Ilissa Ocko *10 AOS
Scientist, Communicator, Advocate
Senior Climate Scientist, Spark Climate Solutions
Ilissa Ocko *10 is an applied climate scientist and science communicator dedicated to turning science into action — especially through plain language and powerful visuals. She earned her Ph.D. in atmospheric and oceanic sciences from Princeton, where she received the Emerging Alumni Scholar Award and a certificate in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy. Ocko spent the next 10 years at the Environmental Defense Fund, where she held the Barbra Streisand Chair of Environmental Studies and led the climate science team in conducting research and collaborating with policy experts to help governments and companies implement effective strategies to curb climate change. She then served as senior advisor in the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate at the U.S. Department of State, focused on strengthening global efforts to cut climate super pollutants — the “other half of warming” beyond carbon dioxide — and convened events at the White House and the United Nations climate conference. She is now a senior climate scientist at Spark Climate Solutions, a nonprofit accelerating progress on unsolved climate challenges.