Second Nature | James Buizer

James L. Buizer, Executive Director for Strategic Institutional Advancement & Science Policy Advisor to the President, Arizona State University

James L. Buizer James L. Buizer is Science Policy Advisor to Arizona State University President Michael M. Crow, and Executive Director for Strategic Institutional Transformation in the Office of the President. He also serves as Director of the University Center for Integrated Solutions to Climate Challenges and Professor of Practice in Climate Adaptation Policy & Institutional Design in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning. Jim advances ASU by providing the President and other University leadership strategic advice and guidance on a broad range of topics, particularly those aimed at transforming ASU as a model for the New American University.

As Center Director, Jim advances the climate adaptation field through his research on climate adaptation and institutional design, and by managing the integration of research programs aimed at addressing the most salient decision-support needs. Jim lectures on various topics and mentors students across the university. Upon arriving ASU in September 2003, until July 2007 he served as founding Executive Director of the Office of Sustainability Initiatives in the Office of the President, where he led the conceptualization, design and initiation of the University-wide Global Institute of Sustainability and its School of Sustainability, launched fall 2006 as the first of its kind in the world.

Prior to this, he served as Director of the Climate and Societal Interactions Office at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for providing programmatic vision, design and leadership of NOAA’s integrated, multidisciplinary research and applications grants program positioned at the climate and societal interface. Over the years Jim was also intimately engaged in the efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr. Buizer serves on numerous boards and leadership councils throughout the university, and represents President Crow and ASU nationally and internationally. In his personal capacity he serves on the Board of Directors of Second Nature, Inc.; Member, National Academies of Sciences Study: America’s Climate Choices; Member, Board of Directors, National Council for Science and the Environment; Secretary, Board of Trustees, Tesseract School; Member, Advisory Committee, U.S. Council on Competitiveness Energy Security, Innovation & Sustainability Initiative; Member of the ACUPCC Carbon Offset Protocol Working Group; and as Strategic Advisor to Pegasus Capital Advisors, Inc. Buizer has presented and published extensively on institutionalizing the science-to-action interface, and upon invitation serves as reviewer of Sustainability programs across the United States and throughout the world. He received his degrees in Oceanography, Marine Resource Economics, and Science Policy from the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington. Jim is a native Spanish speaker, and lives in Paradise Valley, Arizona with his wife and two children.