Senior Manager, Environmental and Climate Policy
Jessica Blackband
she/her
Environmental policy,
wildfire,
federal permitting

Jessica Blackband is a Senior Manager, Environmental and Climate Policy with the Science Policy team at the Federation of American Scientists. Her background includes science communication, environmental policy analysis, qualitative research, and stakeholder engagement. Prior to joining FAS, she worked at Tetra Tech where she supported various U.S. Environmental Protection Agency programs. She has also served as an analyst at the Government Accountability Office and a communications specialist at the South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center. Jessica holds an MPP from George Washington University as well as BA in philosophy and a BS in environmental studies from the Florida State University.

publications
Government Capacity
Blog
How to Build Effective Digital Permitting Products in Government

The success of historic federal investments in climate resilience, clean energy, and new infrastructure hinges on the government’s ability to efficiently permit, site, and build projects.

10.30.24 | 8 min read
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Environment
Blog
Fixing federal permitting requires the right (digital) tools for the job. We built an inventory of them.

We built this inventory to enhance our collective understanding of how that software is used in the federal permitting process—and to open lines of dialogue for cross-agency and cross-sector learning.

05.14.24 | 6 min read
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Environment
Blog
Firefighting Workforce Benefits from FY25 Budget Request but Sustained Investments are Necessary to Address the Wildfire Crisis

In the last decade, the U.S. has made significant investments to address the wildfire crisis, including the historic investments in hazardous fuels reduction through the IRA and IIJA.

04.16.24 | 5 min read
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Environment
Blog
Funding the Fight Against Uncontrolled Megafires

Wildland fires are becoming larger, more frequent, and more severe. Wildland fire suppression funding, in turn, has become more complex.

02.17.23 | 7 min read
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Emerging Technology
Report
Science and Innovation in the 118th Congress

To help seed the ground for bipartisan progress, we’ve put together a menu of the best policy ideas on a range of critical topics.

01.12.23 | 2 min read
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Emerging Technology
Report
118th Congress: Resilient Agriculture, Society & Environment

Over the past several years, instability has been a national and global constant. The COVID-19 pandemic upended supply chains and production systems. Floods, hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, and fires have imposed catastrophic consequences and forced people to reconsider where they can safely live. Russia’s war with Ukraine and other geopolitical conflicts have forced countries around […]

01.12.23 | 5 min read
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Environment
Blog
Fighting Fire With Policy

This week, we’re launching a Wildland Fire Policy Accelerator to develop policy ideas aimed at improving how we live with fire in the United States.

10.26.22 | 3 min read
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