James (Jim) Buizer is Founding Director of the newly established Climate Adaptation and International Development Program in the Institute of the Environment at the University of Arizona (UA), where he also holds appointments as Professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and Research Professor in the Office of Arid Lands Studies. Jim's research interests are in sustainability science, adaptation to impacts of climate change, institutional design and transformation, and boundary spanning organizations. He has published extensively on institutionalizing the science-to-action interface, particularly in climate and sustainability. He is leading an effort at UA to establish a network of institutions dedicated to integrating research-based knowledge about climate impacts and options for adaptation into decisions, aimed at sustainable development around the world.
Before joining the University of Arizona in the fall of 2011, Jim was Science Policy Advisor to Arizona State University (ASU) President Michael Crow, and Executive Director for Strategic Institutional Transformation in the Office of the President, where he led the formulation and establishment of the University-wide Global Institute of Sustainability (GIOS) and its School of Sustainability. He also held appointments as GIOS Senior Sustainability Scientist and Professor of Practice in Climate Adaptation Policy & Institutional Design in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning.
Prior to ASU, Jim was Director of the Climate and Societal Interactions Office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Washington, D.C., where he established and led the Agency's integrated, multidisciplinary climate research and applications programs, including the RISA and IRI. Jim also led the U.S. Government review of the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which received the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Buizer serves on numerous boards and advisory councils in the U.S. and abroad. In addition to the Board of Second Nature, he serves on the Executive Secretariat of the Federal Advisory Committee for the U.S. National Climate Assessment and on the Board of Directors of the National Council for Science and the Environment. He is an Operating Advisor at Pegasus Capital Advisors, LP, is on the Senior Advisory Committee of the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, and on the Advisory Board for Planet Forward.
Jim received his degrees in Oceanography, Marine Resource Economics, and Science Policy from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. He is a native Spanish speaker, and lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona with his wife and two children.