Personnel

Director

Dr. Charles E. Konrad II Associate Professor Department of Geography 305 Carolina Hall Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3220 Telephone: 919-962-3873 Web: http://www.unc.edu/depts/geog/people/faculty/konrad/ Email: konrad@unc.edu

Chip grew up in Roanoke, VA, where he spent lots of time following the weather, poring over maps, collecting rocks, and hiking the mountains. He earned a B.S. in Geophysics from Virginia Tech, an M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Georgia. Chip became a professor at the University of North Carolina in 1993. His research focuses on the synoptic climatological characteristics of extreme weather and their impacts across the southeastern United States. He has much expertise across a wide range of areas in climatology and meteorology, including heavy precipitation, tornadoes, hurricanes, cold air outbreaks, heat waves, and winter weather. He has published numerous research articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Monthly Weather Review, Weather and Forecasting, the International Journal of Climatology, Climate Research, and Applied Geography. And he was a co-author on the Southeast Technical Report for the National Climate Assessment. Chip has served as the Director of the Southeast Regional Climate Center since 2010.

Service Climatologist

William G. Schmitz Service Climatologist/Meteorologist Albert & Gladys Coates Building Room 203 223 East Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Telephone: 919-843-9721 Email: wschmitz@email.unc.edu

B.S. 2001, Plymouth State College, New Hampshire, Meteorology

A.S. 1998, Canada College, Redwood City, CA, Physics

William spent most of his youth in California near San Francisco. He moved to Vermont in the early 1990's so that he could experience some real weather. In March Super Storm 1993 came plowing up the East Coast and planted the passion and ambition for Weather/Climate that would drive him along his career path. In 1998 he obtained his Associates Degree in Physics and transferred to Plymouth, NH where in 2001 he graduated with a Bachelors in Meteorology. His first Job was with Aquila Inc. a Kansas City, MO based energy company that was just spinning up a Weather Derivative Desk. While in Kansas City William was a Climate Data Analyst and managed a global database of weather data. He then went on to Work with a small group called GuaranteedWeather and finally with the Southeast Regional Climate Center in 2005. Within the SERCC William is the Service Climatologist and is responsible for climate research associated with the Southeastern U.S. and educating current and new users on how the SERCC can be of assistance to them.

Regional Climatologist

Jordan McLeod Regional Climatologist Albert & Gladys Coates Building Room Room 202 223 East Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Telephone: 919-843-2704 Email: jtmcleod@email.unc.edu

Jordan McLeod is originally from Warner Robins, Georgia. In 2011, he received a B.A. degree in Geography with a concentration in Earth Environmental Systems from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also minored in History with a focus on the American Civil War. Most recently, he earned an M.S. degree in Geography with a concentration in Atmospheric Science from the University of Georgia. Jordan’s primary interests include weather/climate extremes across the United States, tropical cyclones in the Atlantic basin, and atmospheric circulation variability over the Arctic region. Learning about the Earth’s weather and climate system has been a passion since childhood, and Jordan hopes to maximize his potential as a “weather weenie”.

Dr. Ashley R. Ward PhD (Geography) Albert & Gladys Coates Building Room 201-B 223 East Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Telephone: 919-962-7470 Email: arward@email.unc.edu

Dr. Ashley Ward is a native North Carolinian, born in Durham but spent much of her youth in the rural northern piedmont. Ashley earned her BA, Masters, and PhD in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Throughout her career, she has focused on community-level issues particularly relating to the American South and centered on the areas of community development, poverty, and health. Ashley’s passion is engaging communities to identify and address issues, and helping communities develop long-term, sustainable strategies relevant to their particular community. She is excited to join the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA “See-Sah”) as part of their collaboration with SERCC. (Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments).

Johnathan Sugg PHD Student (Geography) Albert & Gladys Coates Building Room 201-B 223 East Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Email: jwsugg@live.unc.edu

Johnathan is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geography at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Originally from western North Carolina, he holds a B.S. (2008) and M.A. (2013) in Geography from Appalachian State University. His Master's research used MODIS data to investigate the association between atmospheric circulation and the spatial pattern of new snowfall in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Before completing his Master's degree, Johnathan worked as a GIS Specialist providing spatial data support for natural resource managers. Currently working under the direction of Chip Konrad, his research interests include synoptic climatology, GIS applications of weather and climate, and multi-scale patterns/processes of precipitation.

Jenna Hartley MS degree in Secondary Science Education & BS Degree in Environmental Geology Albert & Gladys Coates Building Room 201-B 223 East Franklin Street Chapel Hill, NC 27514 Email: jennamhartley@gmail.com

Jenna is a Master's candidate in the Gillings School of Public Health, and is working on research related to precipitation and waterborne disease incidence in North Carolina State. She is co-advised by Professor Chip Konrad (Geography) and Professor Jason West (Environmental Sciences and Engineering).
Jenna received a BS degree in Environmental Geology from Beloit College in 2007. She then received an MS degree in Secondary Science Education in 2009 and spent seven years (2007-2014) teaching public high school science (Earth Science, Biology, and AP Environmental Science) in New York City (four years) and Orange County, North Carolina (three years). Jenna enjoyed teaching and hopes to teach again in her future, but is enthused by her return to graduate studies at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Jenna is excited to join the SERCC team.

Product Developer

John McGuire Environmental Meteorologist/Developer Suite 100, Research III Building, Centennial Campus Box 7236, North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC 27695-7236 Telephone: 919-515-0412 Email: jamcguir@ncsu.edu

John was born outside of Chicago and grew up outside of Raleigh. He graduated from NC State with a B.S. in Meteorology, and a minor in mathematics in May 2008. In January 2009, he was hired at the North Carolina State Climate Office for development of meteorological web products for both the State Climate Office and the Southeast Regional Climate Center. John's main project with the SERCC is the Climate Perspectives tool. John is also a part-time graduate student at NC State, pursuing his masters in Atmospheric Science. His graduate research focuses on the feasibility and construction of a high-resolution mesoscale reanalysis of North Carolina using the WRFDA model system.

Peter Robinson has been involved in Applied Climatology since arriving in North Carolina in 1971. He was the State Climatologist from 1976 until 1980, at which time he left the state on assignment as Assistant Director of the National Climate Program in Washington DC. There he was responsible for Federal-State Climate relationships and was in charge of the climate data and information services. During this time he laid the administrative foundations for the program which evolved into the Regional Climate Centers. At the end of the assignment he returned to Geography Department at the University of North Carolina, teaching courses in atmospheric science and being involved in applied climatic research. He served for a period as the Chair of the Regional Climate Centers National Oversight Committee. He is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist, slated to serve in 2008 as the Chair of the Administrative Board for the program. He is also the US Representative to the International Geographical Union Commission for Water Sustainability.

He became Director of the Southeast Regional Climate Center when it was relocated to the University of North Carolina in April 2007 and in the Spring of 2010 he retired to the UK.