*Currently on detail as the Director of the 6th National Climate Assessment to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, US Global Change Research Program
Dr. Ariela Zycherman is a Social Scientist and Program Manager in the Climate Adaptation Partnership Program (CAP/RISA). At NOAA she also served as a Special Advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere focusing on adaptation, resilience and equity. Ariela has served as the Co-Chair of the U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Social Science Coordinating Committee and participated in the 5th National Climate Assessment as an author of the “Overview” chapter and an Agency Coordinating Lead for the inaugural “Social Systems and Justice” chapter. Prior to NOAA, Ariela served as a National Program Leader at USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, as the National Coordinator of the USDA Climate Hubs, and as an AAAS Fellow in the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Engineering, Division of Chemical, Biological, Energy & Transport Systems. Ariela is trained as an environmental anthropologist. Her work has focused on food and agricultural systems, natural resource management, household livelihoods and decision making, and climate resilience and adaptation. She has worked domestically and in Latin America. She held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She received her Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology from Columbia University, an M.A. in Anthropology and Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology from Binghamton University (SUNY), and a certificate in Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution from the Udall Foundation.