GLISA Welcomes New Home and Program Manager
Formerly housed in the Graham Sustainability Institute’s Climate Center, the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA) now resides in the Dana Building, home to the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) at the University of Michigan.
GLISA, a partnership between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, is one of ten Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments in the U.S., known as RISAs, funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). GLISA builds capacity to manage risks from climate variability and change in the eight Great Lakes states and Ontario and leverages a number of unique strategies and research to fulfill its goal of increasing the production and use of climate adaptation knowledge by different stakeholders such as cities, farmers, businesses, and Tribes in the region. These strategies include expanding the Great Lakes regional climate adaptation network through GLISA’s boundary chain model, integrating historical and projected climate data into decision making, addressing uncertainty and downsclaing, and fostering the co-production of science and decision-making to increase the use of climate information in the region.
In January 2017, GLISA welcomed new Program Manager Jenna Jorns, who holds a Ph.D. in Geosciences from Princeton University, with a certificate in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy. Jorns notes that her interest in locally based climate work and community engagement drew her to GLISA. Before joining the GLISA team, she held positions at two environmental nonprofits, the most recent being at The Climate Registry, an organization based in Los Angeles that helps corporations measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions.
“Jenna brings to the table wonderful experience in stakeholder engagement and leading stakeholder working groups,” says SNRE Professor Maria Carmen Lemos, Associate Dean for Research and Co-Director of GLISA. “Jenna’s experience will contribute toward ongoing engagement of GLISA stakeholders, help strengthen partnerships, and build new connections throughout the Great Lakes region,” adds Lemos.
Jorns notes that GLISA’s new location in SNRE should prove beneficial. “Now that we’re at SNRE, we’re strengthening our collaboration with other NOAA programs,” says Jorns, naming the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (CILER) and Michigan Sea Grant as examples. “We hope to come together to leverage our resources,” she adds, “and look forward to seeing how we might build on each other’s strengths.”