Kristen Sissener
Executive Director
Kristen Sissener
Executive Director
Dr. Robert Rohde
Chief Scientist
Dr. Robert Rohde
Chief Scientist
Robert obtained his Ph.D. in experimental/theoretical physics in January 2010 from UC Berkeley. His expertise focuses on the statistical analysis of large data sets, including experience dealing with data biases and errors that typically accompany diverse data collections. He led the development of the Berkeley Earth temperature analysis, which has used more than a billion instrumental temperature observations to reconstruct the historical climate of the Earth. By bringing in more data and applying modern statistical techniques, Berkeley Earth was able to provide a longer and more detailed history of climate change. This analysis is now widely cited and used in the scientific discussion of global warming.
Robert has also worked with Berkeley Earth to develop real-time and historical analyses of air quality for many regions of the Earth. This work has helped to quantify the impact of air pollution on human health.
Prior to Berkeley Earth, Robert is the co-author (with Richard Muller) of a series of papers on the analysis of biodiversity in the fossil record. He was also the author (with P. Buford Price) of papers working to understand several aspects of ice cores and role of microbial life in glacial ice. His Ph.D. thesis was on The Development and Use of the Berkeley Fluorescence Spectrometer to Characterize Microbial Content and Detect Volcanic Ash in Glacial Ice.
For decades, Robert has spent part of his time as a scientific communicator and producer of scientific visualizations. His graphics and insights have frequently appeared in mass media such as the Washington Post, New York Times, Wikipedia, and other venues.
Elizabeth Muller
Director of Strategy
Elizabeth Muller
Director of Strategy
Elizabeth is the co-founder and Executive Director of Berkeley Earth. She has led the organization from the founding to the original land-temperature data collection and analysis, to analysis on mitigation of global warming, and the more recent addition of global air pollution data collection and analysis. Elizabeth is also the co-founder and CEO of Deep Isolation, which is addressing the unsolved nuclear waste problem through innovative technology and a new approach to stakeholder engagement. Previously, she was Director at Gov3 (now CS Transform) and Executive Director of the Gov3 Foundation. From 2000 to 2005 she was a policy advisor at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Elizabeth has advised governments in over 30 countries, in both the developed and developing world. She has extensive experience with stakeholder engagement and communications, especially with regard to technical issues. She developed numerous techniques for bringing government and private actors together to build consensus and implement action plans, and has a proven ability to deliver sustainable change. She has also designed and implemented projects for public sector clients, helping them to build new policies and strategies for government reform and modernization, collaboration across government ministries and agencies, and strategies for the information society.
Judith Sissener
Director of Philanthropy
Judith Sissener
Director of Philanthropy
Judith is an entrepreneurial executive with extensive experience in both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Judith combines a big-picture, strategic approach with detail-oriented, hands-on delivery, to achieve long-term, sustainable structure and funding for a variety of organizations. Her leadership roles include CEO, Executive Director, and Development Director of five successful NPOs, co-founder of three others, as well as for-profit positions as regional director of two European retail corporations, a licensed equities broker, and strategy and institutional funding consultant. Judith has served on the boards of directors of numerous organizations including CleanTech Open, The Institute for Clinical Excellence – Africa (ICE-Africa), YMCA, OIC, and PulpWorks, among others. Judith earned simultaneous degrees in political science/international relations and mathematics/statistics from the University of Illinois. She is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Dr. Zeke Hausfather
Research Scientist
Dr. Zeke Hausfather
Research Scientist
Zeke Hausfather is a climate scientist and energy systems analyst whose research focuses on observational temperature records, climate models, and mitigation technologies. He spent 10 years working as a data scientist and entrepreneur in the cleantech sector, where he was the lead data scientist at Essess, the chief scientist at C3.ai, and the cofounder and chief scientist of Efficiency 2.0. He was previously the senior climate analyst at Project Drawdown, and currently is the Director of Climate and Energy at the Breakthrough Institute and the US analyst for Carbon Brief as well as serving as a research scientist with Berkeley Earth. He has masters degrees in environmental science from Yale University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and a PhD in climate science from the University of California, Berkeley.
Dr. Devin Rand
Research Scientist
Dr. Devin Rand
Research Scientist
Dr. Devin Rand is a climate scientist specializing in the integration of statistical methods with climate modeling. He holds a PhD in Earth Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he developed statistical software to enhance the accuracy and precision of climatic time-series data. Prior to joining Berkeley Earth, Dr. Rand worked as a Researcher in Geophysics at Portland State University, where he refined techniques for calculating tectonic strain rates. He also served as a Quantitative Data Analyst at Aspen Capital, developing risk models for real estate investments. Through his unique blend of experiences in academia and finance, along with service as a Helicopter Crew Member with the United States Forest Service in Oregon and Utah, Dr. Rand brings highly-valued applied expertise and perspective to the Berkeley Earth team.
