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
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
Sanjib Sharma
Postdoctoral scholar, Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at the Pennsylvania State University
Mofan Zhang
Graduate research assistant, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University
Rui Shi
Doctoral student, 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)