Rodney Chai Email & Phone Number

I currently serve as the Science and Operations Office (SOO) at NWS Brownsville/Rio Grande Valley, TX. I was previously a Lead Meteorologist at National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Forecast Office (WFO) in Burlington, VT as well as a Meteorologist at NWS WFO Boston/Norton, MA. With my bilingual English and Mandarin background, I am also a member of the NWS Artificial Intelligence (AI) translation team. With the U.S. population rapidly diversifying and climate change leading to more extreme weather, it becomes pivotal for bilingual meteorologists to help train AI platforms and automate timely, linguistically accurate and culturally accessible translation of key weather alerts. Before joining the NWS, I worked as a climatologist for the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) in Monterey, CA. At FNMOC, I used Python to deliver real-time climate support services to our Navy forces operating around the world. Having received my undergraduate degree in Philosophy and Political Science from Haverford College, I am involved in the NWS's effort to incorporate social science best practices into daily forecasting operations, integrated decision support services (IDSS) and communication with the public, especially the traditionally underserved and vulnerable population. At NWS WFO Boston/Norton, I led efforts to better understand the needs of traditionally underserved Spanish speaking communities and my team received the prestigious NWS Regional Cline Award.I have utilized my social science background to lead research in support of the national Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBES) Group’s efforts to identify consistent depiction of risk, threat and impact as part of the National IDSS Program. I co-authored the “A Best Practices Guide for NWS Alerting and Risk Scale Terminology to Foster Consistent Depiction of Risk”, which is a key deliverable under the FY22 SBES Milestone: Framework for Consistent Depiction of Risk and Impact. Finally, as a member of the NWS Continuum of Messaging working group, I look forward to helping operational units in harnessing social science best practices to enhance risk communication and service delivery. An avid runner and an outdoor enthusiast, I have run 5 full marathons and climbed Mt Kilimanjaro, (Africa's highest mountain at 19341'), Mt Whitney (Contiguous U.S.'s highest mountain at 14505') as well as the world famous Half Dome (8839') in Yosemite National Park.

Listed skills include Management Consulting, Strategy, Research, Team Leadership, and 21 others.