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
Professor of Geosciences, 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
MARISA Co-Program Manager for Science and Analysis
Senior Policy Researcher, RAND Corporation

Robert Nicholas, PhD
Research Associate, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, The Pennsylvania State University
Senior Researchers

Arthur DeGaetano, PhD
Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Cornell University

Robert Lempert, PhD
Principal Physical Scientist, RAND Corporation
Co-Program Manager

Elizabeth Thornton
Co-Program Manager for Operations and Outreach
Policy Analyst, 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:
Ellen Mecray
NOAA Regional Climate Services Director-Eastern Division
Zoe Johnson
NOAA Chesapeake Bay Program Climate Change Coordinator
Mary Ratnaswamy
Co-Director, DOI Northeast Climate Services Center
Genevieve LaRouche
Head, Chesapeake Bay Field Office, US FWS Region 5
Leon Clarke
Joint Global Change Research Institution and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Susanne Moser
Susanne Moser Research and Consulting
Kristin Baja
Climate and Resilience Planner, Baltimore City