Experts
Phyllis Windle
Senior Scientist, Invasive SpeciesExpertise
Invasive SpeciesProfile
Phyllis Windle joined the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) as a senior scientist in 2000 to lead its work on invasive species. She is one of the nation's most respected experts on this subject, having directed the study often called "the Bible" on the topic: the Office of Technology Assessment's 1993 report, Harmful Non-Indigenous Species in the United States. She has written and spoken widely on the topic and was among the organizers whose efforts led to President Clinton's 1999 executive order on invasive species and formation of the federal National Invasive Species Council. She brings scientific credentials and institutional memory to UCS's work and is ensuring that this area benefits from the science-based advocacy for which UCS is known.
Dr. Windle has a doctorate in plant ecology and also substantial expertise in clinical chaplaincy. She was thrilled when a member of Congress described her testimony on invasive species as that of a scientist, a theologian, and a poet. She believes that all are needed to protect Earth. Her essay on the psychological impacts of environmental loss, "The Ecology of Grief," has become a classic.
Before joining UCS, Dr. Windle ran her own consulting firm and was a senior associate at the congressional Office of Technology Assessment, where she directed studies on U.S. and African natural resource policy. She was the first science and diplomacy fellow at the U.S. Department of State and one of two National Research Council international fellows, working with the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment.
