Julie Vano
Research Director
Dr. Julie Vano is the Research Director at the Aspen Global Change Institute and serves as co-associate director for the organization. She oversees AGCI’s growing research portfolio, which includes the Roaring Fork Observation Network, a postgraduate fellowship program, partnerships with water agencies across the US, and grants from multiple US federal agencies focused on mountain hydrology, community resilience, climate change decision support, and more.
Julie’s work is inspired by partnerships and the need to connect science and decision making to help individuals, water agencies, communities, and society make better, more resilient choices in a changing climate. She serves as the president of the Science and Society section of the American Geophysical Union and is a member of The National Academies’ Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program. She helped found the Mountain West Climate Services Partnership and is a climate science advisor to various water agencies, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Austin Water. Julie holds an MS in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington.
Prior to joining AGCI, Julie was a project scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research and an NSF postdoctoral Earth Science fellow at Oregon State University. She lives in Seattle, Washington, where she enjoys camping, hiking, gardening, and watching her kids explore the world.
Education
PhD, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of WashingtonMS, Land Resources, University of Wisconsin
BA, Biology, Luther College