Sameer H. Shah

I am a John C. Garcia Professor and Assistant Professor of Climate Adaptation in the School of Environmental & Forest Sciences (SEFS) at the University of Washington (UW). I am also an Affiliate with the UW Center for Studies in Demography in Ecology (CSDE), Center for Environmental Politics (CEP) and Clean Energy Institute.

Trained as an interdisciplinary environmental social scientist from the Institute for Resources, Environment & Sustainability at The University of British Columbia, I hold expertise in the human dimensions of climate change vulnerability and adaptation. I aim to understand how systemic marginalization, and climate-related change and disasters interact to create and amplify uneven water, food, and energy insecurities for communities on the frontlines of climate change. My transdisciplinary research program develops theoretical, conceptual, and empirical analyses of the equity, justice, and sustainability outcomes of climate adaptation and disaster response at multiple scales. Through research in South and Southeast Asia, the contiguous United States, and Puerto Rico, my collaborators and I seek to advance interventions that reduce the disproportionately larger risks experienced by marginalized groups, and to shape long-term policy strategies that transform the underlying systems that heighten climate impacts. At SEFS, I direct the WATERS Research Collaborative (Water, Adaptation & Transformation: Equity, Resilience and Sustainability).