Megan Sears is the Climate Change Response Program's new Climate Change Adaptation Assistant. She joins the team from Colorado State University (CSU) where she is pursuing a Masters in Watershed Science. Megan's research focuses on snowmelt modeling and hydrologic climate change impacts to a small snow-dominated watershed in Colorado. She is a recipient of a National Institutes for Water Resources research grant and CSU Warner College's Hill Memorial Fellowship.
Prior to beginning graduate school, Megan worked in the environmental consulting industry for six years. She recently specialized in characterizing and performing contaminant removal site assessments for abandoned uranium mines within the Navajo Nation (Arizona) and Custer Gallatin National Forest (South Dakota). This work largely focused on estimating the magnitude and spatial distribution of uranium contamination.
Megan initially became interested in climate change science while growing up on the Chesapeake Bay in southern Maryland, where such impacts were apparent to her even at a young age. Her passion for climate change science strengthened when she moved to Colorado and her love for outdoor recreation (e.g. skiing, backpacking, and mountain biking) grew. Megan was inspired to move to Colorado four years ago after visiting several national parks in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming.
Currently, Megan's favorite national park is Canyonlands, where she recently enjoyed a backpacking trip through the Needles district. Megan is now in a supporting role with CCRP assisting with data management, analysis, and visualization to help integrate climate science with park planning efforts.
