Dr. Kathie Dello currently serves as the state climatologist for North Carolina, as well as the director for the North Carolina State Climate Office. Appointed in 2019, Dello is only the fifth director at the NC State Climate Office, and she is the first woman to ever hold the position. Originally from New York, Dello studied Atmospheric Science at the University of Albany, and received a postgraduate degree in Geology. She later completed her PhD in Environmental Science at Oregon State University. Back in 2010, Dello led Oregon’s first climate assessment, and was a co-author on it in subsequent years. She served as the director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, as well as the director of the Oregon Climate Service. 

Dr. Dello’s main role at the State Climate Office is to work on climate resilience planning as well as impact assessment for various organizations and projects, working hand in hand with state agencies helping them to better understand the climate impact they pose. The North Carolina State Climate office is the main climate and weather resource for the state of North Carolina. They engage in research, education, climate/weather monitoring, and data collection. They work with groups on outreach, educating school groups, and the North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Every day they are sending 1.5 million observations back to Raleigh from various satellite locations with climate and weather data through the North Carolina ECONet program.