In the Wild: Annika Ragsdale with WSP USA
Quick Summary
- For Annika's Practicum, she worked with WSP USA's Climate, Resilience and Sustainability team and the Federal Highway Administration to research vulnerability of Tribal Nation transportation networks to climate change impacts.
My name is Annika Ragsdale (she/her) and I graduated from the Graduate Program of Environmental Policy and Management at UC Davis in June 2024. I graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2015 with my bachelor’s degree in environmental science, with a focus on climate change and energy. Since then, I have spent the last eight years working in the field of climate change mitigation and adaptation (and wondering if I should eventually go back to school for my master’s degree). I am glad I had the opportunity to be at UC Davis studying how to solve the world’s complex environmental problems through policy and management decisions.
The bulk of my experience working on climate change has been as a consultant with WSP USA’s Climate, Resilience and Sustainability team. I consulted with WSP part time while I pursued my master’s degree, working with clients including local and regional governments, Tribal Nations, and federal and state agencies to assess climate change risks and develop adaptation responses. Since 2020, I have had the privilege of working with the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on a research project focused on assessing the vulnerability of Tribal Nation transportation networks to climate change impacts. As the WSP project manager I worked with FHWA and our team to develop transportation focused climate change vulnerability assessments in partnership with seven Tribes: the Native Village of Kwigillingok, the Karuk Tribe, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, Modoc Nation, and Rosebud Sioux Tribe.
The final products of this work include vulnerability assessment reports for each Tribe and a summary report that highlights unique challenges faced throughout the project, recommendations for developing successful vulnerability assessments, and guidance and resources to support Tribal communities in securing grant funding and pursuing further climate change studies.
After graduation, I began working as a Senior Environmental Scientist with the Climate Change and Environmental Justice Unit at the Delta Stewardship Council.