Susan Bates

Susan is the Coastal Science Program Manager for the Volgenau Virginia Coast Reserve (VVCR) office of The Nature Conservancy. As program manager, she ensures the comprehensive integration of VVCR’s science capacity into TNC’s strategic conservation planning, including the landscape’s work with marine habitat restoration, migratory bird conservation and coastal resilience. Susan also leads the Coastal Resilience work program, which involves engaging in and designing research to develop tools and strategies for informing coastal resilience decisions and projects, demonstrating the value of nature-based solutions for coastal resilience, and building community relationships. Susan brings her research background in global climate science and oceanography into her work for Virginia and her involvement in broader TNC efforts by supporting science to inform on-the-ground conservation work.

Susan has a Ph.D. in climate dynamics from George Mason University, a Master of Science degree in oceanography from Texas A&M and a Bachelor of Science from Duke University. She serves on the Atlantic Regional Panel, an international panel under the scope of CLIVAR (Climate and Ocean: Variability, Predictability and Change), one of the four core projects of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) and the Advisory Board of the UN Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience.