Colleen previously served as an Urban Resilience Advisor with USAID and has worked to advance climate-resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions in the U.S. and internationally. She holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University. She now supports coastal resilience programming through a collaboration between YCNCC and the Environmental Leadership & Training Initiative (ELTI) at the Yale School of the Environment, with a focus on translating science and practice into training, peer learning, and technical support for coastal resilience practitioners.