Kathy Jacobs

Adaptation Programs/Projects

• Lead PI on the Arizona Tri-University Recharge and Water Reliability Project
• Jacobs is also a member of many boards and advisory committees, most notably, she is a member of the National Academies Board on Environmental Change and Society, a Trustee of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Chair of the External Advisory Board for the Western Water Assessment, and a member of the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy External Advisory Board.

Employment Highlights

• Director, Third National Climate Assessment (NCA3); Assistant Director, Energy and Environment Division, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President
• Executive Director of the Arizona Water Institute
• Director, Tucson Active Management Area, Arizona Department of Water Resources

Selected Publications

• Moss, R. and K. Jacobs. Addressing the adaptation learning gap: a strategic role for university-based climate service hubs. Climatic Change, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-026-04184-7
• Whyte, K., J. Maldonado, S. McNeeley, K. Jacobs, M. McCracken, K. Lynn, L. Jantarasami, K. Cozzetto, N. Cooley, P. Cochran, R. Novak, K. Chief, H. Mullen and D Wildcat. A brief history of Indigenous involvement in the U.S. National Climate Assessment. Climatic Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-025-04084-2   
• Gupta, N., R. Lima, T. Sankey, C. Mroczek, K. Jacobs, R. Lewis, F. Bromley, T. Xu, H. Richter, P. Broxton, Y. Korgaonkar, T. Zalesky, J. Famiglietti, A. Springer. Opportunistic Recharge Enhancement in arid and semi-arid regions. Groundwater, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.70070
• Leinberger, A., G. Garfin and K. Jacobs. Perspectives on University-Based Climate Service Providers in the United States.  Climatic Change, 2026. 179:79 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-026-04150-3 
• Gupta, N., L. Bearup, K. Jacobs, E. Halper, C. Castro, H.-I. Chang, J. Fonseca, 2023. Stakeholder-Informed Hydroclimate Scenario Modeling in the Lower Santa Cruz River Basin for Water Resource Management. Water 2023, 15, 1884. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/15/10/1884
• Gupta, N., and K. Jacobs, E. Halper, L. Bearup, B. Kennett, W. Wilson (2022). Lower Santa Cruz River Basin Study: Science Summary of Climate and Surface Water Modeling. University of Arizona, Center for Climate Adaptation Science and Solutions, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
• Kuhn, E., and K.L. Jacobs (2022). Science and Apportionment: Alternative Futures for the Colorado River System in Cornerstone at the Confluence: Navigating the Colorado River Compact’s Next Century (J. Robison, ed). University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.
• McCoy, A.L., K.L. Jacobs, J.A. Vano, J.K. Wilson, S. Martin, A.G. Pendergrass, R. Cifelli (2022). The Press and Pulse of Climate Change: Extreme Events in the Colorado River Basin. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1752-1688.13021
• Jacobs, K., J. Holway, E. Hanak, R. Quay, F. Sternlieb, and B. Udall. 2022. Impacts and Opportunities at the Climate–Land Use–Energy–Water Interface: An Urgent Call for Dialogue. JAWRA Journal of the American Water Resources Association 1–9. https://doi. org/10.1111/1752-1688.13014
• Rivera-Torres, M., A.K. Gerlak, K. Jacobs (2021) Lesson learning in the Colorado River Basin, Water International, doi.org/10.1080/02508060.2021.1913782