Sarah Watson has joined the S.C. Sea Grant Consortium and Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA) as a coastal climate and resilience specialist. Watson’s position is jointly supported by the Consortium and CISA, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-funded research group based at the University of South Carolina.
Watson has a dual Master’s degree in Public Policy and City and Regional Planning, with concentrations in climate adaptation and coastal resilience, from Rutgers University, and a B.A. degree in Journalism from Temple University. Most recently, she worked via subcontract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office for Coastal Management to develop risk communication training materials and other resources for coastal decision-makers. Prior to her career in resilience and climate-change issues, she was an environmental journalist and covered Superstorm Sandy recovery efforts at The Press of Atlantic City in New Jersey.
Watson will address the coastal climate and resiliency needs of a variety of constituencies by extending science-based climate, weather, and resiliency information and providing hands-on operational and technical support to coastal communities, resource managers, and interest groups in South Carolina and the region. She will also contribute to research driven by community needs and provide hands-on operational and technical support for coastal-climate issues addressed by the Consortium and CISA.
Photo of Sarah Watson by Susan Ferris Hill, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.