Kristin Marcell

Kristin Marcell is an adept program designer, coordinator, and director with more than 14 years of experience managing partner networks and assistance programs. A key focus of Kristin’s work is building collaborative capacity with communities and governments to develop innovative approaches to technical, funding, outreach, marketing, and decision-support challenges and to create global models for climate resilience.

Based in Moses Lake, Washington, Kristin is the Director of the Climigration Network, an entity devoted to addressing the difficult questions of when and how communities should consider managed retreat or relocation to adapt to the threats posed by climate change. The Climigration Network works with lived experience and professional experts approaching these questions from a variety of perspectives, including planning, engineering, the arts, funding, research, social work, government, spiritual, human rights, insurance, and property ownership, to grapple with managed retreat. The Network, hosted by CBI, is supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Summit Foundation. Learn more here: https://www.climigration.org.

Prior to joining CBI, Kristin led the Climate Resilience Program for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservations’ (NYSDEC) Hudson River Estuary Program and Cornell University Water Resources Institute, where she coordinated and engaged with the DEC Office of Climate Change, state agencies, regional non-profits and key stakeholders in communities on regional and statewide climate adaptation research, policy and design.

Exemplary Projects

• Hudson Valley Flood Resilience Network
• Statewide Technical, Regulatory, and Funding Guidance
• Coastal Risk Management for New York and New Jersey Harbor
• Climate Adaptive Design Program
• New York State Climate Smart Communities Program

Education and Affiliations

Kristin holds a Master’s degree from Tufts University in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning and a Bachelor’s degree from Clark University in Biology. She also has served in local government, as appointed chair of the Environmental Conservation Commission and as a member of the Planning and Zoning Committee in the Town of Rochester, New York.

Select Publications

• Marcell, K., and B. Brooks (2020). Building Community Consensus for Flood Risk Adaptation. CARDI Research and Policy Brief. Issue 90, June 2020.
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. (draft). Using Natural Resilience Measures to Reduce Risk of Flooding and Erosion in New York State.
• Orton, P., Fernald, S., Marcell, K., Brooks, B., Van Proojen, B. and Z. Chen. (2019). Surge Barrier Environmental Effects and Empirical Experience Workshop Report.
• Zemaitis, L., Tabak, N., Marcell, K., Brooks, B. and J. Noble. (2018). Working Together to Build Climate Resilience in Hudson Riverfront Communities. In: Leal Filho W. (eds) Handbook of Climate Change Resilience. Springer, Cham.
• NYS Sea Level Rise Task Force. (2010). Report to the New York State Legislature.
• Marcell, K and A. DeGaetano. (2007). Climate Change and New York’s Future. The Conservationist. 62(1):10-13.
• Marcell, K. (Ed.) (2006).  Proceedings from Climate Change in New York’s Hudson Valley. How Can Local Government and Community Leaders Prepare?, Altamont, NY: Hudson River Environmental Society.
• Marcell, K., Agyeman, J., and A. Rappaport. (2004). Cooling the campus: Experiences from a pilot study to reduce electricity use at Tufts University, USA, using social marketing methods. International Journal of Sustainability and Higher Education. 5(2):169–189.