Alison Delgado, an Earth scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), has been selected to serve as an author for the “Science of Response Management” chapter of the Sixth National Climate Assessment (NCA6).

“Your experience and skillset make you ideal to participate in the NCA6 development process,” said Ariela Zycherman, who is the NCA6 director, in a letter notifying Delgado. “Your selection as an author is a testament to your expertise in the field and standing among your peers. I am confident that the experience you are bringing to your author team will elevate the quality of your chapter and NCA6 as a whole.”

The National Climate Assessment is the U.S. government’s premier report on climate change impacts, risks, and adaptation across the nation. It is an interagency effort, bringing together hundreds of experts from federal, state, and local governments, as well as the academic, non-profit, and private sectors. The United States Global Change Research Program oversees the National Climate Assessment, as well as coordinating and integrating research on global environmental changes.

Delgado started at PNNL in 2008 as a research associate. Since 2010, she has worked as a staff scientist at the Joint Global Change Research Institute, a partnership between PNNL and the University of Maryland.

Delgado said she was grateful to serve as a NCA6 chapter author.

“This role aligns with my passion for translating scientific insights into practical solutions, whether that’s helping federal facilities assess their resilience posture to withstand extreme weather impacts or advancing the implementation of energy building codes internationally,” Delgado said. “The National Climate Assessment plays a vital role in elevating public understanding of climate impacts, identifying vulnerable communities around the country, and shaping effective adaptation and mitigation strategies. I look forward to contributing to this important effort and leveraging the NCA’s wide-reaching impact to inform decision-making on climate resilience.”

Previously, from 2012 to 2014, Delgado coordinated the development of six sectoral chapters for the Third National Climate Assessment as part of a detail at the USGCRP. In that role, she worked closely with chapter authors through several rounds of internal and public reviews of the chapters on energy supply and use, transportation, forests, agriculture, rural communities, and human health. Additionally, she helped to stand up a USGCRP working group on scenarios which provided a guiding framework for selecting socioeconomic scenarios for both NCA3 and subsequent assessments. 

As a PNNL Earth scientist, Delgado assesses climate impacts, adaptation and resilience, and the connection between climate and energy. Since 2022, Delgado has advised the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army, Installations, Energy, and Environment at the Pentagon on their installation resilience and energy security initiatives.