Elise Osenga
Program Coordinator, National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Network
Elise Osenga is currently the Program Coordinator for the National Coordinated Soil Moisture Monitoring Program out of CIRES at the University of Colorado and NIDIS at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In her former role as Community Science Manager at Aspen Global Change Institute, Elise managed AGCI's soil moisture monitoring network, assisted coordination of AGCI's fellowship program, and engaged with the local community to better understand how science can help them address challenges posed by a warming climate and other global changes.
Prior to working at AGCI, Elise spent a fair amount of time wading around in the South Platte River, flipping rocks and catching crawdads for kids, as an environmental educator for k-6 students. After some digressions to other jobs, including a brief but memorable stint conducting field work in the Arizona desert, Elise made her way back to Colorado, heading up to the mountains and a Colorado River headwater. While at AGCI, Elise also worked many years as a science journalist for an IEEE newsletter, an experience that offered an illuminating window into multiple fields of scientific study.
Education
MA, Conservation Biology, Miami University Ohio AIP ProgramBA, Biology and English, St. Olaf College