CWWCE Remarks (Pam Emch, CWWCE Commissioner)

The Commission on the Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise (CWWCE) is charged with developing and implementing programs that address the needs and concerns of all sectors of the weather, water and climate enterprise; promoting a sense of community between government entities, private sector organizations; and universities; fostering synergistic linkages between and among sectors; entraining and educating user communities on the value of weather and climate information; educating policy makers on the value and operations of the enterprise; and providing appropriate venues and opportunities for communications that foster frank, open and balanced discussions on points of contention and concern. In other words, the “prime directive” of the CWWCE is to engage the government, academic, and private sectors on pressing and strategic issues on behalf of the Society. These interactions may extend to involve other AMS Commissions, the user community, and disciplines beyond that may request assistance with enterprise communication, growth and development matters. A core value of the CWWCE is to encourage early career, diverse, and student participants in Commission activities including, as appropriate, leadership positions. The CWWCE also recommends annual recipients for the Kenneth C. Spengler Award.

The CWWCE is composed of four Boards and is governed by the Commission Executive Committee chaired by the Commissioner with advice and counsel from the Commission Steering Committee.

The Board on Global Strategies (BGS) is aligned with energy, renewable energy, environmental security, water resources, and international concerns as outlined by the US State Department as being critical to humanity in all parts of the globe. The purpose of the BGS is to promote development of and access to the most advanced meteorological and climatological observations, models, and predictions by all people across the globe, with particular emphasis on improving water, food, energy, and environmental security. The Energy Committee, the Renewable Energy Committee, the Committee on Environmental Security, the International Committee on Weather, Water and Climate Strategies, and the Water Resources Committee reside within the BGS. The Energy Committee and the Renewable Energy Committee jointly plan the Conference on Weather, Climate, and the New Energy Economy at the AMS Annual Meeting.

The Board on Enterprise Economic Development (BEED), in its early days of existence, reported directly to the AMS Executive Committee but became part of the CWWCE upon its inception. The primary purpose of the BEED is to promote growth in the economic base of the weather, water and climate enterprise. A secondary purpose of the BEED is to promote quantification of the economic value of the enterprise, including weather and climate-related risk. Its objectives include providing opportunities to discuss agency plans, policy, and business opportunities, and outreach to the user community, broadly defined. The Intelligent Transportation Systems & Surface Transportation Committee, the Committee on Open Environmental Information Systems, the Financial Weather/Climate Risk Management Committee, and the Committee on Radio Frequency Allocations reside within the BEED. The BEED is responsible for planning the annual AMS Washington Forum.

The Board on Enterprise Communication’s (BEC) primary purpose is to facilitate open, inclusive discussions amongst the government, academic and private sectors on pressing issues facing the weather, water and climate enterprise. The BEC operates on the assumption that open, thoughtful communication can assist in identifying appropriate roles for the public, private and academic sectors and assist in developing partnerships and collaborations as appropriate. The BEC, in conjunction with AMS leadership, also can pursue communications with federal decision makers by providing information on the weather, water, and climate enterprise. The Committee on Effective Communication of Weather and Climate Information, the Forecast Improvement Group Executive Committee, and the Ad Hoc Committee on Naming Winter Storms reside within the BEC. The BEC is responsible for planning the AMS Summer Community Meeting.

The Board on Enterprise Strategic Topics’ (BEST) primary purpose is to help determine and advance collaboration on strategic initiatives of the weather, water, and climate enterprise. The BEST considers topics for enhanced collaboration from nominations submitted by members of the community. This is a continuous process. Those topics can be addressed through various mechanisms, not limited to, the establishment of committees, the creation of white papers, panel discussions, or town halls. The Nationwide Network of Networks Committee, the Climate Services Committee, the Committee on Ecological Forecasting, and the Committee on Emergency Management reside within the BEST. The BEST is responsible for planning the Symposium on the Weather, Water and Climate Enterprise during the AMS Annual Meeting.

Pamela Emch – Bio

Pamela Emch is a Consulting Engineering Fellow with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. She works on Northrop's weather, climate, and environmental remote sensing activities supporting NOAA, NASA, the Department of Defense, and additional customers. In over 30 years at Northrop Grumman (and formerly TRW), she has held a variety of science, engineering, management, and business development positions.

Dr. Emch has experience managing end-to-end satellite-based remote sensing requirements and sensor design analysis, modeling and simulation, and geophysical product assessment. She has also led environmental data collection and application activities for airborne sensors. She was system engineering, integration, and test lead on Northrop’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES)-R Phase 1 Program. Prior to that she worked on the NPOESS (National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System) Program, including two years in Washington, D.C. where she served as Northrop’s system engineering and science interface to the government program office.

Dr. Emch has a B.A. in Mathematics from UCLA and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering from USC. She received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UCLA in the area of hydrology / water resources with a minor focus in atmospheric science. She is an AMS Fellow and the current Commissioner of the American Meteorological Society’s Commission on the Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise. Prior to that she was Chair of the AMS Board on Enterprise Economic Development. Dr. Emch was a member of NOAA’s Space Platform Requirements Working Group, developing geophysical data observation goals for future missions. She was a member of the U.S. National Research Council (NRC) Committee on the Assessment of the National Weather Service's Modernization Program, she chaired the NRC Committee on Improving the Representation of Clouds and Aerosols in Climate Models with National Systems, and she was a reviewer of the NRC’s 2017 Decadal Survey: Earth Science and Applications from Space. She currently serves on the NRC Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate and the NRC Intelligence Science and Technology Experts Group.