Dave Reidmiller, Ph.D.

Dr. Dave Reidmiller is the Chief Impact Officer at GMRI. In his role, Dave oversees nearly 20 programs across the Economic Development, Education, and Community Departments that are translating science into action to improve livelihoods throughout the Gulf of Maine region and beyond. As a member of GMRI's Executive Team, Dave guides programmatic strategy to advance our mission, cultivates external partnerships, and provides organizational leadership.

Dave joined GMRI in 2020 to launch and lead our Climate Center. Employing a user-centered Science—Engagement—Solutions framework with an interdisciplinary team of experts, the team co-developed climate services with coastal and marine stakeholders with a view to ensuring coastal communities can thrive in a warmer world.

Before joining GMRI, Dave served in a variety of senior positions with the federal government. As Acting Director of the Northeast and Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CASC) with the U.S. Geological Survey, he oversaw a unique partnership between the federal government and university consortia to advance and deliver science to help fish, wildlife, habitat, and people adapt to a changing climate. Before joining the CASC Network, Dave directed the Fourth National Climate Assessment as part of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (under both the Obama and Trump Administrations), where he coordinated the work of 300+ volunteer experts from across the country in an effort to understand and address climate risks facing the nation. Dave has deep international climate science policy experience, as well, having served in the State Department's Office of Global Change, where he led U.S. engagement in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and was the lead U.S. science and technology negotiator for the Paris Agreement. Dave also served as a Fellow in the U.S. Senate where he advised Senator Mark Udall on a range of energy, environment, and public lands issues, as well as a Mirzayan Fellow at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

Dave grew up in Rochester, New York, and attended Colgate University as an undergraduate to study chemistry. Wanting to better understand the natural world and how humanity can impact it, Dave pursued graduate studies in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington. During his time in Seattle, Dave became increasingly drawn to the nexus of science and policy, ultimately paving the path for a post-graduate life serving to bridge the technical and policy worlds as they relate to climate change — ensuring the best available science is used appropriately to inform near- and long-term decisions facing communities.