U.S. Climate Organization Selects Asheville for NationalOffice

U.S. Climate Organization Selects Asheville

 for National Office

Image Source: www.erh.noaa.gov

In conjunction with the Economic Development Coalition for Asheville-Buncombe County (EDC), the American aAssociation of State Climatologists (AASC) announced today it will locate the organization’s headquarters and first full-time executive director in Asheville, N.C. The AASC supports the development of science-based climate services that assist in climate-related decisions for the public and private sectors, from community planning to business resiliency and risk mitigation.

The AASC has selected its new Executive Director, Lieutenant-Colonel Glenn Kerr (retired), former commander of the 14th Weather Squadron of the U.S. Air Force.  Kerr has served in diverse weather and climate-related capacities for the USAF for more than 20 years and holds a Master’s degree in Meteorology.

“The Executive Committee of the AASC felt very strongly that the concentration of climate related activities, including the presence of the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites – North Carolina (CICS-NC), UNC Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC), and a nexus of private-sector climate related interests make Asheville the premier location for AASC’s national office,” said Dan Leathers, AASC President. “We are thrilled to be located in Asheville.”

The Association joins a growing cluster of private sector technical and professional businesses located proximate to the federally funded NCEI Headquarters (formerly NCDC).  Based in Asheville since 1951, today the data center employs nearly 400 scientists, technologists and analysts, including 16 Nobel Laureates. As a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NCEI hosts and provides public access to one of the most significant environmental data archives on Earth, with over 20 petabytes of climate, weather, atmospheric, coastal, oceanic, and geophysical data.

"Having AASC’s Executive Office in Asheville will build even stronger relationships and collaborations between the climate data and scientifically informed decision making on climate resilience,” said Michael Tanner, Director, Center for Weather and Climate at NOAA NCEI.

- See more at: http://www.ashevillechamber.org/economic-development/announcements-and-press-releases/us-climate-organization-selects-asheville-nati#sthash.0u9dELVy.dpuf