Jenny Dissen
Private sector Engagement, Adaptation, Resilience, Education, Literacy and Communication, Climate services
Biography
Jenny Dissen leads engagement efforts, with more than 15 years of building actionable collaborations across NOAA, industry sectors, and academia to accelerate the application of environmental data regionally to nationally. This entails leveraging engagement methods to understand and apply users’ perspectives to extend Earth system data and science research into practical, sector-specific areas, and in community resilience, in light of Western North Carolina’s Helene recovery efforts.
At NCICS, she provides strategic advisory and environmental service support to NOAA NCEI. with data development, access, and application efforts for critical sectors including retail, reinsurance, and engineering. She leads the NOAA Open Data Dissemination engagement efforts, connecting NOAA Line Offices with cloud partners and end users to democratize access to vast environmental data archives.
Ms. Dissen’s engagement work spans in both global and local resilience: she previously led engagement efforts with the U.S.–India Partnership for Climate Resilience (NOAA/State Department) and currently focuses on applying NOAA and other data to urgent community issues, such as wildfire risk and preparedness in Western North Carolina. She contributed to the North Carolina Climate Science Report that fed into the state’s risk and resiliency plans. Her career started with Accenture in their energy delivery and business transformation programs. This was followed by managing programs for the William J. Clinton Foundation’s Clinton Climate Initiative in Southeast Asia.
Ms. Dissen holds MS and BS degrees from NC State University’s Environmental Engineering program and received specialized certificates in Climate Change and Society and Global Energy Seminars (Harvard Business School Executive Education). She is an active member of the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society, serves on the boards of MountainTrue, The NC School of Science and Mathematics, and the Electric Power Research Institute and is involved with the Asheville Museum of Science. Dissen, with her two children, loves the outdoors, yoga, travel and learning about global cultures.
Publications
Willett, D.S., J. Brannock, J. Dissen, P. Keown, K. Szura, O.B. Brown, and A. Simonson, 2023: NOAA Open Data Dissemination: Petabyte-scale Earth system data in the cloud. Science Advances, 9 (38), eadh0032. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adh0032
Willett, D.S., B. White, T. Augspurger, J. Brannock, J. Dissen, P. Keown, O.B. Brown, and A. Simonson, 2022: Expanding access to open environmental data: advancements and next steps. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/bams-d-22-0158.1
Kunkel, K. E., D. R. Easterling, A. Ballinger, S. Bililign, S. M. Champion, D. R. Corbett, K. D. Dello, J. Dissen, G. M. Lackmann, J. Luettich, R. A., L. B. Perry, W. A. Robinson, L. E. Stevens, B. C. Stewart, and A. J. Terando, 2020: North Carolina Climate Science Report. 233 pp. https://ncics.org/nccsr
Dello, K., W. Robinson, K. Kunkel, J. Dissen, and T. Maycock, 2020: A Hotter, Wetter, and More Humid North Carolina. North Carolina Medical Journal, 81, 307. http://dx.doi.org/10.18043/ncm.81.5.307
Brewer, Michael J., Hollingshead, Annette, Dissen, J., Jones, Najimah, Laura F. Webster, 2019. User Needs for Weather and Climate Information: 2019 NCEI Users’ Conference. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-19-0323.1
McGuirk, M., S. C. Herring, and J. Dissen, 2018: The Climate Resilient Grid Forum. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 100, 173-176. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0018.1
Schreck, C. J., III, S. Bennett, J. M. Cordeira, J. Crouch, J. Dissen, A. L. Lang, D. Margolin, A. O’Shay, J. Rennie, and M. J. Ventrice, 2015: Natural gas prices and the extreme winters of 2011/12 and 2013/14: Causes, indicators, and interactions. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 96, 1879-1894. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-13-00237.1
Arguez, A., R. S. Vose, and J. Dissen, 2013: Alternative climate normals: Impacts to the energy industry. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 94, 915-917. http://dx.doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00155.1
Presentations
Kunkel K. E., D. E. Easterling, S. M. Champion,
J. P. Dissen, and O. B. Brown, 2019: North Carolina Climate Science
Report Update. Regional Resiliency Workshops, Hickory, NC, October 16,
2019.
Kunkel K. E., D. E. Easterling, S. M. Champion,
J. P. Dissen, and O. B. Brown, 2019: North Carolina Climate Science
Report Update. Regional Resiliency Workshops, Sylva, NC, October 15,
2019.
Kunkel K. E., D. E. Easterling, S. M. Champion,
J. P. Dissen, and O. B. Brown, 2019: North Carolina Climate Science
Report Activities and Updates. NC Interagency Council Meeting,
Winston-Salem, NC, July 16, 2019.
Dissen,
J., D. R. Easterling, K. E. Kunkel, A. Ballinger,
K. Hayhoe, and F. Akhtar, 2019: Development and
Applications of Climate Projections in India. 17th Annual Climate Prediction
Applications Science Workshop, Charleston, SC, June 11, 2019.
Kunkel, K. E., D. E. Easterling, J. P. Dissen,
and O. B. Brown, 2019: Initial Perspective on the NC Climate
Science Activities. NC DEQ Climate Change Interagency Council Meeting,
Raleigh, NC, April 26, 2019.
Whitehead, J., and J. P. Dissen, 2019: Bringing
Academic and Scientific Assessment to Decisions. NC DEQ Climate Change
Interagency Council Meeting, Raleigh, NC, April 26, 2019.
Dissen, J., A.
Ballinger, D. R. Easterling, K. E. Kunkel, K. Hayhoe, F. Akhtar,
2019: U.S.-India Partnership for Climate Resilience. 2019 World
Sustainable Development Summit, New Delhi, India, February 11, 2019.
McGuirk,
M., E. Shea, M. Prabhu, D. Ratliff, J. Dissen, and E. Gardiner, 2019:
Climate-Induced Displacement: Where Social and Climate Sciences Intersect. American
Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, January 9, 2019.
Easterling,
D. R., J. Dissen, K. E. Kunkel, and K. Hayhoe, 2019: The
U.S.-India Partnership for Climate Resilience. American Meteorological Society
Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, January 8, 2019.
Dissen,
Hollingshead,
A., M. J. Brewer, N. Jones, and J. Dissen, 2019: Exploring and Advancing
Customer Engagement at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. American
Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, January 8, 2019.
Dissen,
J., 2019: Upcoming NCEI Data Users Conference: An Agriculture Example Town
Hall (panel discussion). AMS 99th Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, January
7, 2019.
Dissen,
J., A. Hollingshead, N. Jones, M. J.
Brewer, T. G. Houston, and A. Allegra, 2019: Lessons Learned from
Implementation of Customer Requirements Solution. American Meteorological Society
Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, January 7, 2019.
Easterling,
D. R., J. Dissen, K. Kunkel, and K. Hayhoe, 2018: An Overview of
the U.S.-India Partnership for Climate Resilience. American Geophysical
Union Fall Meeting. Washington, DC, December 10, 2018.
Dissen,
J., 2018: Climate and Data Sciences (panel discussion). North Carolina
School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) Data Science Series Visits Asheville,
The Collider, Asheville, NC, November 6, 2018.
Dissen,
J., 2018: Key Findings from the U.S.-India
Partnership for Climate Resilience Workshop on Development and Application of
High-Resolution Climate Modeling. 2018 Carolinas Climate Resilience
Conference, Columbia, SC, October 31, 2018.
Dissen,
J., 2018: Data-Driven Climate Innovation (panel discussion). 2018
Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference, Columbia, SC, October 30, 2018.
Dissen, J., D. R.
Easterling, K. E. Kunkel, K. Hayhoe, 2018: Innovative Web Based
Applications of High-Resolution Climate Modeling and Projections Techniques. 2018
Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference, Columbia, SC, October 30, 2018.
Dissen, J., and M.
Brewer, 2018: NCEI Customer Engagement Initiatives to Guide Opportunities for
Innovation. 2018 Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference, Columbia, SC,
October 30, 2018.
Dissen,
J., and A. Ballinger, 2018: Climate
Projections and the Climate Analysis Tool. Workshop on Climate and Health,
The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi, India, October 24,
2018.
Dissen,
J., 2018: In Times of Seismic Sorrows (panel discussion). The Collider
and The Center for Craft Joint Exhibition, Asheville, NC, September 25,
2018.
Dissen,
J., 2018: Sectoral Analysis Approach. National
Water Initiative Service Delivery & Decision Support Group web
conference, June 14, 2018.
Dissen,
J., M. Brewer, and D. Arndt, 2018: The
Application of NOAA National Centers of Environmental Information Data and
Information to the Legal Community. American Bar Association webinar,
June 6, 2018.
McGuirk, M., J. Dissen, and S. Herring, 2018: 8.2:
The Climate Resilient Grid: A Report on the Forum on Energy, Climate, and the
Grid. American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Austin, TX,
January 10, 2018.
Brewer, M. J., T. G. Houston, A. Hollingshead, J. Dissen,
and N. Jones, 2018: Customer Use Cases and Analytics for Climate Data at NOAA’s
National Centers for Environmental Information. American Meteorological
Society Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, January 9, 2018.
Hollingshead, A., M. J. Brewer, J. Dissen, and T.
Owen, 2018: Environmental Information for Resilience in Infrastructure. American
Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, January 9, 2018.
Hollingshead, A., M. J. Brewer, J. Dissen, N. Jones,
and T. Owen, 2018: 727: Exploring and Advancing Customer Engagement at NOAA’s
National Centers for Environmental Information. American Meteorological
Society Annual Meeting, Austin, TX, January 9, 2018.
Brewer, M., T. Houston, A. Hollingshead, N. Jones, J.
Dissen, and N. A. Ritchey, 2017: Customer Use Cases and Analytics for
Climate Data at NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information. American
Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 14, 2017.
Dissen, J., D. R.
Easterling, K. Kunkel, A. Kulkarni, F. H. Akhtar, K. Hayhoe, A. M. K.
Stoner, R. Swaminathan, and B. L. Thrasher, 2017: GC31H-04: Key Findings from
the U.S.-India Partnership for Climate Resilience Workshop on Development and
Application of Downscaling Climate Projections. American Geophysical Union
Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA, December 13, 2017.
Dissen,
J., 2017: STEM Teachers: From Western NC to India and Back into the
Classroom, Application of India STEM education findings panel discussion,
The Collider, Asheville, NC, October 17, 2017.
Dissen, J., Houston,
T., Margolin, J., 2014: Climate Change & Variability – Data Sources,
Accessibility, and Use. Georgia Environmental Conference. Jekyll Island,
GA, August 24, 2017.
Dissen, J., 2017: The
Role of Environmental Intelligence for the Energy Industry. American
Meteorological Society 23rd Conference on Applied Climatology, Asheville,
NC, June 26, 2017.
Thompson, T., O. Brown, and J. Dissen,
2016: Applying NOAA Big Data to Utilities – An Example, Utility Analytics
Week, October 31, 2016.
Dissen, J., T. Owen,
M. Brewer, E. Mecray, T. Houston, 2016: Engagement with the Energy Sector – Our
Experience. 2016 Carolinas Climate Resilience Conference. Charlotte, NC, September
12-14, 2016.
Dissen, J., 2016: EHS,
Sustainability and Climate Resilience – What’s the Connection?, Research
Triangle Park Foundation webinar, September 8, 2016.
Dissen, J., 2015: Climate Change and Clean Energy (panel discussion). Asheville Bioneers Conference, Lenoir-Rhyne University Center for Graduate Studies of Asheville, Asheville, NC, November 13, 2015.
Brown, O., K. Kunkel, and J. Dissen, 2015: Storm Data for Utilities. Utility Analytics Storm Analytics Working Group Presentation, September 2015.
Brown, O., K. Kunkel, and J. Dissen, 2015: Opportunities in Climate Analytics for Utilities. Utility Analytics Executive Advisory Council, August 2015.
Brewer, M., and J. Dissen, 2015: NCEI User Engagement Strategy. Climate Data Record Annual PI Meeting, August 2015.
Dissen, J., 2015. American Association of State Climatologists Annual Meeting, Skamania, WA, July 1, 2015.
Privette, J. L., T. G. Houston, D. P. Brown, J. Dissen,
K. Gleason, and R. A. Leduc Clarke, 2015: A New Approach to Climate Services at
NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). AMS Annual Meeting, January
7, 2015.
Dissen, J., T. Houston, and J. Margolin, 2014: Climate Change & Variability – Data Sources, Accessibility, and Use. Georgia Environmental Conference, Jekyll Island, GA, August 2014.