Nancy Colleton

President

Nancy Colleton is an internationally known and respected leader in environmental communication and information. As the president of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) she leads numerous initiatives that promote better understanding of the changing planet.

Ms. Colleton has worked vigorously with senior-level government and industry executives to increase the awareness, value and use of Earth observations and to emphasize the need for a comprehensive strategy to ensure that citizens, business, and government at all levels have the environmental intelligence needed for improved decision making. Through high-visibility meetings, networking, opinion pieces, government liaison, testimony and media appearances, Ms. Colleton has highlighted the need to leverage investment in Earth observations for a growing and diverse user community.

In addition to serving as the deputy chair of the  Commission on Education and Communication (CEC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Ms. Colleton leads the Alliance for Earth Observations and co-chairs the Environmental Information Services Working Group (EISWG) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Science Advisory Board.

Although she may be best known for communicating the importance of space-based satellites to monitor the Earth, Ms. Colleton also supports more down-to-Earth programs that engage children in doing science. She founded IGES’ Thacher Environmental Research Contest, which provides monetary awards annually to high school students illustrating the best use of space-based Earth observations for better understanding of the changing planet. She was also instrumental in the development of IGES’ environmental art and photography student contests. After more than 15 years supporting these education efforts, she is proud to say that IGES possesses a truly remarkable and beautiful collection of children’s environmental art.

Ms. Colleton holds a degree in communications. Her professional affiliations include: Deputy Chair, CEC, IUCN; Co-Chair, EISWG, NOAA Science Advisory Board; Fellow, Council of Fellows, Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites (CICS); Steering Committee Member, Commission on the Weather and Climate Enterprise, American Meteorological Society (AMS); Participant, The Climate and Security Working Group; Member, Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences in the Next Decade, National Research Council; Advisor, Skybox Imaging; Board Member, GeoEye Foundation; Member, Editorial Advisory Board, Imaging Notes; Member, International Program Committee, American Astronautical Society (AAS); Member, International Activities Committee, American Institute for Aeronautics & Astronautics (AIAA); and Member, Women in Aerospace.

Recent Publications, Presentations and Media Appearances: 

• Editorial, “Location Data Reveals Our Changing Planet,” Live Science, May 2013. 
• Quoted in Stephanie Paige Ogburn, “Satellite program ‘no longer broken,’ NOAA administrator says at briefing,”  Climate Wire, April 2013. 
• Quoted in Stephanie Paige Ogburn, “Budget Puts NOAA’s Focus on Weather; Some Climate Monitoring Shifts to NASA,” Climate Wire, April 2013. 
• Editorial, “As Weather Changes, Forecasts Lag,” Live Science, April 2013. 
• Testimony before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies on the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget, March 2013. (Written Testimony)
• Interview, “Women in Location: Environmental Monitoring,” LBx Journal – Special Feature, March 2013. 
• Editorial, with Shepherd, M., “The Next Secretary of Commerce or Weather?,” Huffington Post Green Blog, March 2013. 
• Quoted in Andrew Freedman, “Budget Cuts May Degrade Weather, Climate Forecasting,” Climate Central, February 2013. 
• Interview, “Weather Forecasting at Risk,” The Weather Channel, February 2013. 
• Interview, “Environmental Intelligence Important for the Economy: The Case for Environmental Monitoring,” Imaging Notes, Winter 2013. (Note: Reprint of Sensors & Systems December 2012 interview.) 
• Editorial: “Hurricane Sandy, Protecting America, and Bipartisanship Beyond a Hug,” The Washington Post, January 2013. 
• Industry Insights Column, “U.S. Environmental Intelligence Efforts Need Leadership,” Earth Imaging Journal, December 2012. 
• Interview: “Making the Case for Environmental Information,” Sensors & Systems, December 2012.
• “Note from Nancy Colleton, New CEC Deputy Chair,” IUCN CEC, November 2012. 
• Editorial: “Weather: A Hot Topic for the Next Administration,” The Washington Post, September 2012. 
• Interview, “Severe Weather and Politics,” The Weather Channel, September 2012. 
• Letter to the Editor: “Environmental Intelligence, Basic Thermodynamics, and Extreme Weather,” Physics Today, September 2012. 
• Second co-author in Goldstein et al. “Creating Pathways for Positive Change,” S.A.P.I.E.N.S (5:2), August 2012.
• “Stakeholder Engagement,” Presentation at the CDR Applications panel, NOAA’s Annual Climate Data Records Conference. Asheville, N.C. August 2012.
• “The Role of Space Assets in Environmental Issues,” Keynote speech at the Emerging Aerospace and Defence Green Technology & Environmental Sustainability Conference. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. June 2012. 
• Quoted in Kate Spinner, “Trimmed Budgets: A Forecast for Poorer Weather Predictions,” Herald Tribune, May 2012. 
• Quoted in Chiara Remondini and Alex Morales, “Satellites for Climate Checks Get Boost After Durban Talks,” Bloomberg Business Week, February 2012.
• Editorial: “Budget Cuts Put ‘Environmental Intelligence’ at Risk,” Space News, April 2011.
• Contribution to the National Research Council’s Understanding the Changing Planet: Strategic Directions for the Geographical Sciences report, 2010.
• Presentation in “Green Space: Economic Growth at the Intersection of the Environment, Energy and Space” panel, Space  Economy Leadership Summit, 2010. (Video) 
• “Climate change: A growing interest in the green industry,” American Nurseryman, 2009.
• Quoted in Daniel N. Baker and Thomas N. Woods, “Small Satellites and the New Climate Observation Plans,” Space News, July 2009.
• Quoted in Edward Goldstein, “From Shovel Ready to Satellite Ready,” Space News, March 2009.
• Editorial: “Climate: Not Business as Usual,” Space News, March 2009.
• Presentation in “What to Do About the Likes of Ike? Action to Make Our Nation More Resilient to Severe Weather and Climate Change” briefing, UCAR, October 2008. 
• Participation in “It’s the environment, stupid” roundtable, Aviation Week, July 2008. (Summary podcast)
• Testimony before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics and Related Sciences on National Imperatives for Earth Science Research, March 2007. (Oral testimony)
• Quoted in Sophie Hebden, “Scientists united on human-induced climate change,” ScieDev Net, February 2007.
• Quoted in Richard Black, “Small Climate of Concern as US Polls Loom,” BBC News, October 2006.  
• Editorial: “The Rest of the Story,”  Imaging Notes (Fall 2006) 37-38.
• Presentation at the National Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Industry Day, March 2005.
• Testimony before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Hearing on the Implementation of GEOSS, March 2005. (Written Testimony, Oral Testimony)
• With P. Dasch, “Public Outreach: Garnering Support for Future Human Exploration,” Paper presented at the International Space University (ISU), 2002.