Committee Chair
Kristen Averyt
Executive Vice President, Science
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Former Member, UCP External Review Committee
Dr. Kristen Averyt is currently a Fellow at Brookings Mountain West at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. She recently served as the White House Director for Drought and Western Resilience in the Executive Office of the President, Council on Environmental Quality. Averyt previously served as Senior Climate Advisor to the former Governor Sisolak in Nevada; President of the Desert Research Institute; Associate Director for Science at CIRES (Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences), University of Colorado Boulder; and Director of the Western Water Assessment. She is passionate about connecting climate science with public policy and decision making and has worked at this interface throughout her career. Averyt is currently a Senior Policy Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS), a member of the AMS Council, and a co-chair for the 2024 AMS Annual Meeting. She holds a Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences from Stanford University and earned a M.S. in Chemistry as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Otago, New Zealand.
Members
Ray Ban
Trustee, UCAR Board of Trustees
Managing Director, Ban & Associates, LLC
Former Executive Vice President, The Weather Channel
Ray Ban is President of Ban & Associates, providing consultative services to the media industry relative to weather and climate. Ban was associated with TWC for over 35 years and is considered one of the founding members of the all-weather television network. Ban is a Fellow of the AMS. He was Commissioner on Professional Affairs for the AMS, and Councilor and member of the inaugural Steering Committee of the AMS Commission on The Weather, Water and Climate Enterprise. Ban received the AMS Kenneth C. Spengler Award in 2019 for outstanding leadership, community service, and dedication to fostering collaboration across the public, private and academic sectors. Ban chaired the NOAA Science Advisory Board for several years. He is an Alumni Fellow of Penn State University and a Centennial Fellow of its College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. He has served on the Board of Atmospheric Science and Climate of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and has Chaired several NAS Committees. Ban received his BS in Meteorology from The Pennsylvania State University in 1973.
Otis Brown
Director, North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies
Former Dean, Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science, University of Miami
Former Chair, UCP External Review Committee
Otis B. Brown, Jr. is a research professor in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University (NCSU), where he also directs the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies (NCICS). He founded the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites-NC (CICS-NC) in 2009, which supports the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Prior to NCSU, Brown was a professor and dean at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, where he worked on NASA's EOS MODIS Science Team. Brown has received multiple NASA Group Achievement Awards and is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Miami and serves on the National Academies’ Committee on Earth Science and Applications from Space.
Shuyi Chen
Chair, UCAR Board of Trustees
Professor, Meteorology, University of Washington
Shuyi Chen is a professor of meteorology in the University of Washington’s Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Her research involves observation of how the atmosphere and ocean interact with hurricanes and typhoons in tropical areas, and the use of mathematical models to predict weather patterns. During the 2005 hurricane season Chen monitored hurricanes Rita, Katrina and Wilma aboard Doppler-equipped aircraft to help create stronger hurricane prediction models. Chen was previously a professor at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science where she led a research group that developed a new wave-ocean model designed to research and predict hurricane patterns. Shuyi also serves as the Associate Dean for Research at the College of the Environment.
Belay Demoz
Professor, University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
Co-Chair, UCP External Advisory Committee
Dr. Belay Demoz is a Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Director of the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET).He serves as Principal Investigator and Executive Director of the Goddard Earth Sciences Technology and Research II (GESTAR II) cooperative centers, which involve collaboration between UMBC and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). Previously, Demoz was a professor at Howard University and a Principal Investigator at the Beltsville Research Campus. He remains the lead of the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) Reference Upper-Air Network (GRUANI) and maintains collaborations with NOAA's Center for Atmospheric Science. Demoz has held leadership positions in various scientific committees and organized key international workshops and symposia. Demoz holds a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Physics from the University of Nevada and Desert Research Institute.
Wendy Gram
Deputy Director, COMET, UCP
Dr. Wendy Gram has over 25 years of experience at the intersection of science and education, with publications in both scientific research and science learning literature. Passionate about science, data, and learning, Gram is committed to engaging diverse audiences in "doing science." Since August 2019, she has served as the Implementation Manager for COMET, a UCP program within the Education and Training Center, overseeing program management and leading scientists and instructional designers. Gram also supports business development and proposal management. Previously, Gram led Science Engagement and Education for the U.S. National Science Foundation National Ecological Observatory Network (NSF NEON), developing and evaluating education and engagement programs. She also directed Science and Education at NEON, managing a team of 60. Before joining NEON, Gram was Head of Education at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. She holds a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolution from the University of Missouri.
Emma Hagen
Program Specialist, UCAR Center for Science Education (SciEd), UCP
Chair, UCP Early Career Assembly
Emma Hagen works with the Teaching and Learning team at SciEd to coordinate project timelines, organize and develop processes, and schedule public and K-12 programming. She also serves on the internal Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and external accessibility teams. They contribute to education and outreach efforts through planning and staffing public events and managing SciEd social media. Emma holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Hanne Mauriello
Director, Scientific Partnerships & Service Center
Director, CPAESS, UCP
Hanne Mauriello is Director of SPS CPAESS Center at UCP, a position she has held since 2016. She has nearly 35 years of career experience in scientific program administration and management for multiple sponsors, including NOAA, NSF, NRL, USGS, NASA, and private sector partners such as Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Mauriello began her career at UCAR in 1989 as an administrator for COMET and has also been holding the following appointments at UCAR: Lead Administrator of HAO, Director of Budget and Administration in the UCP Directorate, acting UCP Director, acting GLOBE Director, acting COMET Director, and UCAR Chief of Staff. . Throughout her UCAR career, she has worked on developing UCP programs into a resource for the scientific research community.. Mauriello has served on many committees within UCAR, including UCAR Presidents Council, UCP Directors’ Committee, UCP EC Committee, UCAR Management Committee, Business Management Working Group, and Financial Management Tools Lead Team Committee. She completed an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from University of Copenhagen and a graduate degree in History and Social Science at the University of Copenhagen.
Bonnie Meinke
Director, External Engagement and Business Development, UCAR
Bonnie Meinke works to advance and enhance UCAR’s role as an Earth
system science community convener and thought leader. She was previously at the U.S. National Science Foundation National Ecological Observatory Network (NSF NEON), serving as the Associate Director for Science Engagement. Prior to that, Meinke worked in the Civil Space Strategic Business Unit at Ball Aerospace, managing the astrophysics and planetary science new business portfolios. She also developed messaging and engagement efforts for NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) as a JWST Project Scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI). She earned a Ph.D. in Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor of Arts in Physics and Astrophysics from the University of California, Berkeley.
Gretchen Mullendore
Director, Mesoscale & Microscale Meteorology, NSF National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR)
Member, UCP External Advisory Committee
Gretchen Mullendore is the Director of the Mesoscale and Microscale Meteorology (MMM) Laboratory at NSF NCAR. In this role, she is responsible for advancing MMM's mission to advance the understanding of the mesoscale and microscale aspects of weather and climate and to apply this knowledge to benefit society. Prior to joining NSF NCAR, Mullendore worked at the University of North Dakota as a professor and chair of the atmospheric sciences department. Mullendore earned her Ph.D. in atmospheric sciences from the University of Washington and her B.S. in Geophysics from the University of California.
Peter Neilley
Director, Weather Forecasting Sciences and Technologies, The Weather Company
Member, UCP External Advisory Committee
Incoming Trustee, UCAR Board of Trustees
Peter Neilley is the Director of Weather Forecasting Sciences and Technologies at The Weather Company (TWC), where he leads a team of scientists, engineers, and forecasters responsible for the company’s weather content. Prior to joining TWC, Neilley was a scientist at NSF NCAR, focusing on mesoscale weather forecasting, terrain-induced turbulence, and machine learning applications in weather prediction. Neilley has contributed significantly to the scientific community, serving in leadership roles within the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and other organizations. His committee work has included the AMS Weather Analysis and Forecasting committee, the NOAA Science Advisory Board, and the UCAR Community Advisory Committee. Neilley is an AMS Fellow and has served on numerous advisory boards for universities and research centers. He holds a B.S. in Meteorology from McGill University and both S.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mohan Ramamurthy
Director, Earth Observation & Data Services Center, UCP
Director, UNIDATA, UCP
Mohan Ramamurthy is the Director of NSF Unidata and Director of Earth Observations and Data Services Center within the UCP. Ramamurthy holds a Ph.D. in Meteorology from the University of Oklahoma. Before joining UCAR, he was a faculty member in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for nearly 17 years. As a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator, Ramamurthy has led over 50 grants, securing more than $150 million in funding from federal agencies. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed papers across various fields. Ramamurthy has actively contributed to AMS, chairing committees, contributing to AMS statements, and serving as Program Chair at major conferences like AMS, AGU, and EGU. He is an AMS Fellow and has participated in numerous national and international committees.
Marissa Vara
Higher Education Specialist, Center for Science Education, UCAR
Lead, Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion, UCP
Marissa Vara works for the UCAR Center for Science Education (SciEd) as a Higher Education Specialist, working primarily with a bridge program, the U.S. National Science Foundation Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (NSF SOARS), mentoring students from systematically marginalized communities to create a sense of belonging in research labs, academia, and other STEM career fields. Additionally, she is the UCP DEI Lead, acting as a liaison for the UCAR Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) and consults on a variety of educational and training programs for undergraduates, early career staff, and mentors. She also advises UCP leadership on DEI matters. Vara has a Bachelor of Science in Geoscience from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science in Geography with focus on Paleoclimatology from Louisiana State University.