Ashley Siefert Nunes
Amanda Fencl is the director of climate science for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In this role, they are responsible for providing climate science expertise, leadership, and vision across the C&E program to enhance UCS’s effectiveness in developing climate solutions and advocating for a healthy, safe and just future.
Dr. Fencl is an expert in water, climate adaptation, and environmental justice issues with an emphasis on research that informs equitable policy solutions. They first joined UCS as a Senior Climate Scientist in the Western States program where their research focuses on the risks and opportunities from climate change in California. They are committed to advancing climate justice and equitable water management through their work.
Prior to joining UCS, Dr. Fencl had broad professional experience working with a variety of entities, including state and federal governments, community-based organizations, and other nongovernmental organizations. She was an AAAS Science and Technology Fellow at the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a bilateral US aid organization and worked for more than three years in the California Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation.
Previously, Dr. Fencl researched on water and climate issues at Texas A&M University and the University of California-Davis Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior. They have more than a decade of experience in the NGO sector with their work for the Community Water Center in California, and with the Stockholm Environment Institute, where they led climate adaptation and resilience research projects in the US and internationally.
Dr. Fencl earned a PhD in geography from the University of California-Davis and a bachelor’s degree in international relations and environmental studies from Tufts University. They are available to speak about drought and climate and water justice issues, and have appeared on ABC News and been cited by the Los Angeles Times, among other outlets.
Selected publications
Dobbin, K.B., Fencl, A.L., Pierce, G., Beresford, M., Gonzalez, S., Jepson, W. (2023) Understanding perceived climate risks to household water supply and their implications for adaptation: evidence from California. Climatic Change.
Bell, Emily, Fencl, Amanda, Mullin, Megan. External drivers of participation in regional collaborative water planning. Policy Studies Journal.
Meehan, Katie, Fencl, Amanda, et al. Exposing the myths of household water insecurity in the global north: A critical review. WiresWater
Méndez-Barrientos, L.E. Fencl, A., Workman, C., Shah, S.H. (2022) “Race, Citizenship, and Belonging in the Pursuit of Water and Climate Justice in California” Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space
Klasic, M., Fencl, A., Ekstrom, J.E., Ford, A. (2022) “Adapting to Extreme Events: Small Drinking Water System Manager Perspectives on the 2012–2016 California Drought”. Climatic Change
Pace, C., Fencl, A., Baehner, L., Morello-Frosch, R., Cushing, L. J. (2022) “The Drinking Water Tool: A Community-Driven Data Visualization Tool for Policy Implementation”. Intl. Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Dobbin, K. and Fencl, A. (2021) “Institutional Diversity and Safe Drinking Water Provision in the United States” Utilities Policy.
Fernandez-Bou1, A.S., Ortiz-Partida, J.P., Classen-Rodriguez, L. M., Dobbin, K.B., Espinoza, V. , Rodríguez-Flores, J.M., Maskey, M. L., A. Fencl, et al. (2021) “3 challenges, 3 errors, and 3 solutions to integrate frontline communities in climate change policy and research: lessons from California” Frontiers in Climate.
London, J., Fencl, A., Watterson, S., Jarin, J., Seaton, P., Dawson, M., et al. (2021) “Disadvantaged Unincorporated Communities, Informality and the Struggle for Water Justice”. Water Alternatives.
Pauloo, R., Dahlke, H., Escriva-Bou, A., Fencl, A., Guillon, H., Fogg, G. (2020) “Domestic Well Vulnerability to Drought in California’s Central Valley”. Environmental Research Letters.