Maureen McCarthy, Executive Director

Maureen McCarthy, Ph.D., was appointed as the new Executive Director of the Tahoe Science Consortium in February 2011. Maureen comes to the TSC after a distinguished career leading major research and development programs for US Government agencies in Washington, DC. Before moving to Incline Village in 2009, Maureen had nearly two decades of experience directing programs in science, technology, university education, intelligence analysis, and national, homeland, and international security policy development for the Department of Defense, Energy and Homeland Security. She also served in the White House in 2002-2003 as a member of the transition team that established the Department of Homeland Security and was the first Director of Research and Development for DHS.

Maureen also co-founded McCarthy & Smith Consulting to advise public and private entities about the global security impacts of climate change. She is actively engaged in the community, serving as Chair of the Board of Directors for Tahoe CAN (Collaborative Association of Nonprofits), International Projects Chair for the Tahoe Incline Rotary Club, and a member of the National Security Advisory Board for the University of Maryland. Maureen holds a Ph.D. in chemical physics from the University of Colorado, a B.Sc. in chemistry from Boston College, and was a Lady Davis Postdoctoral Fellow at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel.

She and her husband, Dr. Kimothy Smith, are the proud parents of two Incline snow dogs.

Nicole Shaw

Program Coordinator

Nicole Shaw is the Program Coordinator for the Tahoe Science Consortium. Though she hales from the Midwest, Nicole has been a research biologist in the Sierra Nevada for over 10 years. Along with her husband and two children, Nicole savors Tahoe every day.

Tiff van Huysen, Ph.D.

Tahoe Science Program Coordinator

USDA Forest Service Pacific Southwest Research Station

Tiff van Huysen, Ph.D., is an Ecologist and the Tahoe Science Program Coordinator with the USDA Forest Service-Pacific Southwest Research Station. Prior to working with the Pacific Southwest Research Station, Tiff was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Davis. Tiff holds a Ph.D. in forest science and biogeochemistry from Oregon State University, an M.S. in botany from Colorado State University, and a B.S. in natural resources from Oregon State University.