Director 
Dr. Charles E. Konrad II
Associate Professor
Department of Geography
305 Carolina Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3220
Telephone: 919-962-3873
Web: http://www.unc.edu/depts/geog/people/faculty/konrad/
Email: konrad@unc.edu
Chip grew up in Roanoke, VA, where he spent lots of time following the weather, poring over maps, collecting rocks, and hiking the mountains. He earned a B.S. in Geophysics from Virginia Tech, an M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Georgia. Chip became a professor at the University of North Carolina in 1993. His research focuses on the synoptic climatological characteristics of extreme weather and their impacts across the southeastern United States. He has much expertise across a wide range of areas in climatology and meteorology, including heavy precipitation, tornadoes, hurricanes, cold air outbreaks, heat waves, and winter weather. He has published numerous research articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Monthly Weather Review, Weather and Forecasting, the International Journal of Climatology, Climate Research, and Applied Geography. And he was a co-author on the Southeast Technical Report for the National Climate Assessment. Chip has served as the Director of the Southeast Regional Climate Center since 2010.
Service Climatologist 
William G. Schmitz
Service Climatologist/Meteorologist
Albert & Gladys Coats Building, Room 203
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Telephone: 919-843-9721
Email: wschmitz@email.unc.edu
B.S. 2001, Plymouth State College, New Hampshire, Meteorology
A.S. 1998, Canada College, Redwood City, CA, Physics
William spent most of his youth in California near San Francisco. He moved to Vermont in the early 1990’s so that he could experience some real weather. In March Super Storm 1993 came plowing up the East Coast and planted the passion and ambition for Weather/Climate that would drive him along his career path. In 1998 he obtained his Associates Degree in Physics and transferred to Plymouth, NH where in 2001 he graduated with a Bachelors in Meteorology. His first Job was with Aquila Inc. a Kansas City, MO based energy company that was just spinning up a Weather Derivative Desk. While in Kansas City William was a Climate Data Analyst and managed a global database of weather data. He then went on to Work with a small group called GuaranteedWeather and finally with the Southeast Regional Climate Center in 2005. Within the SERCC William is the Service Climatologist and is responsible for climate research associated with the Southeastern U.S. and educating current and new users on how the SERCC can be of assistance to them.
Regional Climatologist 
Dr. Sandra Rayne
Regional Climatologist
Albert & Gladys Coates Building, Room 202
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Telephone: 919-843-2704
Email: srayne@email.unc.edu
Sandra grew up on Long Island and after experiencing hurricane Bob during the summer of 1991, she knew she wanted to work in the field of weather/climate. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in meteorology from North Carolina State University and a Master’s degree in geosciences with an emphasis in broadcast meteorology from Mississippi State University. From the south she headed west and earned her PhD in atmospheric sciences from the University of Nevada at Reno where she focused on the impacts of air quality in the Lake Tahoe Basin. She has experienced many different weather events across the United States and is excited to share her experience and expertise with the Southeast Regional Climate Center.
Climate Integration and Outreach Associate for CISA 
Dr. Ferdouz Cochran
PhD (Geography)
Albert & Gladys Coates Building, Room 201-B
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Telephone: 919-962-7470
Email: ferdouz@email.unc.edu
Ferdouz Cochran grew up along the Rio Negro in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest experiencing daily rainstorms and pronounced seasonal flooding. She received her Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Kansas, where she was an NSF IGERT Fellow in the Climate Change, Humans, and Nature in the Global Environment program. Since 2016, Ferdouz has enjoyed living and working in the Triangle of North Carolina, a hub for research, health, and technology advancements. She is currently the Climate-Health Integration and Outreach Associate for the Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments (CISA) program. She supports efforts for integrating climate change science and environmental public health, and for engaging diverse stakeholders and decision-makers in the provision of climate services.(Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments).
Graduate Research Assistant 
Jordan James Clark
B.A. Geography & Political Science
Albert & Gladys Coates Building
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Telephone: (704) 300-5702
Email: jordan.clark@unc.edu
Jordan grew up in Shelby, North Carolina and graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in geography, specializing in earth and environmental systems, and a bachelor’s degree in political science. From a young age, he quickly developed a fascination with weather, especially with observing and tracking severe weather events and winter storms. Following this pattern, as a current doctoral student in the Geography department at UNC-Chapel Hill and a research assistant for the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA), his research is at the intersection of climate and public health. Specifically, he is focused exploring the utility of existing heat stress indices in modeling health outcomes and individual-level vulnerability to excessive heat.(Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments).
Graduate Research Assistant 
Rachel Woodul
B.A. Geography & Global Studies, 2018
Albert & Gladys Coates Building
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Telephone: (910) 581-8114
Email: rachel.woodul@unc.edu
Rachel grew up in Swansboro, a small town on the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. She attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a BA in Geography and a BA in Global Studies, with a focus on Global Health, as well as a minor in Medical Anthropology. Her research interests include health vulnerability to extreme climate events, health care capacity modeling, and crisis scenario and response modeling. She is excited to join the Carolinas Integrated Sciences and Assessments (CISA “See-Sah”) as part of their collaboration with SERCC as a graduate researcher.(Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments).
Graduate Research Assistant 
Montana A. Eck
M.A. Geography & B.A. History
Albert & Gladys Coates Building
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514¨C46CTelephone: (828) 460-6780
Email: maeck@live.unc.edu
A native of western North Carolina, Montana grew up in the mountains of McDowell County in the small town of Old Fort. He attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville and Appalachian State University, earning a BA in History and a MA in Geography respectively. His interest in weather began in September 2004 when Hurricanes Frances and Ivan brought devastating flooding to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Since that time, Montana has been fascinated by extreme weather events ranging from drought to snowstorms. As a PhD student in Geography at UNC Chapel Hill, his research is aimed at investigating heavy precipitation events in the southeastern United States. Specifically, he is focused on understanding the impact of atmospheric rivers on flooding events in the region.
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Hunter J. Spitzer
Albert & Gladys Coates Building, Room 201-B
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Email: hunter@unc.edu
A local to Orange County, Hunter grew up in Hillsborough, North Carolina and is a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill perusing a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and Mathematics. His first experience with extreme weather was chasing Hurricane Irene with his father in 2011. Hurricane season is now his favorite time of year. He works on the Carolina Integrated Science Assessment (CISA) website, www.convergence.unc.edu visualizing the impacts of weather events on North Carolina. His research focuses on the influence of wet weather on motor vehicle crash severity.
Undergraduate Research Assistant 
Yates McConnell
Albert & Gladys Coates Building, Room 201-B
223 East Franklin Street
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
Email: yatesmcc@live.unc.edu
From New Hill, North Carolina, Yates grew up on a farm where his love for the environment and climate began. Now a Junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, he is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Science and Geography, hoping to ultimately attend graduate school to study hydrology upon graduation. Working primarily for Carolinas Integrated Sciences & Assessments (CISA), he primarily focuses on climate-health vulnerabilities and the impacts of extreme weather on the Carolinas for the HERA and Convergence projects, as well as geospatial analysis work for the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature tool.