Christy Miller Hesed is an environmental anthropologist and conservation biologist whose work focuses on engaging diverse stakeholders in climate change adaptation planning. Located in rural Kansas, Christy is exploring the ways in which natural resource management decisions may impact rural and tribal communities' vulnerability to climate change. She has also coordinated two working groups to assess and report on climate science and adaptation knowledge and gaps for the grasslands in the North Central region of the United States. Prior to working at the North Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (NC CASC) in CIRES, Christy was the project director of Engaging Faith Communities for Coastal Resilience, an applied research project that brought together rural church communities with county and state government employees to address climate change on the Chesapeake Bay. Her doctoral research focused on rural African American communities on the Chesapeake Bay in order to understand environmental justice, vulnerability, adaptation, and resilience to sea-level rise. Christy is a former EPA STAR Fellow.