James Marshall Shepherd, MS, phd is the Georgia Athletic Association Distinguished Professor of geography and Atmospheric Sciences and the Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program at the University of Georgia. He attended Florida State University where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.D. degrees in physical meteorology. After working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center for twelve years he joined the University of Georgia. In addition to his teaching and research he is active on many advisory boards and in helping the public understand climate change and this has been recognized with the Presidential Early career Award, the Captain Planet Award and the AAAS Award for Public Engagement with Science.
Kristie EBI, MS, MPH, PHD is an epidemiologist whose focus is on the impact of global climate change on human health. She is Professor of Global Health and Founder of the CENTER FOR HEALTH AND THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT (CHANGE) at the University of Washington. Dr. Ebi earned her BS in biochemistry from Michigan State University, an MS in toxicology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and then earned an MPH and a PhD in epidemiology from the University of Michigan. She has supported multiple countries in assessing their vulnerability and implementing adaptation measures, in collaboration with WHO, UNDP, USAID, and others. She also is co-chair of the International Committee On New Integrated Climate change assessment Scenarios (ICONICS), facilitating development of new climate change scenarios.
Juliano Calil, MESM, PHD is Co-Founder and Chief Scientist at Virtual Planet Technologies, LLC Santa Cruz, California and a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Blue Economy. Dr. Calil received his BBA from Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado, São Paulo, Brazil. He earned his Master of Environmental Science and Management (MESM) at the University of California Santa Barbara and his PhD in Ocean Sciences and Coastal Adaptation, University of California Santa Cruz. In his work, Juliano integrates data from multiple disciplines including climate science, conservation, and socioeconomics to identify vulnerable areas and suitable adaptation strategies. He is currently designing and implementing innovative education and outreach tools to visualize coastal impacts and solutions using Virtual Reality. He has published studies in California, Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and The Mid-Atlantic region.