Contact Information
Foster, Josh
Climate Transition Coordinator
ph: (301) 734-1218
fax: (301) 713-0518
josh.foster@noaa.gov
JOSH FOSTER is the Program Coordinator for the Transition of Research Applications to Climate Services (TRACS) Program (2005-present) in the Climate Assessments and Services Division (CASD) of the NOAA Climate Program Office (CPO) (1995-present). He received his MA in International Relations, and his and MEM in Environmental Management, from Yale University (1993), and BA in International Relations and Environmental Policy, Minor in Latin American Studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (1990). His Yale FES Thesis Project was on the early politics of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change negotiations. His academic concentration was in political science and international relations, with interest in how people make decisions about the environment and global change, particularly in adapting to and managing climate-related risks using scientific knowledge as a guide for policy and action. Additional interests include the institutional context within which these choices are made from the individual to international levels, enhancing communication between scientific and decision making communities, developing earth science institutions for environmental management, and improving the provision of climate information to better serve the public. In his role as TRACS coordinator, he is also involved with NOAA climate services development and program planning for the Climate Program Office with particular focus on drought and water resources management, local urban preparedness for climate variability and change, and engagement with the private sector. He has been the project manager for the NOAA supported International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) Climate Resilient Communities project since it's start in 2005. In the past he has also worked on the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments Program (RISA), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) IPCC 3rd Assessment Report, and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI).
