Jessica Hellmann
{{short description|American ecologist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Jessica Hellmann
| image = Jessica Hellman on managed relocation for National Science Foundation.jpg
| caption = Hellman interviewed by the National Science Foundation in 2009
| alma_mater = {{Unbulleted list | Stanford University | University of Michigan}}
| workplaces = Institute on the Environment
| thesis_title = The role of environmental variation in the dynamics of an insect-plant interaction
| thesis_url = https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/4540430
| thesis_year = 2000
| doctoral_advisor = Ehrlich, Paul R.
}}
Jessica Hellmann is a Professor of Ecology and the director of the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota. She is recognized as "one of the nation’s leading researchers on global change ecology and climate adaptation". Hellmann was one of the first to identify that living with climate change is "just as crucial to the future of humanity and Earth’s ecosystems as slowing and stopping greenhouse gas emissions".{{Cite web|url=http://environment.umn.edu/staff/jessica-hellmann/|title=Jessica Hellmann|website=Institute on the Environment|access-date=2019-03-08}} Her lab uses mathematical models, genomic techniques to identify the impact of climate change on ecology and evolution.{{Cite web|url=https://cbs.umn.edu/contacts/jessica-hellmann|title=Jessica Hellmann|website=cbs.umn.edu|access-date=2019-03-08}} Jessica Hellmann also has a spouse, Larry LaTarte (1974) and one daughter, Ada LaTarte (2007).
Early life and education
Hellmann is originally from Indiana and Detroit, Michigan.{{Cite web|url=https://jessicahellmann.org/2016/12/05/from-family-farms-to-the-rust-belt/|title=From a family farm to the Rust Belt|last=jessicajhellmann|date=2016-12-05|website=Jessica Hellmann|access-date=2019-03-08}}
Hellmann has said she chose a career in ecology after being inspired by space camp, her grandfather's farm and her father who worked as a mechanical engineer at General Motors.{{Cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/20092-climate-change-hellmann-nsf-sl.html|title=Studying Climate Change's Impact on Organisms and Ecosystems|last=Jessica Hellmann|date=2012-05-03|website=livescience.com|language=en}} She completed a Bachelor's in Ecology at the University of Michigan in 1996.{{Cite web|url=https://reilly.nd.edu/people/reilly-fellows/jessica-j-hellmann/|title=Jessica J. Hellmann|website=reilly.nd.edu|access-date=2018-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010013516/https://reilly.nd.edu/people/reilly-fellows/jessica-j-hellmann/|archive-date=2015-10-10|url-status=dead}} She holds a PhD in Biology from Stanford.{{Cite web|url=https://ccb.stanford.edu/people|title=People|website=ccb.stanford.edu|access-date=2018-02-24}} Her doctoral advisor, and role model, was Paul R. Ehrlich.{{cite journal | last=Gewin | first=Virginia | title=Turning point: Jessica Hellman | journal=Nature | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=483 | issue=7390 | year=2012 | issn=0028-0836 | doi=10.1038/nj7390-501a | pages=501| doi-access=free }} She was a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for International Security and Cooperation, where she argued that the environment was an important part of security.{{Cite web|url=https://naturalcapitalproject.stanford.edu/news/national-security-green-roofs|title=From National Security to Green Roofs|last=Stacey Solie|website=naturalcapitalproject.stanford.edu|date=5 March 2020}} At Stanford University, she was part of the Leopold Leadership Program.{{Cite web|url=http://alumni.seas.umich.edu/story/adapting-to-climate-change-initiatives/|title=» Adapting to climate change initiatives|website=alumni.seas.umich.edu|access-date=2018-02-24}} Hellmann also worked as a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Zoology at the University of British Columbia.{{Cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=James N.M.|last2=Hellmann|first2=Jessica J.|date=2002-09-01|title=Population persistence in fragmented landscapes|url=http://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/abstract/S0169-5347(02)02576-4|journal=Trends in Ecology & Evolution|language=English|volume=17|issue=9|pages=397–399|doi=10.1016/S0169-5347(02)02576-4|issn=0169-5347|url-access=subscription}}{{Cite journal|last=Powell|first=Kendall|date=2003-01-13|title=Rising household numbers damage hotspots|url=http://www.nature.com/news/1998/030106/full/news030106-18.html|journal=Nature News|doi=10.1038/news030106-18|url-access=subscription}}
Career
Hellmann joined the University of Notre Dame in 2003, where she served as a faculty member in the Department of Biological Sciences.{{Cite web|url=https://environmentalchange.nd.edu/news-events/news/jessica-hellmann-named-director-of-university-of-minnesotas-institute-on-the-environment/|title=Jessica Hellmann named Director of University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment|last=Alex Gumm|date=2015-07-02|website=Environmental Change Initiative|language=en}} She received a Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation in 2006.{{Cite web|url=https://www3.nd.edu/~hellmann/Hellmann_Lab/Bio_Pubs.html |title=Jessica Hellmann|website=nd.edu|access-date=2018-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026200536/https://www3.nd.edu/~hellmann/Hellmann_Lab/Bio_Pubs.html|archive-date=2011-10-26|url-status=dead}} She researched the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on the distribution of insects and their host plants. She concentrated on the Garry oak species, and how they could spread in a future climate.{{Cite web|url=http://www.goert.ca/our_team/member_bios.php#Jessica_Hellmann|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125084452/http://www.goert.ca/our_team/member_bios.php#Jessica_Hellmann|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 25, 2012|title=Recovery Implementation Group (RIG) members|website=goert.ca|access-date=2018-02-24}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.goert.ca/activities/2007/04/butterflies-and-jumping-gall-wasps/|title=News|website=goert.ca|access-date=2018-02-24|archive-date=2018-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225205930/http://www.goert.ca/activities/2007/04/butterflies-and-jumping-gall-wasps/|url-status=dead}} She founded Notre Dame's undergraduate minor is sustainability.
In 2011 she was awarded a Residential Fellowship from the University of Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study.{{Cite web|url=https://ndias.nd.edu/fellows/hellmann-jessica/|title=Jessica - Hellmann|website=Institute for Advanced Study|access-date=2018-02-23}} In 2012,she published the book "Advancing Adaptation In the City of Chicago".{{Cite web|url=https://ndias.nd.edu/books/advancing-adaptation-in-the-city-of-chicago/|title=Advancing Adaptation in the City of Chicago|website=Institute for Advanced Study|access-date=2018-02-23}} She delivered the 2012 Reilly Forum Lecture, "Fixing the global commons: what humans can and should do to help nature live and thrive through climate change".{{Citation|last=University of Notre Dame|title=Fixing The Global Commons|date=2012-04-20|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws1sbGw4xYY|accessdate=2018-02-24}} In 2013, Hellmann helped the Global Adaptation Institute relocate in the University of Notre Dame.{{Cite web|url=http://ngpenergycapital.com/notre-dame-to-be-new-home-of-climate-change-index/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170619033242/http://ngpenergycapital.com/notre-dame-to-be-new-home-of-climate-change-index/|archive-date=2017-06-19|last=Margaret Fosmoe|date=April 18, 2013|title=Notre Dame to be New Home of Climate Change Index|website=ngpenergycapital.com}} In 2015, she became Research Director of the Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), which measures climate risks and readiness to adapt to climate risks for countries around the world.{{Cite web|url=https://reilly.nd.edu/research/collaborations/global-adaptation-index/|title=Global Adaptation Index|website=reilly.nd.edu|access-date=2018-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205035826/http://reilly.nd.edu/research/collaborations/global-adaptation-index|archive-date=2016-12-05|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://news.nd.edu/news/2014-nd-gain-results-show-that-norway-is-most-prepared-for-climate-change/|title=2014 ND-GAIN results show that Norway is most prepared for climate change|website=Notre Dame News|access-date=2018-02-23|last=William G. Gilroy|date=2014-11-05}} She was worried about being labelled a "butterfly person", as she studied them extensively as proxy for how climate change impacts insects in general. She was described as an "influential voice surrounding climate adaptation and the environment".
In 2015, Hellmann joined the University of Minnesota as the director of the Institute on the Environment.,{{Cite news|url=https://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/07/07/bcst-hellmann |website=MPRNews|title=Hellmann: Scientists focusing on how to adapt to climate change|last=Swearingen|first=Michael|access-date=2018-02-23|date=July 8, 2015}} where she delivered a keynote talk, "Can we save biodiversity from climate change?"{{Citation|last=Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota|title=Can we save biodiversity from climate change?|date=2015-10-26|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCQrWye0_rM|website=youtube|access-date=2019-03-08}} She is also the Russell M. and Elizabeth M. Bennett Chair in Excellence in the University's Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. She published her second book, "A Review Of The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives" in 2016.{{Cite book|title=A review of the landscape conservation cooperatives|last=Cooperatives.|first=National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (U.S.). Committee For The Evaluation Of The Landscape Conservation|isbn=9780309379854|location=Washington, DC|oclc=961942148|date = 2016-11-28}}{{Cite web|url=http://seas.umich.edu/about/visiting_committee/hellmann|title=Jessica Hellmann|website=seas.umich.edu|access-date=2018-02-24|archive-date=2018-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214210621/http://seas.umich.edu/about/visiting_committee/hellmann|url-status=dead}} She is co-chair of the University of Minnesota Water Council. She continues to collaborate with ND-GAIN as a core research member and mentors other ND-GAIN researchers.
She has influenced governments and corporations, encouraging them to strategically invest in climate change adaptation. In 2013 and 2014 she co-wrote the National Climate Change Assessment.{{Cite journal|last1=Poole-Wilson|first1=P. A.|last2=Langer|first2=G. A.|date=September 1975|title=Effect of pH on ionic exchange and function in rat and rabbit myocardium|journal=The American Journal of Physiology|volume=229|issue=3|pages=570–581|doi=10.1152/ajplegacy.1975.229.3.570|issn=0002-9513|pmid=2014}} She is on the Board of Directors of the Great Plains Institute, the Science Advisory Council for the Environmental Law and Policy Center and the governing committee of the Natural Capital Planet.{{Cite web|url=https://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/people/|title=People|website=naturalcapitalproject.org|access-date=2018-02-24|archive-date=2018-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180225205730/https://www.naturalcapitalproject.org/people/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite news|url=http://elpc.org/about-us/people/advisory-councils/|website=Environmental Law & Policy Center|title=Advisory Councils|access-date=2018-02-23|archive-date=2018-02-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224053303/http://elpc.org/about-us/people/advisory-councils/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.betterenergy.org/who-we-are/board-of-directors/|title=Board of Directors|website=betterenergy.org|access-date=2018-02-23}} She has contributed to CNN, NPR, Fox News, The Telegraph and the Chicago Tribune.{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-pope-francis-climate-change-perspec-0618-20150617-story.html|title=The pope's challenge on global warming|last=Jenkins|first=Rev. John I.|work=chicagotribune.com|access-date=2018-02-23|date=Jun 17, 2015}}{{Cite news|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-many-small-island-nations-can-adapt-to-climate-change-with-global-support-86820-20171116-story.html|title=Many small island nations can adapt to climate change with global support|last=Hellmann|first=Martina Grecequet, Ian Noble, Jessica|work=chicagotribune.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116092322/http://www.chicagotribune.com/sns-many-small-island-nations-can-adapt-to-climate-change-with-global-support-86820-20171116-story.html|archive-date=2017-11-16}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.indy100.com/article/these-are-the-countries-most-at-risk-from-a-climate-change-apocalypse--gkxwHiOhcx|title=These are the countries most at risk from a climate change|date=2015-01-12|work=indy100|access-date=2018-02-23|archive-date=2019-03-27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327091742/https://www.indy100.com/article/these-are-the-countries-most-at-risk-from-a-climate-change-apocalypse--gkxwHiOhcx|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|url=http://theconversation.com/many-small-island-nations-can-adapt-to-climate-change-with-global-support-86820|title=Many small island nations can adapt to climate change with global support|last1=Noble|first1=Ian|last2=Hellmann|first2=Jessica|date=16 November 2017|website=The Conversation|language=en|access-date=|last3=Grecequet|first3=Martina}}{{Cite news|url=http://radio.seti.org/blog/2015/05/big-picture-science-the-evolution-of-evolution/|title=Big Picture Science – The Evolution of Evolution|date=2015-05-04|work=BLOG PICTURE SCIENCE|access-date=2018-02-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150607154212/http://radio.seti.org/blog/2015/05/big-picture-science-the-evolution-of-evolution/|archive-date=2015-06-07|url-status=dead}} She writes for The Conversation (website).{{Cite web|url=https://theconversation.com/profiles/jessica-hellmann-196449/articles|title=Jessica Hellmann articles|website=The Conversation|date=16 November 2017 |access-date=2018-02-23}} In 2017 she was announced as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Leshner Fellow.{{Cite news|url=https://www.aaas.org/pes/leshner-fellows|title=2016-2017 Leshner Leadership Institute Public Engagement Fellows: Climate Change|date=2015-09-08|work=AAAS - The World's Largest General Scientific Society|access-date=2018-02-23}}
Hellman regularly contributes to the following scientific journals: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, BioScience and PLOS ONE. She serves on the editorial board of the journal Evolutionary Applications and is an associate editor with both Conservation Biology and Elementa. She serves on committees for the Ecological Society of America, the College Board, and the National Academy of Sciences.
References
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Category:University of Minnesota faculty
Category:University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
Category:Stanford University alumni
Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Category:American women ecologists
Category:American women scientists
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)