Kit Batten

Kit Batten was appointed as the USAID Global Climate Change Coordinator in January 2011. In this capacity, Batten coordinates all climate change activities across all bureaus in the Agency. 

Prior to her appointment at USAID, Batten was senior science and policy fellow and program director at the Heinz Center’s Institute for Science Communication and Policy Development. In this role, she taught scientists from academia, government and NGOs how to communicate about the results of their research with policy makers and the media. 

Batten previously served as the science advisor to the Deputy Secretary of the Interior where she focused her efforts on the communication of climate change science, adaptation strategies for cultural and natural resources, and mitigation strategies, including helping lead the creation of Interior's Climate Science Centers and Landscape Conservation Cooperatives.

Prior to her appointment at the Department of the Interior, Batten was a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress where she directed the energy and climate change policy team. Batten has also served in the offices of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) as legislative assistant and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellow.  As a postdoctoral associate, Batten worked for the National Ecological Observatory Network at the American Institute of Biological Sciences.

Batten has strong working relationships with members of Congress, White House offices, Federal agencies, NGOs, universities and other stakeholders. Batten has frequently participated in television, radio and print media communication about science, climate change policy and energy policy.

She received a B.A. in chemistry from Oberlin College and a M.S. and Ph.D. in ecology from the University of California, Davis.