Kristen Averyt currently serves as the Executive Vice President for Science at the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the world’s largest association of Earth and space scientists. Dr. Averyt is passionate about connecting science with policy and decision-making and has worked at this interface throughout her career. She joined AGU in June 2024 after working in the Executive Office of the President, where she was Director for Drought and Western Resilience at the Council for Environmental Quality. At the White House, she was part of the climate team working on issues related to water resources, drought, and extreme heat. Prior to her time with the Administration, Dr. Averyt was Senior Climate Advisor to Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak as well as the State’s First Climate Policy Coordinator (2019-22). Concurrent with these appointments, she was a Research Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Dr. Averyt is also a past president of the Desert Research Institute. Notably, Dr. Averyt was staff scientist for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Technical Support Unit, sharing with hundreds of scientists in the agency’s 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Among her awards, she is most proud of receiving the Sierra Nevada Triumphant Award for Environmental Leadership from the Girl Scouts of America. Dr. Averyt holds a PhD from Stanford University, where she was named the 2024 Doerr School of Sustainability Alumni of the Year. She received a master’s from the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, where she studied on a US Fulbright Fellowship, after completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Miami.
