Join us in welcoming new team member Dr. Emily Fusco! Emily is a research scientist with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group (university host of the NW CASC) and the NW CASC coordinator for the Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Network. The NW RISCC Network, launched in 2019 and supported by the NW CASC and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is fostering a community of practice that helps resource practitioners — including federal, tribal, state, and local agencies and organizations — make climate-smart decisions around invasive species prevention, early detection, control, monitoring and future research activities.
Emily has worked at the intersection of invasive species and climate change through her previous experience on the Northeast Invasive Species Network leadership team and through conducting climate change vulnerability assessments and adaptation partnerships as an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education fellow with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station. Emily earned her doctorate degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
What led you to work in the field of climate adaptation?
My academic background is broadly in global change ecology, and my research has been at the intersection of invasive plants, fire and climate change. The field of climate adaptation allows me to continue working in these areas through an applied lens and offers me the opportunity to provide impactful work that will help communities meet the challenges of climate change.
What does your day-to-day work look like?
That’s a great question! I am very new to this position and am still learning the answer myself. So far, I have spent a lot of time reading reports and research papers so that I can better understand big picture issues and needs in the region. As I continue in this position, I expect to spend more time meeting with collaborators, coordinating projects and developing products to address those needs. This will involve lots of zoom meetings, time for research, and time for writing.
How does your work support climate resilience in the Northwest?
A lot of my work is centered around understanding what science is needed to support climate resilience and then developing and delivering products to meet those needs. My work with the Climate Impacts Group can be very broad in scope but is generally focused on science synthesis and delivery. My work as coordinator of the Northwest Regional Invasive Species and Climate Change (NW RISCC) Network is focused on mitigating the combined impacts of invasive species and climate change. This is done through science delivery and fostering a community of knowledge exchange among invasive species and climate change scientists and practitioners in the Northwest.
What is your favorite thing about your work?
It is always exciting to provide a new tool, report or any other product that helps folks get closer to reaching their management goals. Seeing how my work can help others and have a positive effect on managing resilient ecosystems is particularly rewarding.