Pablo Ortiz is the Director of Innovation and Collaboration within the Office of Science and Innovation. He previously served as Senior Climate and Water Scientist for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists. In his current position, he is responsible for removing barriers to innovation and expanding collaborations within the organization and with external partners. He focuses on fostering a culture of innovation, facilitating the development and implementation of new ideas to enhance the organization's mission impact, and strengthening scientific engagement. His expertise spans multiple areas, including climate change, environmental justice, science communication and education, partnership building and community-based research and outreach.
Before joining UCS, Dr. Ortiz earned a degree in environmental engineering from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Occidente (ITESO) in Mexico. After working for a couple of years in his home country he came to the United States to study for his Ph.D. in hydrology and water resources management at the Water Management Lab at the University of California, Davis. During his Ph.D. he spent two summers as a Research Assistant in Vienna at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, where he researched how to balance human and environmental water allocation without affecting current and future urban, agriculture, and recreational water uses—or flood risks.
Dr. Ortiz is passionate about science communication and he has given presentations, and interviews for new articles, radio, and television in English and Spanish. He has been quoted in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, ABC News, CNN, The Guardian, and Radio Bilingue, among other outlets.
Selected publications
Dahl, K. A., John T Abatzoglou, Carly A Phillips, J Pablo Ortiz-Partida, Rachel Licker, L Delta Merner, and Brenda Ekwurzel. 2023. “Quantifying the Contribution of Major Carbon Producers to Increases in Vapor Pressure Deficit and Burned Area in Western US and Southwestern Canadian Forests.” Environmental Research Letters 18 (6): 064011. Available here.
Fernandez-Bou, A.S., José M. Rodríguez-Flores, Alexander Guzman, J. Pablo Ortiz-Partida, Leticia M. Classen-Rodriguez, Pedro A. Sánchez-Pérez, Jorge Valero-Fandiño, et al. 2023. “Water, Environment, and Socioeconomic Justice in California: A Multi-Benefit Cropland Repurposing Framework.” Science of The Total Environment 858 (February): 159963. Available here.
Ortiz-Partida, J. Pablo, Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou, Mahesh Maskey, Jose M. Rodriguez-Flores, Josue Medellin-Azuara, Samuel Sandoval-Solis, Tatiana Ermolieva, et al. 2023. “Hydro-Economic Modeling of Water Resources Management Challenges: Current Applications and Future Directions.” Water Economics and Policy, April, S2382624X23400039. Available here.
Persad, G.G., Daniel L. Swain, Claire Kouba, J. Pablo Ortiz-Partida. 2020 Inter-model agreement on projected shifts in California hydroclimate characteristics critical to water management. Climatic Change 162, 1493–1513 (2020). Available here.
Phillips, C.A., Astrid Caldas, Rachel Cleetus, Kristina A. Dahl, Juan Declet-Barreto, Rachel Licker, L. Delta Merner, J. Pablo Ortiz-Partida, Alexandra L. Phelan, Erika Spanger-Siegfried, Shuchi Talati, Christopher H. Trisos, and Colin J. Carlson. 2020. Compound climate risks in the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Climate Change. Available here.