This week, we at the State Climate Office say farewell to our director, Dr. Kathie Dello, and wish her all the best as she begins a new chapter in her service to the state of North Carolina as the Assistant Secretary of Resilience at the NC Department of Environmental Quality.
When Kathie arrived in North Carolina in the summer of 2019, she found an office in need of a new leader – a role she filled as our fifth permanent director since 1976 and the first female state climatologist in North Carolina’s history.
She also found a state searching for answers to new questions about our climate risks that swirled in the wake of Hurricane Florence and amid our warmest year on record. Kathie’s background in climate resilience planning and impact assessment proved to be the right fit at the right time.
As a skilled communicator, Kathie helped summarize the best available science in co-authoring the North Carolina Climate Science Report and the Southeast chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment. She was also a ready resource for the media, adding climate context to events in our state from heat waves to Hurricane Helene.
In addition to her 18 local and national news appearances in a span of three days after Helene, Kathie made sure our office provided any needed information, from rainfall totals to historical perspectives, to statewide partners in the wake of that storm last year.
“Kathie’s efforts in the response to Hurricane Helene provided crucial climate data and guidance that supported emergency management operations and helped mitigate the storm’s impact on affected communities,” noted Dr. Lex Kemper, the associate dean for research in the College of Sciences at NC State University.
“Moreover, her review of the accuracy of predicted rainfall has highlighted the need for better communication plans that may help avoid casualties in future storm events.”
Within our office, Kathie has overseen a doubling of our project portfolio, working with a variety of partners including local museums and municipalities to map heat islands in Raleigh and Durham, state agencies such as the NC Department of Transportation to provide data and tools to assist with flood resilience, and federal groups like the USDA Southeast Regional Climate Hub to roll out an enhanced Fire Weather Intelligence Portal for the region.
“Kathie’s work to advance climate resilience and disseminate sound climate science has been remarkable,” said Dr. Lewis Owen, dean of the College of Sciences at NC State. “Her efforts have improved North Carolina’s disaster preparedness, enhanced important partnerships with state and federal agencies, and educated countless stakeholders about climate change and its effects. Many generations of North Carolinians will benefit from her work.”
Indeed, Kathie has always seen the value in bringing science to the people via data-driven decision support. By using our knowledge about the weather and climate, she’s helped us make complex information more accessible and actionable, from farmers finding the right time to plant their crops each spring to engineers designing highways to be more resilient against extreme storms and flooding.
She did that sort of work as director of the NOAA-funded Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP) program for the Carolinas, which helped communities better understand changing climate impacts, including heat risk and extreme rainfall.
She was also the inaugural Director of Climate Science and Services for NC State’s Climate and Sustainability Academy, which uses interdisciplinary research, teaching, engagement and operations efforts to promote sustainability and resilience.
“Kathie truly is a champion of data-informed resilience planning and policy, a committed public servant, and a leader who is committed to finding and implementing transformative solutions,” said Dr. Erin Seekamp, the Goodnight Distinguished Professor in Coastal Resilience and Sustainability at NC State and executive director of the Climate and Sustainability Academy.
Through all of that work – and through a pandemic within her first year on the job – Kathie helped raise the profile of the State Climate Office within the university and across the state, solidifying our position as a national leader in applied climate research, climate services and climate communications.
Just this year, Kathie has been recognized as one of NC State’s most outstanding staff members, and she was announced as a recipient of the prestigious North Carolina Award, the highest civilian honor given in the state.
She now brings that experience and excellence to her new position, and citizens all across North Carolina can expect to see the benefits as our state makes strides in resiliency for present weather hazards and future climate changes.
As we prepare for a national search for our next permanent director beginning this fall, Dr. Jared Bowden will serve as our interim director. Before, during and after that search process, we will continue to carry out our own public service mission, using our data, tools and expertise to confront the climate challenges facing North Carolina.