Present Board Members
The Foundation is headed by a Board whose members have a longstanding reputation in meteorology. The board of the Harry Otten Foundation is also the jury of the Harry Otten Prize.
Gert-Jan Steeneveld (Chair)
Gert-Jan Steeneveld is associate professor at Wageningen University, the Netherlands. His research interests are urban climate, crowdsourcing, stable boundary layers and fog. He has been a board member of the Dutch Meteorological Society (NVBM) since 2008 and serves as president since 2018. In this role he organizes symposia and excursions that address a range between the latest fundamental research till applications and services. Moreover, he is associate editor of the Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. Also, Gert-Jan has been a member of the Committee of Meetings of the European Meteorological Society (EMS) between 2013-2020 and recently joined the EMS Council. He also acts as session convenor at the EMS annual meeting, organized training workshops. He was awarded the EMS Young Scientist Award in 2013 and was a finalist of the 2017 Harry Otten Prize.
Samira Khodayar Pardo
Samira Khodayar Pardo is the Head of the Department of Meteorology and Climate at the Mediterranean Centre for Environmental Studies (CEAM, Valencia, Spain) since 2021 and a Distinguished Researcher of Excellence in the CIDEGENT-GVA Program.
She was previously Head of the Junior Research Group “Weather Extremes under Climate Change” (BMBF; German Ministry of Education) at the Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in Germany, where she obtained her Ph.D. in Physics. She is presently a member of the Global Land/Atmosphere System Study (GLASS) Panel, which is one of the four core panels of GEWEX (Global Energy and Water Exchanges) project of the World Climate Research Programme (WRCP). During the last 5 years she has been a member of the International Scientific Steering Committee (ISSC) of the Hydrological Cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment (HyMeX) and lead coordinator of the Scientific Team Heavy Precipitation (ST-HP); more than 100 members in the same program. She is also a member of the Management Committee and coordinator of the COST Action MedCyclones (CA19109) working group devoted to impacts. She is also Chair of the recently founded COST Action FUTUREforMED.
Her personal research interest nowadays focuses on fundamental research on the meteorology and climate of the Mediterranean aiming at a better understanding and modeling of the hydrological cycle, with particular emphasis on extreme weather and its impacts in the context of global change. To this end, integrative and multidisciplinary research is applied combining state-of-the-art observations and high-resolution regional modeling considering the different components of the climate system, soil-vegetation-atmosphere-ocean, as well as their interactions.
Sue Ellen Haupt
Dr. Haupt is a Senior Scientist in the Research Applications Laboratory (RAL) of NSF NCAR. She leads projects in renewable energy prediction and coupling mesoscale models to microscale models. She is also a Contributing and Founding Director of the World Energy and Meteorology Council (WEMC) and a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society (AMS). She was recently awarded the European Academy of Wind Energy (EAWE) Scientific Award for 2022. Until recently, she served as Deputy Director of RAL. Dr. Haupt has been active with the AMS, serving as Commissioner of the AMS Commission on the Weather, Water, Climate Enterprise; AMS Council; Chaired the Committee on Artificial Intelligence Applications to Environmental Science; and performed other service for AMS and other organizations. She has mentored a large number of students, postdocs, and young scientists.
Jean-Noël Thépaut
Jean-Noël Thépaut was the Director of Copernicus Services at ECMWF until December 2023. Prior to this role he was Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), the Head of Data Division and Deputy Director of the Research Department at ECMWF where his section developed data assimilation algorithms for Numerical Weather Prediction, the exploitation of satellite observations from operational and research Earth Observation platforms, and the development and production of state-of-the-art climate re-analyses. Jean-Noël is “ingénieur de la météorologie” from Météo-France. He received his PHD from PARIS-VI university in 1992, in the field of atmospheric data assimilation. He serves on a number of international committees. Jean-Noël is a fellow of the American Meteorological Society.
Dennis Schulze
Dennis Schulze has founded MeteoIQ together with two other colleagues. The business focusses on claims and risk management for the insurance industry. Additionally the company contributes to quality assurance within the meteorological community by providing verification services to providers and users of weather forecasts. Before engaging in the new business, Dennis was employed by DTN/MeteoGroup for 26 years, most recently as Chief Meteorology Officer responsible for the scientific foundation of the business.
Dennis Schulze served on the Board of the Harry Otten Foundation already 2011-2017 and then joined the Board again in 2020.
Secretary
Andrea Oestreich
Andrea Oestreich has worked for the Harry Otten Foundation as Secretary since December 2011. Andrea graduated in meteorology at the Free University of Berlin. Her diploma thesis dealt with cloud classification from satellite data. As a scientist, mainly at the Institute for Meteorology in Berlin, she related satellite-derived cloud classifications to conventional precipitation data. For a number of years, Andrea has been working as a freelance expert, focused on the determination of cloud type and amount from satellite data as well as on analysis of Sahelian rainfall in the context of regional development and on combining conventional rainfall measurements with satellite-derived rainfall amount (TRMM) for Sudan. She is still providing past weather situations for private customers. Andrea has worked for the European Meteorological Society (EMS) since May 2011, mainly responsible for EMS Membership accounting and award applications. She also works for the German Meteorological Society (DMG). Her main duties are compiling the Meteorological Calendar and co-organising the “Herbstschule”, a further training for teachers. In 2009 she was elected to the office of Treasurer of the Berlin-Brandenburg regional DMG-section.
Previous Board Members
Pamela Emch (Chair)
Pamela Emch was employed for many years at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Los Angeles, USA, where she worked on Northrop’s weather, climate, and environmental remote sensing activities. She held a variety of science, engineering, management, and business development positions related to both U.S. and international activities, retiring as an Engineering Fellow in 2020. She is the immediate Past Chair of the American Meteorological Society’s Commission on the Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise and has served on numerous additional AMS boards and committees. From 2013-2019 she was a member of the U.S. National Research Council Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. She presently chairs the Board of the Harry Otten Foundation.
Olivier Boucher
Olivier Boucher is a research director at CNRS affiliated with the Institut Pierre-Simon Laplace (IPSL) located at the Sorbonne University in Paris. He is currently deputy director of the IPSL and Head of the IPSL Climate Modelling Centre that develops the IPSL climate model for a range of research applications. He was previously appointed to the Met Office in the United Kingdom as Head of the Earth System Modelling and Mitigation team (2005-2011). His personal research interests include aerosol-radiation-cloud interactions, monitoring of atmospheric aerosols, Earth System modelling, biogeochemical feedbacks, climate effects of aviation, meteorological and climate aspects of renewable energies, and climate engineering. Olivier was a coordinating lead author for the “Clouds and Aerosols” chapter of the IPCC fifth assessment report. He received the Harry Otten prize in 2015 for his idea of using contrails in ground-based sky images to measure wind and humidity at cruising altitudes.
María Carmen Llasat
Board member 2022-2023
María Carmen Llasat is Full Professor of Atmospheric Physics at the University of Barcelona (UB), and Coordinator of the Meteorology Section of the Department of Applied Physics, within which she has been leading the GAMA Group since 1995. Her research and activity focus on climate change and hydrometeorological hazards (heavy rains and floods, severe weather, forest fires, droughts), fields in which she has more than 200 scientific publications. She was president of the Natural Hazards Section of the European Geophysical Society and founder and editor-in-chief of Natural Hazards and Earth System Science. She has been coordinator of the Heavy Rainfalls group of the AMHY/FRIEND program of UNESCO; member of the WMO/UNESCO Water and Climate Committee; coordinator of the societal impact research groups of the international programs supported by WMO, MEDEX and HYMEX, in addition to being part of their steering committees. She has been member of the Advisory Council for Sustainable Development (CADS) of the Generalitat de Catalunya for more than 10 years. Nowadays she is the Sergey Soloviev Medal chair of the European Geosciences Union, and member of the steering committee of the Mediterranean Experts group on Climate and Environmental Change (MedECC), among others. Besides her research activity, she develops a strong outreach activity, and acts as mentor of a high number of PhD students. Her contribution to the Harry Otten Foundation Board lays in her academic perspective on the field of meteorology and climatology, they expertise on multidisciplinary research on natural hazards and transfer knowledge to society.
Aurora Bell
Board member 2020-2021
Aurora Bell trained as an operational meteorologist at the Romanian National Administration of Meteorology. She oversaw the modernization of the nowcasting service and became Deputy Director responsible for Research and Operational Meteorology. Passionate about atmospheric sciences and the forecast process she completed two doctorates, first one on climate risks and the second on the evolution of mesocyclones in Romania. She became a member of the committee of the European Radar Conference (ERAD) and hosted its 2010 edition. In 2012 she moved to Australia to take a role at the Bureau of Meteorology to transition new research into operational nowcasting. Aurora is passionate about diversity and gender equality in science and understanding the culture of the severe weather forecasting workspace.
Leo Kroon
Board member 2015-2020, chairman 2018-2020
Leo Kroon joined the board on 1 June 2014. He was Chairman of the Board of the Harry Otten Foundation from 1 January 2018, succeeding the former Chairman Richard Anthes. For many years he was a lecturer in Meteorology at Wageningen University, Netherlands. He was chairman and also treasurer of the NVBM (the Dutch Meteorological Society) during many years and is an honorary member of the NVBM. He has also been active in the NVBM as Chief Editor of the quarterly journal Meteorologica during 10 years. In October 2017 he retired from the university.
David Burridge
Board member 2017-2019 Treasurer 2018-2019
In 1975 David Burridge joined the newly established “European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts” (ECMWF). He spent most of his professional career at ECMWF (1975 to 2004) and in January 1991 he was appointed to the position of Director and Chief Executive of ECMWF. During his time at ECMWF, he was the Director for more than 13 years, he led the research programme for eight years and prior to this he designed and built the first ECMWF global forecasting model. He has been a fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (RMS) since 1970 and served on its Council between 1975 and 1978. He was elected President of the RMS for 2000 to 2002. He served on the governing Council of the European Meteorological Society (EMS) and was the President of the EMS for the three-year period 2005 to 2008 and during this period revised the society’s organisational structure and implemented a new strategy. Currently, David is a full member the UK Met Office Board.
Tanja Cegnar
Board member 2014-2019
Tanja Cegnar works for the Slovenian Environment Agency, which also includes the Slovenian Meteorological Office. Her main speciality is human biometeorology. She is the chief editor of the agency’s Monthly bulletin and web site, and presents weather at the national television station in Slovenia. For many years she has coordinated the activities of the Media team under the umbrella of the European Meteorological Society.
Richard Anthes
Board member 2011-2017 Chairman 2014-2017
Dr. Richard Anthes is President Emeritus of UCAR, the University Cooperation for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. His career includes experience at NOAA, Penn State University and UCAR. He has won several prestigious awards, including the AMS Jule Charney Award and the Chinese Friendship Award, the highest award China makes to foreigners. Rick has also been awarded Honorary Membership of the AMS.
Dominique Marbouty
Board member 2011-2017
Dominique Marbouty was a member of the audit body of the French ministry of Environnement and was the President of the European Meteorological Society (EMS). He had a long career in meteorology that included being Director-General of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) and deputy director general of Météo-France, the French national weather service.
Jill Peeters
Board member 2011-2013
Jill Peeters studied geography at Leuven University, Belgium. From 2000 to 2019 she was a weather presenter at VTM the Flemish television company. She has written several books about weather and climate. In 2017 she started “Climate Without Borders” an international cooperation of weather presenters. In that same year she became a member of “Climate Action Leadership Network”. She was awarded several prizes for her presentations and initiatives.
Hans Reiff
Chairman 2011-2013
Dr. Hans Reiff from the Netherlands started his career at the Royal Meteorological Netherlands Institute (KNMI) and left it, about the same time as Harry Otten, for the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. He represented the Dutch government at the European Union in many senior positions and has been special adviser of the minister of Education for several years. Hans Reiff, passed away on 28 January, 2014 after a sudden illness. Hans was a remarkable man and leader of the Harry Otten Foundation since its beginning in 2011. We will miss his leadership and kind and friendly personality,