Our mission is to build resilience across nature, communities, and industries through innovative climate and ecological solutions.
Who We Are
Our team brings a shared commitment to advancing climate resilience through collaborative, science-driven solutions.
Together, we bring decades of experience working in state, Federal, and international government contexts.
Our extensive expertise, combined with our wide range of skillsets, makes us a driving force in developing innovative, actionable solutions that strengthen ecosystems, communities, and industries.
Co-Founder
Emily Fort
-
Emily Fort is a climate science program leader and data governance expert with 20+ years of experience who specializes in building collaborative research networks and enterprise-scale data systems that advance scientific impact.
As co-founder of Rooted Waters Consulting, Emily brings extensive experience managing complex climate adaptation and environmental research programs. Most recently, she served as Deputy Senior Administrator of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Climate Adaptation Science Center, where she directed operations for a $63M research program spanning nine regional centers. She built the CASC network's data governance infrastructure from the ground up, delivering a first-of-its-kind data management system to govern petabytes of climate and environmental data across hundreds of datasets from diverse scientific disciplines.
Emily excels at fostering collaboration across federal agencies, academic institutions, Tribal Nations, and nonprofit organizations. At the Office of Management and Budget, she launched the MAX Federal Community and developed the first digital authoring platform for the President's Budget—transforming how federal agencies collaborate on critical initiatives. At the National Science Foundation, she managed data systems supporting research investments across scientific disciplines.
Her expertise spans scientific data management, metadata standards, research program operations, and stakeholder engagement. She has designed governance frameworks, peer review processes, and knowledge-sharing platforms that strengthen transparency and enable data-driven decision-making for climate resilience and sustainability initiatives. Emily applies agile methodologies and technical fluency to build scalable workflows that connect researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. She partners with mission-driven organizations to translate complex climate science into actionable strategy.
-
Master of Science in Public Policy and Health Physics
Georgia Institute of TechnologyBachelor of Science in Physics
Guilford College
Co-Founder
Nicole DeCrappeo
-
Nicole DeCrappeo has over 30 years of experience working with natural resources, studying cave arthropods in West Virginia, insects as biological control agents in Florida waterways, soil biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in Kansas tallgrass prairies, nematode communities and climate change in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica, and soil biological communities in sagebrush steppe ecosystems of the western U.S.
She worked for the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for over two decades, first as a research scientist with the Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center and later in a variety of capacities with the Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) Network. She served as Director of the Northwest CASC for 7 years, managing a multimillion dollar budget, leading creation of a 5-year strategic science plan, developing funding opportunities, administering an extensive research project portfolio, collaboratively leading the CASC with academic partners, initiating creation of the CASC Network’s first diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility strategy, and mentoring many early career employees.
Working in the field of climate adaptation, Nicole learned the importance of co-produced actionable science — working on science questions that always begin with the resource management need, decision, or application, and working with managers throughout the life of the project to ensure products are tailored for usable, on-the-ground solutions. Nicole considers her greatest achievement to be when the people on her teams thrive and enjoy their work. Whether they be direct reports, mentees, leadership colleagues, or management partners in conservation and adaptation, taking time to know and care about the people she works with is always first on the agenda.
-
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Soil Science
Oregon State UniversityMaster of Science in Ecology
Colorado State UniversityBachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies
American University
Senior Advisor
Doug Beard
-
Doug Beard retired in May 2025 as the Senior Administrator of the National Climate Adaptation Science Center (CASC) and is now a scientist emeritus with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Prior to retirement he had oversight and management responsibility for the nine regional USGS CASCs. He previously held the position of Acting Associate Director for the Land Resources Mission Area. In this role, he provided executive level oversight for several programs, including the Land Change Science Program, Land Remote Sensing Program, National Climate Adaptation Science Center, Climate Research and Development Program, Carbon Sequestration assessments, and the Earth Resources Observation and Science Center. Doug also served as the program coordinator for the USGS Fisheries: Aquatic and Endangered Resources Program and prior to working with USGS he worked for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as a staff fisheries biologist.
Doug is a fellow of the American Fisheries Society, served as the President of the World Council of Fisheries Societies, Chair of the World Fisheries Congress Steering Committee and member of the first Global Inland Fisheries Conference Steering Committee. Doug continues in his role as a bureau member representing Western Europe and Other Governments for the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the science lead for the U.S. government to IPBES. Doug has published over 70+ peer-reviewed manuscripts, edited two books and given countless number of talks on fisheries, biodiversity and climate change science.
-
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Zoology and Animal Biology
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Master of Science in Fish and Wildlife
Penn State UniversityBachelor of Applied Science in Biology and Biological Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Senior Partner
Holly Chandler
-
Holly Chandler is a human-centered design practitioner who has dedicated her career to advancing sustainability and climate resilience. With a background in environmental science and management, a decade of Federal service with the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASCs), and professional training and experience in user-focused problem solving, Holly brings an innovative mindset to create practical solutions to climate and ecosystem challenges.
While working for the CASCs, Holly’s achievements included facilitating collaboration among scientists, resource managers, and decision-makers as the coordinator for the Federal Advisory Council for Climate Adaptation Science, modernizing research management systems, and making scientific information accessible to science users. She has extensive experience leading initiatives to design and build digital tools and products and is an avid advocate for bringing user needs to the forefront of all projects.
Holly is passionate about bridging the gap between science and society—translating complex data and research into actionable insights that help communities and ecosystems thrive in a changing climate. She combines creativity, systems thinking, and empathy to guide multidisciplinary teams toward shared understanding and impactful outcomes.
-
Master of Public Administration
Specialization in Environmental Management
George Washington UniversityBachelor of Science in Environmental Sciences
Minor in Marine Sciences
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill