About me

I am a scientific leader working to advance Earth system predictability across timescales. I lead the Earth System Predictability Across Timescales (ESPAT) initiative as a Special Projects Lead to the NSF NCAR Director, helping shape scientific strategy, partnerships, and team-based approaches that support Earth system predictability for a more resilient future.

The path that brought me here has been unconventional, and it continues to shape how I approach science and leadership. I moved from Poland to the United States at 13 and began college at the State University of New York (SUNY) Purchase at 14, supporting myself by working two to three jobs while completing a B.S. in Mathematics with a minor in Physics. Navigating a new country, a new language, and the realities of adult responsibilities as a teenager shaped my resilience, discipline, and determination — qualities that continue to guide my scientific and leadership approach.

I earned my PhD in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington, where I studied convectively generated gravity waves and became increasingly interested in how different parts of the atmosphere influence one another. I joined NSF NCAR in 2002 and have since been drawn to questions that sit at the interfaces — between various atmospheric layers and components, across scientific disciplines, and between research and societal needs. That integrative space is where my work has found its purpose.

I believe that advancing Earth system predictability requires both scientific innovation and new ways of working together. Much of my effort is devoted to reconnecting areas of research that have evolved separately—helping build structures that enable interdisciplinary science, model development, and team-driven approaches to thrive. My motivation is simple: when we connect what has been fragmented, we create the conditions for discovery, collaboration, and resilience.