Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

Leveraging Social Science to Understand the Ready in Weather-Ready Nation

Forecasts have improved significantly over the years but there remain gaps in understanding the nation’s readiness for increasingly severe weather, water, and climate events. In 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) formally established a Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBES) program in the Office of Science and Technology Integration to identify and begin addressing those gaps. CIRA researchers are embedded in the NWS supporting that program. Beyond that support, CIRA is also interested in further growing SBES integration and application internally. This seminar will provide an overview of how the NWS and CIRA are each leveraging SBES to build a Weather-Ready Nation.

Valerie Were

Valerie Were, Ph.D. is a social scientist who supports the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBES) Program at the National Weather Service (NWS) and also works on increasing social science integration at CIRA. Before joining CIRA in August 2021, Valerie was the Social Science Lead at the NOAA Cooperative Science Center for Earth System Sciences and Remote Sensing Technologies. Prior to that, she was a contractor in the NOAA Chief Economist’s Office. Valerie holds a B.S. in Watershed Science from Utah State University and survived the winters to earn an M.S. in Water Resources Science and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources Science and Management from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. When she’s not working she’s likely enjoying an outdoor activity, watching sports, reading, or replacing the house plants she can’t seem to keep alive.