Andrew Comrie
Professor of Geography, Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Dean
University of Arizona

Dr. Comrie is a climatologist who focuses on how climate affects disease. His expertise covers the geographic aspects of atmospheric environmental change, including climate variability and change, health, urban climate, air quality, climate mapping, and environmental policy. Dr. Comrie leads an interdisciplinary research group working on links between climate and mosquitoes as disease vectors, valley fever, Chagas disease, and influenza. He serves as Americas Editor for the International Journal of Climatology.
Dr. Comrie graduated from Penn State in 1992 with a Ph.D. in geography.

Andrea Denny
Local climate and energy program manager
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Ms. Denny works in the State and Local Branch of the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation. The branch focuses on supporting state and local governments who are developing policies and programs to address climate change. These measures reduce emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases, save customers money, promote economic development, and improve quality of life. Ms. Denny is the team lead for the Local Climate and Energy Program, as well as the lead on state and local greenhouse gas inventory methods.
Ms. Denny received an M.S. in geography in 1999 and an honors B.S. in chemistry in 1997 from Penn State.

Larry Kalkstein
Research professor, Department of Geography and Regional Studies
University of Miami

Dr. Kalkstein is a bioclimatologist whose primary interests are in climate and human health issues. He has been under contract for many years by NOAA/National Weather Service to develop heat/health warning systems for weather forecast offices around the U.S.; his work has expanded overseas, and his systems are now in place in major urban areas in China, Italy, Canada, and Korea. He has worked on climate change issues with federal agencies, such as the U.S. EPA, and with the World Meteorological Organization and the IPCC, and was lead author on past IPCC impacts chapters on climate and human health.
Dr. Kalkstein has been a friend of the Penn State geography department for many years.

Robin Leichenko
Associate professor and graduate director, Department of Geography
Rutgers University

Dr. Leichenko's research program emphasizes the connections between climate change and globalization, focusing on how these processes jointly affect vulnerable regions, households, and social groups. Her current research projects explore economic vulnerability and adaptation to extreme climate events in U.S. urban areas. Her recent book, Environmental Change and Globalization: Double Exposures (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), co-authored with Dr. Karen O'Brien (1995, Ph.D.) of the University of Oslo, received the 2008 Meridian Book Award for Outstanding Scholarly Contribution in Geography from the Association of American Geographers.
Dr. Leichenko received her Ph.D. in geography from Penn State in 1997.

Brandi Robinson
Policy analyst
Environmental Credit Corp

At ECC, Ms. Robinson is responsible for managing multiple grant projects as well as following the development of federal and international climate policy.. Her Master's research focused on greenhouse gas mitigation strategies for Penn State University. Prior to ECC, Ms. Robinson worked at the Office of Physical Plant at Penn State University where she maintained annual greenhouse gas emission inventories for all campuses and assisted in the development and implementation of the University's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategy.
Ms. Robinson received an M.S. in geography from Penn State in 2005.

Robin Shudak
Author, co-founder of CatzEye Studio

Ms. Shudak's expertise is shaping how the public understands climate change. At the U.S. EPA's Energy Star Program and Office of Transportation Air Quality, she created protocols for climate science communication, which shaped the environmental education policies of leading retailers and manufacturers. Her also work appears on every auto and appliance sold in the US, as she contributed to the overhaul of the ubiquitous electricity consumption and fuel economy stickers. She's written speeches for administrators and talking points for presidents. And in a nod to her geographic roots, she was EPA's press adviser for National Geographic's August 2003 cover story.
Ms. Shudak received her M.S. in geography from Penn State in 2000.

Bill Solecki
Professor of Geography
City University of New York Hunter College

Dr. Solecki's research focuses on urban environmental change, and urban spatial development. He is the Director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities and has served on several U.S. National Research Councils committees including the Special Committee on Problems in the Environment (SCOPE). He currently is a member of the International Geographical Union (IGU) Megacity Study Group and the International Human Dimensions Programme (IHDP), Urbanization and Global Environmental Change Scientific Steering Committee. He also serves as the co-leader of several climate impacts in the greater New York and New Jersey region.
Dr. Solecki has been a friend of the Penn State department of geography for many years.

Christopher Steuer
Manager
ICF International

Mr. Steuer's expertise is in preparing GHG emission inventories for the public sector. Mr. Steuer is the deputy director of the contracting arm of the Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks - the official U.S. GHG inventory submission to the United Nations - and the technical lead for the Climate Friendly Parks Program, wherein, he has prepared GHG emission inventories for dozens of national parks and assisted in their GHG reduction efforts. Mr. Steuer also advises the U.S. House of Representatives on the Green the Capitol Initiative and performed the GHG emission inventory and projection for Penn State while obtaining his M.S. in Geography, which he received in 2004.