Abby Sullivan recently joined the Philadelphia Office of Sustainability as the Senior Advisor for Climate Science and Risk Communication. In this role she supports climate adaptation and resilience efforts by translating climate science into actionable tools and information for municipal decision making and planning. She leads the Office’s climate science and adaptation research partnerships and supports their equitable place-based resilience initiatives. Previously, she served as an Environmental Scientist at the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) where she worked on the Climate Change Adaptation Program. She led the Department’s coastal flood risk analyses and facility-based risk assessments. As Chair of the Water Utility Climate Alliance Sea Level Rise Committee, she led a project to develop a guide to help the water sector adapt to sea level rise with a focus on overcoming barriers to implementation. Abby also worked on public outreach and planning for the Philadelphia Water Department’s green stormwater infrastructure program. Abby is a Certified Floodplain Manager and serves on NASA’s Sea Level Change Practitioner Consultation Board. She brings an interdisciplinary approach to her work, drawing from experiences like working as a deckhand on boats in Alaska, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and previous work experience in the communications field. She has a Master of Resource Management degree with a focus on coastal systems from the University Centre of the Westfjords, University of Akureyri in Iceland. She enjoys strong coffee, bad puns, rainy days, playing soccer and getting away from screens to spend time with her husband and son.
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