CERF 2021 Plenary Sessions

Chris Mooney is an author and science journalist who conceived and led the effort that produced the series “2°C: Beyond the Limit,” that was awarded the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting. He currently writes about energy and the environment at The Washington Post. He has published four books about science, politics, and climate change. He previously worked at Mother Jones, where he wrote about science and the environment and hosted a weekly podcast. Mooney spent a decade before that as a freelance writer, podcaster, and speaker, with his work appearing in Wired, Harper’s, Slate, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe, to name a few. Grandson of a well-known limnologist, Chris has carved out a niche as a journalist adept at data analysis and science. 

Janet Nye, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina. Her research focuses on the effects of climate variability and climate change on fish, fisheries, and marine ecosystems. Specifically, she studies how climate and fishing interact to cause shifts in spatial distribution and abundance of fish and invertebrates in the Northwest Atlantic, including local fisheries in Long Island Sound and Great South Bay. Her current research seeks to understand how climate influences fish populations, trophic interactions, and the emergent properties of marine ecosystems.

Fawn R. Sharp serves as the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native tribal government organization in the country. She is the current Vice President of the Quinault Indian Nation in Taholah, Washington, after being a five term past-President. Ms. Sharp graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington at the age of 19. She received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Washington in 1995 and has subsequently received certificates from the National Judicial College at the University of Nevada, and in International Human Rights Law at Oxford University.

Christopher Joyce is a veteran reporter for National Public Radio. For over 27 years Chris Joyce has entertained and informed NPR listeners with his science stories from around the world on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition. He was part of the Radio Expeditions reporting and editing team that won the 2001 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University journalism award and the 2001 Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists. Joyce won the 2001 American Association for the Advancement of Science excellence in journalism award as well as the 2016 Communication Award from the National Academies of Sciences. He lives and sails on the Chesapeake Bay and is frequently involved in training scientists through COMPASS and at universities to be more effective communicators via the news media. 

Dawn Wright, Ph.D. is Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), a world-leading geographic information system (GIS) software and data science company, where she leads work on environmental, conservation, climate, and ocean sciences. Her current research interests include data modeling, benthic terrain and habitat mapping, and coastal and ocean informatics, as well as science communication and ocean conservation. She serves on the U.S. National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board, the NOAA Science Advisory Board, and many journal editorial boards. She has a faculty appointment as Professor of Geography and Oceanography in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. She was named Oregon Professor of the Year by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.