Amanda McCarty is the Director of NOAA’s Climate Ready Nation initiative. Amanda leads efforts to enhance NOAA's ability to connect with partners and provide the essential products and services that support resilience for communities and businesses in the face of costly disasters. Her mission is to ensure that decision-makers are able to benefit from NOAA’s investments in the next-generation science, partnerships, programs, and initiatives that strengthen the capacity for communities, our government, and businesses to adapt to disaster impacts, as well as foster resiliency for the future.
Amanda returned to NOAA after three years as a Senior Advisor at the Department of State, leading efforts to enhance climate partnerships with key partners around the world. Previously, Amanda spent over 14 years at NOAA, as the Division Director for the Fishery Monitoring and Research at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Assistant Director for Programs and Partnerships and Acting Deputy Director of the National Sea Grant Office, Program Manager and Policy Analyst in NOAA’s Climate Program Office, and a Legislative Fellow with the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee.
Amanda has a B.S. in biology from Pacific Lutheran University and an M.S. in marine biology from the College of Charleston. Amanda is also a graduate of OAR's Leadership Effectiveness and Advancement Program (LEAP), NOAA's Leadership Competencies Development Program (LCDP), and the Mastering Executive Leadership program at the Gestalt International Study Center.