Chief Resource Management & Science, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, National Park Service
Dr. Christy Brigham leads the Resources Management and Science Division at Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, which includes the second-oldest national park unit in the country. These parks are seeing alarming impacts of anthropogenic climate change in a wide variety of ecosystems, from streams to forests; understanding and addressing these changes has been one of Christy’s focal areas since she first took on the role in 2015. She has co-authored several reports on fire impacts to park resources, including giant sequoias, as well as peer-reviewed articles on climate change research in national parks. She serves as the co-chair, along with Dr. Joanna Nelson of Save The Redwoods League, for the learn subgroup of the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition. Christy also holds adjunct faculty appointments at UCLA and California State University Northridge.
Christy received her Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology from the Evergreen State College in 1994 and her doctorate in Ecology from UC Davis in 2001. She began her National Park Service career as restoration ecologist at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. She has been working in resources management and science in the NPS for over 17 years.
Areas of Expertise: forest ecology; restoration ecology; resource management; climate change research; wildfire impacts