Max BoyKoff

Principal Investigator

boykoff@colorado.edu

Professor, Chair of Environmental Studies, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Originally from Madison, WI, Max is a Fellow in the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences as well as a Professor (and Director) in Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute, where he spent three years before arriving in Boulder. Before his time in Oxford and Boulder, he earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Studies (with a parenthetical notation in Sociology) from the University of California-Santa Cruz in 2006 and received a Bachelor of Sciences in Psychology from Ohio State University. Max’s research and creative work focuses on cultural politics and environmental governance, creative climate communications, science-policy interactions, and disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation. His research and practices examine and improve how climate science and policy find meaning in people’s everyday lives, as well as how they, in turn, feed back into science and policy decision-making. He is thrilled to be working on CO-LSEN, with co-lead Matt as well as a great team, to advance, enrich and complement committed efforts to improve science, policy, and society interactions here in Colorado and beyond.

Matthew Druckenmiller

Co-principal Investigator

druckenmiller@colorado.edu

Research Scientist III, National Snow and Ice Data Center, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Matthew Druckenmiller is a research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) within the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado Boulder. Matthew specializes in Arctic environmental change research, investigating how changes in climate, sea ice, and marine conditions impact Arctic communities and wildlife. With a long held interest in science policy and science communication, he previously served as a Mirzayan Science Policy Fellow at the National Academies and as a AAAS Science Policy Fellow at the U.S. Agency of International Development. As a climate scientist, avid skier, and lover of Colorado’s wild places, Matthew hopes to use CO-LSEN to increasingly engage Colorado’s scientists in policy discussions related to climate change, energy, and conservation.

Melanie Thompson

Communications & Special Projects Director

melanie.thompson@colorado.edu

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Melanie is a documentarist, animator, and researcher with a lifelong investment in environmental issues. Although this passion was sparked while growing up in Colorado, she spent most of her time exploring it elsewhere — from sustainable development in Nicaragua, to wildlife rescue in Ecuador, to wind farms in inner Mongolia, and, most recently, a Fulbright Fellowship researching environmental governance in Taiwan. Coming to this project with CO-LSEN has offered the unmissable opportunity to work for the betterment of her community at home. Through the project, Melanie is eager to listen, learn, and build bridges amongst scientists, policymakers, and constituents. Having graduated from St Olaf College in 2019 with degrees in Visual Storytelling and Asian Studies, she is especially passionate about using digital tools to make research accessible (and exciting!) for everyone.

Presley Church

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Presley Church is a rising junior at Cornell University majoring in Fiber Science and Apparel Design and minoring in Climate Change. She grew up in Boulder and has engaged with sustainable fashion since she was 11 years old via Trash the Runway (a collaborator of Inside the Greenhouse). After completing her freshman year at the onset of the pandemic, Presley took a gap year and worked on a variety of climate communication projects. She interned for Inside the Greenhouse, Shhh, it’s Real, Solve Climate by 2030 and served as the Communications Director of the AAAS Colorado Local Science Engagement Network. Presley is passionate about engaging all industries, particularly the fashion industry, with climate solutions. Additionally, she is interested in climate and science policy communications. She is excited to continue forging new paths between environmentalism, communication, and design. 

Catherine Adams

Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder

Catherine Adams is an incoming second year Environmental Policy and Decision Making major and Eminence Fellow at the Ohio State University. She’s currently planning on minoring in creative writing and GIS. She is a climate justice organizer who has worked at both the local and national level. She co-founded Ohio Youth for Climate Justice in 2019 and worked on a national level as a member of the Communications team for U.S. Youth Climate Strike. Currently, she is Ohio Youth for Climate Justice’s Creative Director. Beyond her work as an activist, she’s passionate about the ways in which art and writing can be used to build mass movements and increase public awareness of the climate crisis.