EMILY LAIDLAW

Severe Weather Social Scientist

Emily is a contractor supporting NOAA’s Weather Program Office (WPO) as a Severe Weather Social Scientist. In this role, Emily serves as the competition manager for VORTEX and supports WPO’s Social Science Program.

Emily’s previous professional experience includes two stints at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF NCAR), first integrating social science and atmospheric science in the weather enterprise, and later incorporating global data into integrated assessment models of human and Earth systems to help understand how key aspects of society might evolve. Emily also supported the Department of Energy for a decade in contractor and subcontractor roles; founded a consulting company to help connect science with society; and has supported local environmental and STEM nonprofits with strategy, outreach, program evaluation, and grant writing expertise.

Emily holds an M.S. in Applied Statistics and Research Methods from the University of Northern Colorado, an M.A. in journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from the University of Rochester. She aims to use her skillset to foster informed and durable use of data to help bridge the gap between research and operations.