DaNa Carlis

Carlis was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended Carver Middle School and Booker T. Washington High School, where, in 2018, he was inducted to the school's Distinguished Hall of Fame.{{Cite web |date=2023-02-21 |title=Carver and Booker T. alumnus Dr. DaNa Carlis speaks to students |url=https://www.tulsaschools.org/about/news/news-item/~board/district-news/post/carver-and-booker-t-alumnus-dr-dana-carlis-speaks-to-students |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=www.tulsaschools.org |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Previous Inductees |url=https://www.btwhalloffame.org/previous-inductees |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Hall of Fame |language=en-US}}

He attended Howard University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, as well as Master of Science and PhD degrees in atmospheric sciences, studying under Vernon Morris, founder of Atmospheric Science Program at Howard. He was the second African American male to receive a PhD from the program.{{Cite web |title=DaNa Carlis |url=https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/about-ams/ams-election-information/2022-ams-elections/2023-councilors/government-sector-councilors/dana-carlis/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=American Meteorological Society |language=en}}

Carlis credits his relationship with Dr. Gary Davis, one of the few African American physicians in Tulsa at the time and the father of a close friend, for inspiring him to pursue a career in science.{{Cite web |date=2020-02-21 |title=Spotlight on Commerce: DaNa Carlis, Meteorologist and Program Manager, Office of Weather and Air Quality, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |url=https://2017-2021.commerce.gov/index.php/news/blog/2020/02/spotlight-commerce-dana-carlis-meteorologist-and-program-manager-office-weather.html |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=U.S. Department of Commerce |language=en}}

Carlis began working for NOAA while in graduate school, conducting research on modeling airflow over the island of Maui and implementing semi-operational weather models over the Hawaiian Islands. This led to the publication of a research paper in the journal Monthly Weather Review, with Yi-Leng Chen, of the University of Hawaii Department of Atmospheric Sciences, and Morris serving as second and third authors.{{Cite journal |last1=Carlis |first1=DaNa L. |last2=Chen |first2=Yi-Leng |last3=Morris |first3=Vernon R. |date=2010-07-01 |title=Numerical Simulations of Island-Scale Airflow over Maui and the Maui Vortex under Summer Trade Wind Conditions |url=https://journals.ametsoc.org:443/view/journals/mwre/138/7/2009mwr3236.1.xml |journal=Monthly Weather Review |language=EN |volume=138 |issue=7 |pages=2706–2736 |doi=10.1175/2009MWR3236.1 |issn=1520-0493|url-access=subscription }}

After completing his PhD, Carlis held positions at the National Weather Service (NWS) Honolulu Weather Forecast Office, as well as the agency's Pacific Region Headquarters, before returning to the mainland United States, where he held several positions at the NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) from 2007 to 2014.{{Cite web |date=2023-06-15 |title=NOAA – Global Systems Laboratory |url=https://gsl.noaa.gov/news-media/news/gsl-welcomes-dana-carlis-as-our-new-deputy-director |access-date=2025-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615035535/https://gsl.noaa.gov/news-media/news/gsl-welcomes-dana-carlis-as-our-new-deputy-director |archive-date=15 June 2023 }} From 2014 to 2016, he served as a policy advisor to the NOAA chief scientist and the NOAA assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction.{{Cite web |title=NOAA – Global Systems Laboratory |url=https://gsl.noaa.gov/news-media/news/gsl-welcomes-dana-carlis-as-our-new-deputy-director |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=gsl.noaa.gov}} In 2016, he began working at the NOAA Weather Program Office (WPO), part of the agency's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), where he founded the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) and Next-Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS) programs.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-19 |title=EPIC celebrates the appointment of Dr. DaNa Carlis as the director of the National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) – Earth Prediction Innovation Center |url=https://www.epic.noaa.gov/dr-carlis-as-nssl-director/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |language=en-US}} In September 2020, he became deputy director of the NOAA Global Systems Laboratory (GSL).

In 2023, Carlis was named the sixth director of NSSL,{{Cite news |date=2023-01-12 |title='A full-circle moment' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/tulsa-world-a-full-circle-moment/162318802/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |work=Tulsa World |pages=A9}}{{Cite web |title=NSSL History |url=https://www.nssl.noaa.gov/about/history/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory |language=EN-US}} where he leads a team of scientists working to advance the science and technology of severe weather forecasting and warnings in an effort to improve accuracy and lead times.

Among the honors and awards Carlis has received during his career are the following:

• Department of Commerce Bronze Medal (2022){{Cite web |last=Laboratory (CSL) |first=NOAA Chemical Sciences |title=NOAA CSL: NOAA Bronze Medals Awarded to CSL Researchers |url=https://csl.noaa.gov/news/2022/363_1109.html |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=csl.noaa.gov |language=en}}
• NOAA Research Employee of the Year – Personal & Professional Excellence (2021){{Cite web |title=NOAA – Global Systems Laboratory |url=https://gsl.noaa.gov/news-media/news/dana-carlis-noaa-research-employee-of-the-year |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=gsl.noaa.gov}}
• NOAA EEO/Diversity Individual Award (2018){{Cite web |last=Kiest |first=Kristina |date=2019-03-01 |title=DaNa Carlis to receive two OAR awards |url=https://wpo.noaa.gov/dana-carlis-to-receive-two-oar-awards/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=NOAA Weather Program Office |language=en-US}}
• NOAA Research Employee of the Year Award – Leadership (2018)
• NOAA Administrator's Award (2016, 2017){{Cite web |title=NOAA – Global Systems Laboratory |url=https://gsl.noaa.gov/profiles/dana.carlis |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=gsl.noaa.gov}}
• Department of Commerce Gold Medal (2015)

Carlis is a member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and was elected in 2022 to serve a three-year term (from 2023 to 2026) on the AMS Council.{{Cite web |title=AMS Leadership |url=https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/about-ams/ams-commissions-boards-and-committees/ams-leadership/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=American Meteorological Society |language=en}} He also has served as chair of the AMS Forecast Improvement Group.{{Cite web |date=2021-12-02 |title=Membership – Commission Weather, Water, and Climate Enterprise |url=https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/cwwce/committees/fig-executive-committee/membership/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202220353/https://www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/cwwce/committees/fig-executive-committee/membership/ |archive-date=2 December 2021 }} In 2014, he co-founded NOAA's Diversity and Professional Advancement Working Group (DPAWG) with Michelle Hawkins of NWS.{{Cite web |date=2023-01-31 |title='Like a family': How NOAA's Diversity and Professional Advancement group became a powerhouse support network {{!}} National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |url=https://www.noaa.gov/education/stories/like-family-how-noaas-diversity-and-professional-advancement-group-became-powerhouse-support-network |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=www.noaa.gov |language=en}} Global ERG Network named DPAWG the fifth-best employee resource group as part of its 2021 Diversity Impact Awards.{{Cite web |last= |date=2021-09-17 |title=2021 Diversity Impact Award Recipients Ranking Order |url=https://globalergnet.com/2021-diversity-impact-award-recipients/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=Global ERG Network |language=en-US}}

He also serves as a member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) Community Programs (UCP) External Advisory Committee (EAC), which guides the programs and activities of UCP in its effort to serve researchers, academics, and others in the Earth system science community.{{Cite web |title=DaNa L. Carlis, UCP EAC Member {{!}} University Corporation for Atmospheric Research |url=https://www.ucar.edu/who-we-are/community-programs/ucp-external-advisory-committee/carlis-bio |access-date=2025-01-09 |website=www.ucar.edu}}

Carlis is married to Dr. Lydia Carlis, chief learning and impact officer at Acelero Learning, an early childhood education provider, and founder/CEO of Eyemagination Enterprises, LLC. In 2014, the pair co-authored the book M. I. T.: Meteorologist in Training.{{Cite book |last1=Carlis |first1=DaNa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2uTbrQEACAAJ |title=M. I. T.: Meteorologist in Training |last2=Carlis |first2=Lydia J. |publisher=Apple Tree Institute |year=2014 |isbn=9781940641850}} They have a daughter, Dia Carlis, a Georgia State University graduate who works as a law clerk in New York City.{{Cite web |title=Dia Dannielle Carlis – The Kearney Law Group |url=https://ckearneylaw.com/our-team/dia-dannielle-carlis/ |access-date=2025-01-09 |language=en-US}}

{{reflist}}

• [https://www.news9.com/story/63efa41f48dde978cba6274c/meet-the-new-director-of-the-national-severe-storms-laboratory Meet The New Director Of The National Severe Storms Laboratory] (News9.com)
• [https://blubrry.com/clear_skies_ahead/127644598/dana-carlis-director-of-noaas-national-severe-storms-laboratory/ Clear Skies Ahead: Conversations about Careers in Meteorology and Beyond] (AMS podcast)
• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT8UNpjO9zU Dr. DaNa Carlis – A New Leader with NOAA] (The National Weather Desk YouTube)

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Category:American meteorologists

Category:African-American scientists

Category:People from Oklahoma

Category:People from Tulsa, Oklahoma

Category:21st-century African-American scientists

Category:National Weather Service people

Category:American atmospheric scientists

Category:Living people