, and the public in understanding, accessing, and appropriately utilizing the state’s climate change data in planning, policy, and projects. The Climate Science Advisory Panel will provide critical guidance and understanding of climate research findings to support our communities in adapting to a changing climate. Panelists will guide the development of the State of the Climate Science Report that will inform the Commonwealth’s strategy for updating climate projections to incorporate the latest science and ensure projections are designed to serve the needs of priority populations as well as key adaptation sectors.   

Climate Science Advisory Panelists 

C. Adam Schlosser, PhD

Senior Research Scientist in the Center for Global Change Science, MIT 

Dan Li, PhD 

Associate Professor of Earth & Environment, Boston University 

David Boutt, PhD 

Associate Professor of Geosciences, Co-Director of Environmental Science Program, UMass Amherst 

Elizabeth Sawin, PhD 

Founder and Director, Multisolving Institute 

Erin Coughlan de Perez, PhD 

Research Director and Dignitas Professor, Tufts University 

Senior Advisor, Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre 

Gaurab Basu, MD, MPH 

Director of Education and Policy at Center for Climate Health and the Global Environment, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health 

Jayne Knott, PhD 

Principal and Senior Scientist, JFK Environmental Services 

Jon Woodruff, PhD 

Professor of Earth, Geographic & Climate Sciences, Co-Director of Northeast Climate Adaptation Center, UMass Amherst/NECASC 

Klaus Keller, PhD 

Hodgson Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Dartmouth College 

Lucy Hutyra, PhD 

Professor of Earth & Environment, 2023 MacArthur Fellow, Boston University 

M. Patricia Fabian, ScD 

Associate Professor of the Department of Environmental Health, Associate Director at the Institute for Global Sustainability, Boston University 

Mathew Barlow, PhD 

Professor of Climate Science, UMass Lowell 

Michael Iacono, MS 

Chief Scientist, Blue Hill Observatory and Science Center  

Senior Staff Scientist, Verisk - Atmospheric and Environmental Research 

Paul Kirshen, PhD 

Professor of Climate Adaptation, Research Director of the Stone Living Lab, UMass Boston 

Radley Horton, PhD 

Professor, Columbia Climate School, Columbia University 

Robert DeConto, PhD 

Professor of Earth, Geographic and Climate Sciences, Director of School of Earth & Sustainability, UMass Amherst/NECASC 

Robert Kopp, PhD 

Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Director of the Megalopolitan Coastal Transformation Hub, Co-Director of the University Office of Climate Action, Rutgers University 

Sarah Das, PhD 

Associate Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 

Stacey Archfield, PhD 

Research Hydrologist, U.S Geological Survey 

Susanne Moser, PhD 

Director and Principal Researcher, Susanne Moser Research & Consulting 

Upmanu Lall, PhD 

Global Futures Professor in the School of Complex Adaptive Systems, Director of the Water Institute, Arizona State University