We’re a group of nonpartisan climate scientists and mothers, working to give our children the planet they deserve.
99% of scientists agree, climate change is real. We founded Science Moms to help mothers who are concerned about their childrens’ planet, but aren’t confident in their knowledge about climate change or how they can help.
As climate scientists, we have collectively spent decades studying our earth and what human activity is doing to it. We are steeped in this reality every day and know that to solve this problem, it will take all of us moms joining forces. Together, we aim to demystify climate science and motivate everyday moms to demand climate change plans and solutions that preserve the planet for our kids.
Looking for simple ways to do your part and preserve the world for our kids?
Sign UpDr. Melissa Burt
Dr. Emily Fischer
Dr. Joellen Russell
Dr. Rosimar Rios-Berrios
Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson
Dr. Irina Marinov
Dr. Erica Smithwick
Dr. Lisa Patel
Dr. Sarah Das
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Dr. Melissa Burt
Dr. Melissa Burt is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University with a focus on arctic clouds, radiation, and sea ice, as well as the Assistant Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in the Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering at Colorado State University. Melissa’s research focuses on the interactions of Arctic clouds, radiation, and sea ice, with interests ranging from cloud-radiation feedbacks, hydrological and energy cycles in climate, and climate change feedbacks. Dr. Burt oversees strategic and implementation efforts for diversity, inclusion, and equity goals across the college. This position focuses on recruitment, retention, and engagement of faculty/staff, and supports the college-wide recruitment and retention efforts of undergraduate and graduate students from historically underrepresented groups.
She lives in Colorado with her husband and young daughter. Melissa and her daughter love to go to the beach, which they consider a happy escape for both of them. She first became interested in science by reading the children’s page in the Washington Post with her grandfather, especially the segments about weather.
Dr. Emily Fischer
Dr. Emily Fischer is a Professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University (CSU). She is also an affiliate faculty member of the CSU School of Global Environmental Sustainability (SoGES). When she’s not teaching, Dr. Fischer leads a number of initiatives designed to provide high-quality mentorship to the next generation. She has been awarded a Macelwane Medal by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in recognition of significant early career contributions to the Earth Sciences as well as the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Atmospheric Chemistry Committee Outstanding Early Career Scientist Award.
Emily is a mom of two daughters, ages 5 and 8. Colorado is home now, but she is originally from Rhode Island and misses the ocean terribly in the summer. She likes to paint anything — toes, canvases, furniture, etc. — and eat olives (any kind will do). She likes watching romantic comedies, reading books with her kids, and reading approximately half of each of the books chosen by her book club.
Dr. Joellen Russell
Dr. Joellen Russell is the Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Integrative Science and Professor at the University of Arizona in the Department of Geosciences. She currently serves as chair of the NOAA Science Advisory Board’s Climate Working Group, as an Objective Leader for the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research’s AntarcticClimate21, and on the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Community Earth System Model Advisory Board. Before joining UA, Prof. Russell was a Research Scientist at Princeton University and the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory.
Joellen is the mother of two children, 9 and 13. Her children and students’ compassion, kindness, and hard work have convinced her that when it’s their turn, we’ll all be in good hands. Growing up in a tiny fishing village in the arctic, she was always fascinated by the ocean and knew she wanted to be an oceanographer at the age of twelve.
Dr. Rosimar Rios-Berrios
Dr. Rosimar Rios-Berrios is a Scientist I at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. Her research focuses on high-impact weather, especially tropical cyclones, numerical weather prediction, and precipitation extremes. Dr. Rios-Berrios also spends a great deal of her time mentoring the next generation of scientists through internships and short-term visits at NCAR.
Rosi, as most people call her, was born and raised in Puerto Rico where her family endured the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria, including many weeks without any communication and several long months without power or water. Her experience inspired her to further understand how climate change impacts extreme weather events.
She lives in Colorado now with her husband and their one-year old son, Loki. While she misses the warm, tropical days on the Island, she also enjoys living in a place with seasons and outdoor activities all year round. When she is not working, she is likely hiking, running, sewing, cooking, doing yoga or pilates, or just playing with her little one.
Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson
Dr. Claudia Benitez-Nelson is an Associate Dean and Carolina Distinguished Professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of South Carolina. Her research focuses on understanding the biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and carbon and they are influenced by climate change. Her many research honors include the Early Career Award in Oceanography from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and being named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography. Claudia is passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation and is active in many efforts to increase diversity in the sciences.
Claudia has been happily married to her husband, Bryan, for over 25 years and has two children, Noah (20) and Julia (16) who tower over their mother. It is unclear from where their musical talent is derived, however, their love of the outdoors is shared by the whole family. Claudia’s favorite pastime is family vacations to any location new and adventurous (and without snow).
Dr. Irina Marinov
Dr. Irina Marinov is a climate scientist and an Associate Professor at University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Irina received an Undergraduate Research Mentorship award and holds the honor of being the first woman to be tenured in the Earth and Env Sciences Dept at UPenn.
Irina uses big models and satellite data to study the role of the oceans on our climate and the impact of climate change on the oceans. She has worked on global oxygen, nutrient and carbon cycling in the ocean, phytoplankton ecology, ocean circulation and the dynamics of huge holes in the Antarctic ice called polynyas.
Irina grew up in Romania and was inspired to become a scientist by her family, who often spent time in nature. She has also been lucky to have inspiring teachers and mentors throughout her education and professional life. Before joining UPenn, Irina was a student at Middlebury College and at Princeton, a NOAA Climate and Global Change postdoctoral fellow at MIT and a postdoctoral researcher at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Irina, her cosmologist husband, and their two boys love being part of their vibrant and diverse West Philadelphia community, and are busy on weekends discovering new pockets of nature in Pennsylvania. Sometimes she gets asked, “Aren’t you depressed to study climate change?” Her answer is always, “Absolutely not! It’s up to us to fix and heal the planet. Together we can and will do it.”
Dr. Erica Smithwick
Dr. Erica Smithwick’s research focuses on sustainable land management under climate change, with particular focus on wildfire and natural carbon storage strategies. She is a Distinguished Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography at The Pennsylvania State University, where she is also an Associate Director of the Institutes of Energy and Environment. She served as a Fulbright Scholar in South Africa and is currently an Administrative Fellow.
Erica is a mom of three children, ages 18, 16, and 9, two dogs, two cats, numerous goldfish (“won” at the local fair), and former nanny to many guinea pigs and hamsters. Erica’s love of science is coupled with a love of travel, and one of Erica’s greatest joys is inspiring that sense of adventure in her kids. When not with them or at the “Smithwick zoo,” she loves trail running with friends (one of whom re-introduced her to a hula hoop) and her pollinator garden.
Dr. Lisa Patel
Lisa Patel is the Executive Director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health, and Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford School of Medicine.
She is a former Presidential Management Fellow for the Environmental Protection Agency where she coordinated the US Government’s efforts on clean air and safe drinking water projects in South Asia in collaboration with the World Health Organization, and received the Trudy A. Specinar Award for her work. She is a member of the Executive Committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Environmental Health and Climate Change, and a faculty mentor for Stanford Climate and Health. As a mentor, she works with students and residents on projects related to climate-resilient schools, environmental justice, sustainable healthcare, and medical education curriculum reform. She is also previously the Director for the Community Pediatrics and Advocacy Block for Stanford Pediatric resident physicians.
Lisa received her Master’s in Environmental Sciences from the Yale School of the Environment, her medical degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and completed her training in pediatrics at UCSF.
Dr. Sarah Das
Dr. Sarah Das is a scientist, educator, and explorer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
She has led over 20 scientific expeditions to the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, providing new insight into how climate change is impacting our polar regions, and why that matters for the rest of our planet. Dr. Das served two terms on the Polar Research Board of the National Academies, was a member of the National Research Council’s Committee for Future Science Opportunities in Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and was an invited expert in the AAAS ‘What We Know’ Climate Change project. Dr. Das is also active in training the “next generation” of polar and climate scientists, regularly teaching and mentoring post-docs and Ph.D students as a faculty member of the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, as well as working closely with K-12 teachers and students.
She is also committed to sharing the importance and excitement of scientific discovery with policy makers and the public, and has been a featured scientist at the Woods Hole Film Festival, at Climate Science Day on Capitol Hill, on NPR, NOVA, at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and in the popular science book “Science On Ice,” among many other outlets.
She received her Ph.D. in Geosciences from Penn State University and her AB in Geological Sciences from Cornell University.
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