James Marshall Shepherd

2021 - Present, Member, National Academies, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (BASC), A leading advisory board for the nation and policymakers.

2017 – Present, Founding partner, Georgia Climate Project. In this role, we helped found and build the a consortium in the state of Georgia focused on climate science and solutions in a non-partisan, academic approach. Secured funding from the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, in two rounds, to build the network.

2018- 2021 University of Georgia Lead PI, Drawdown Georgia. In this role, I serve as the lead administrator for a large multi-institutional project funded by the Ray C. Anderson Foundation. The project is an ambitious effort to quantify carbon drawdown solutions for the state of Georgia. I lead the UGA research effort and serve on the broader project core team.

2021 -2021, Member, Taskforce on Weather Research Priorities for NOAA

2017-2018 Associate Department Head, Department of Geography, University of Georgia: In this role, I served as the deputy administrator in the Department and an ex-officio member of the departmental advisory committee. My responsibilities included scheduling departmental courses, managing faculty teaching schedules, strategic planning for external awards, and other tasks as designated by the Department Head.

2017- 2020  Chair, NASA Earth Science Advisory Committee: The NASA Earth Science Advisory Committee is one of the FACA mandated committees that advises the agency. I served as chairman of this committee and facilitated relevant activities in that role.

2016-2017 SEC Academic Leadership Fellow: I was selected as one of four faculty leaders at the University of Georgia to participate in the SEC’s Leadership Fellows program. This program selects potential Academic leaders and immerses them within 1-year leadership and higher administration program with peers at UGA and across the SEC schools. 

Director, Atmospheric Sciences Program, University of Georgia (Current):  In this role, I direct the AMS and Federally-credential atmospheric sciences program. The program addresses the needs of students interested in studying meteorology or climate science. Under my leadership, the University of Georgia became the 78th membership of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and a member of the WSI National Lightning Network. From 2008-2015, our program faculty has attracted over $12 million dollars in extramural grants, contributed over 110 peer-reviewed journals, and provided key experts to the media and nation on weather and climate topics. For example, in February 2013, I briefed the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and in 2015 briefed members of the Congress and White House staff.  My colleagues and I are also frequently sought for major media appearances or Opinion Editorials. Our program is also notably regarded on the UGA campus and is well supported by University Administrators, including President Jere Morehead. In 2015, we proposed a new Atmospheric Sciences major at the University of Georgia. The program was approved by the State Board of Regents in August 2016. I also secured the program’s first major donor and endowment. In 2016, we partnered with the Office of Preparedness to make UGA the first SEC member of the WeatherSTEM network.

President of the American Meteorological Society (2013): The American Meteorological Society is one of the leading professional societies in the world, dedicated to weather, climate, and related sciences. As President of the organization, I was elected by the nearly 14,000 members and preside over the AMS Executive Council and Executive Committee, which overseas the organization and its multi-million dollar budget and portfolio.  I also provided vision and leadership on issues of the day facing the weather, climate, and related communities. AMS publishes several of the highest rated and cited journals in weather and climate fields and is seen as a key broker of information and leadership on weather/climate issues of the day. In this role, I also served as the U.S. representative to the International Federation of Meteorological Societies (IFMS). I also chaired the Executive Council and Executive Committee and led the annual performance review of the Executive Director.

International and National Advisory Roles: I have served as a member of the Nature Conservancy (Georgia) Board of Trustees, Board of Climate Central, Mothers and Others for Clean Air Partnership Council, NOAA Science Advisory Board, NOAA Climate Working Group, Department of Energy ARM Science Board, NSF Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education, NSF Committee of Visitors, Biocomplexity Program, Earth Science Subcommittee of the NASA Advisory Council, Mothers and Others for Clean Air Partnership Council, National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Director Search Committee, University Space Research Association (USRA) Earth Science Advisory Board, Department of Energy expert panel on Cool Roof Initiative and Climate Change, NASA/NOAA/Howard University Programmatic Advisory Committees and 2 National Academy of Science Studies (i. Implications of Climate Change on National Security and U.S. Naval Operations and ii. Urban Meteorology).  I have also served on a World Meteorological Organization advisory committee related to aerosols, clouds, and precipitation and the external review committee for NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center and Hydrometeorological Prediction Center. I was also a contributing author to a chapter in the 2007 IPCC report (AR4).  At the University level, I also served on the 2013 UGA Provost Search Committee, the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Faculty Senate and the Center for Integrative Conservative Research (CICR) Executive Committee.

Host, Weather Channel WxGeeks (Current):  Weather Geeks is a pioneering national Sunday talk show/Podcast by The Weather Channel. The show discusses contemporary weather and climate topics. The show has garnered strong critical reviews and an Award from the American Meteorological Society.

Ted Talks: I have delivered two TED X talks that together have nearly 2 million views. One was featured on the TED website.

Editorships:  I have served as an editor for both the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology (JAMC) and Geography Compass.  I have also served as the Climatology Editor for the Wiley/Association of American Geographers (AAG) Encyclopedia of Geography and the Associate Editor for Weather at the IEEE-sponsored Earthzine.

Former Deputy Project Scientist, NASA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Mission: While at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, I served as the Deputy Project Scientist on a major NASA mission seeking to measure precipitation from space. GPM will improve weather, climate, and hydrological forecasting and is slated for a 2014 launch date. In this role, I was a part of the scientific leadership team that interfaced with the engineers, NASA Headquarters staff, and international partners.  GPM is an approximately $1 billion dollar mission in aggregation.

RECOGNITION AND OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS

2021                 National Academy of Sciences

2021                 National Academy of Engineering

2021                 American Academy of Arts and Sciences

2018                 AMS Helmut E. Landsberg Award

2017                 ESRI GIS Paper of the Year (shared award)

2017                 AMS Charles Franklin Brooks Award

2016                 Selected as SEC Academic Leadership Development Program Fellow

2016                 Florida State University, Spring Undergraduate Commencement Speaker

2015                 Florida State University, Graduate Made Good (Highest Alumni Honor)

2015                 AAG Excellence In Media Award

2015                 Franklin College of Arts and Sciences General Sandy Beaver Award for Excellence in Teaching

2015           American Meteorological Society-National Weather Association C.L. Chandler Award to WxGeeks Team (shared with Weather Channel colleagues) for outstanding contributions to the community

2014                 Distinguished UGA Athletic Association Professor in the Social Sciences Departments

2014                 Captain Planet Foundation Protector of the Earth Award

2013                 UGA Athletic Association Professor in the Social Sciences Departments

2011                 Franklin College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Diversity Leadership Award

2011                 Promoted to Full Professor at the University of Georgia

2011                 Received the AMS Charles Anderson Award

2011                 Outstanding Alumni Award, FSU Black Alumni Association

2010                 Awarded tenure at the University of Georgia

2010                 Nominated to attend 2010 UGA Teaching Academy Faculty Symposium

2009                 Inducted as a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society**

2007                 Contributing Author to Nobel Prize Winning IPCC AR4**

2005                 Black Enterprise Magazine “Hot List”

2005                 Network Journal Magazine “Forty under 40” recipient

2004                 Recipient of Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE)**

2004                 NASA.GSFC Group Award for Contributions to the JASON Project

2004                 Special Act Award (NASA OES)

2003                 Peer Award for Scientific Research

2002                 Recipient of NASA New Investigator Program Award

2001                 Laboratory for Atmospheres Outreach Award

2001                 NASA/GSFC Group Achievement Award

2001                 Special Act Award for superior performance of a special act (Horizon team)

2001                 Special Act Award for superior performance of a special act (Outreach Initiatives)

NASA Performance. (FY03,FY00,FY98,FY97,FY96,FY95,FY94)

1999                 1st African American to receive PhD in Meteorology from Florida State University**

1999                 NASA/GSFC Special Act Award for superior performance

1999                 NASA/GSFC Group Achievement Award-AGS Imager Team

1987-1993          American Meteorological Society (AMS)/TRW Industry Fellow

National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow Competition (Honorable Mention)

Dolores Auzene Fellow (FSU).

Leslie N. Wilson Assistantship Recipient (FSU)

National Achievement Scholar

American Geological Institute Scholar

Chi Epsilon Pi Meteorology Honorary

Omicron Delta Kappa National Honorary

Who's Who Among College Students

Outstanding College Student of America

1990 National Collegiate Forecast Winner (Burlington, VT period).          

1987 High School Valedictorian, Cherokee High School