Ilissa Ocko

Why you should listen

A senior scientist and Barbra Streisand Chair of Environmental Studies at the Environmental Defense Fund, Ilissa Ocko pursues research on the climate impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and the benefits of various mitigation strategies both during our lifetimes and for generations to come. She works with economists, lawyers and policy experts to find the most practical, long-lasting solutions to climate change. She aims to pursue actionable science and to use science to guide policymaking, particularly in identifying ways to immediately curb climate change and promote awareness of the importance of limiting the near-term rate of warming and achieving long-term climate stability. She is also committed to communicating climate change science to non-experts using plain language and powerful visuals. She has designed science graphics for both media outlets and research labs and, in 2016, won a US science communications contest hosted by NASA, and went on to represent the US in the international contest, advancing to the finals.

Ocko earned a PhD in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from Princeton University, receiving the Emerging Alumni Scholars Award, and a BSE in earth system science and engineering from the University of Michigan, where she was chief meteorologist of the university's television network. She also holds a certificate in environmental policy from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs.