Our Team

The MARISA team is comprised of interdisciplinary researchers with broad expertise in climate science and decision making. Our team includes personnel from the RAND Corporation, Penn State University, Johns Hopkins University, and Cornell University.

Project Staff

Lead Principal Investigators

Debra Knopman, PhD

Senior Principal Researcher, RAND Corporation

Klaus Keller, PhD

Associate Research Professor, The Pennsylvania State University

Co-Investigators

Benjamin Hobbs, PhD

Director, Environment, Energy, Sustainability & Health Institute and Schad Professor of Environmental Management, The Johns Hopkins University

Melissa Finucane, PhD

Senior Behavioral and Social Scientist, RAND Corporation

Jordan Fischbach, PhD

Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Robert Nicholas, PhD

Research Associate, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, The Pennsylvania State University

Michelle Miro, PhD

Engineer, RAND Corporation

Lena Easton-Calabria

Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation

Molly Mitchell

Marine Scientist at the Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science

Senior Researchers

Arthur DeGaetano, PhD

Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University

Robert Lempert, PhD

Principal Physical Scientist, RAND Corporation

Coastal Climate Extension Specialist

Ben Watson

Coastal Climate Extension Specialist for the Chesapeake Bay Region, The Pennsylvania State University; located at the Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)

Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Researchers

Rui Shi

Doctoral student, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Mofan Zhang

Graduate research assistant, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University

Program Manager

Krista Romita Grocholski, PhD

Associate Physical Scientist, RAND Corporation

Advisory Committee

MARISA has established an Advisory Committee comprised of academic, business, community, resource management, and agency representatives to provide feedback on research relevance across the region and advise the team with an external perspective on potential barriers and opportunities. Current members of the Advisory Committee include:

Kristin Baja

Climate Resilience Officer at Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN)

Genevieve LaRouche

Head, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, US FWS Region 5

Leon Clarke

Research Director at Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland

Ellen Mecray

NOAA Regional Climate Services Director-Eastern Division

Susanne Moser

Susanne Moser Research and Consulting

Lisa Ragain

Principal Water Resources Planner at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG)