Monica Mattox
Norman
Summary
Dynamic leader with extensive experience in wildland fire management, climatology, risk mitigation, and weather. Proven ability to develop impactful, hands-on training workshops and translate wildfire research into operational solutions. Recognized for enhancing fire weather forecasting tools and building strategic partnerships across industries and agencies to strengthen wildfire preparedness and response. Adept at applying critical thinking and adaptability in high-stakes environments to drive data-informed decision-making. Committed to fostering collaborative community partnerships for innovative and effective climate resilience strategies.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
OK-FIRE Program Coordinator
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
06.2024 - Current
- Involved with OK-FIRE since 2017, initially assisting with workshops and program development before assuming the lead role in June 2024
- Currently lead and develop OK-FIRE training workshops, providing hands-on, engaging instruction to fire managers on fire danger, fire weather, and forecasting tools
- Build and strengthen partnerships across fire management communities, including the Oklahoma Forestry Service, emergency managers, fire departments, meteorologists, natural resource agencies, private landowners, and utility groups
- Conduct fire weather research focused on improving fire weather forecasts, modeling, and the integration of research into operational fire management
- Facilitate collaboration between federal, state, and private agencies, including NOAA, the Department of Environmental Quality, state forestry services, and private industries, to enhance wildfire planning, preparedness, monitoring, forecasting, and response
- Develop and enhance weather data tools and products to support real-time and predictive wildfire management strategies
- Represent OK-FIRE at conferences, meetings, and partner engagements, delivering presentations on fire weather, risk mitigation, and operational applications of Mesonet data
- Drive the advancement of wildfire research into actionable operations, ensuring critical fire environment data reaches emergency responders and decision-makers
- Recognized for unparalleled leadership in fire weather and risk mitigation, as noted by the Meteorologist in Charge at the Norman National Weather Service
- Identified areas where improvements can be made in order to increase efficiency or effectiveness.
- Conducted research into best practices for program delivery, including methods for increasing efficiency and effectiveness.
Research Scientist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
06.2024 - Current
- Product Development
- Outreach and Stakeholder Engagement
- Grant and Project Development
- Build Research Partnerships
- Educational Outreach
- Data Services and Operations Maintenance
- Research and Analysis
- Continued role as Assistant State Climatologist
CEO and Co-Founder
DEWCOM Solutions, LLC
01.2019 - Current
- Provide consulting services to various clients in need of expertise in data, education, weather, climate, outreach, and media
- Provide data management and investigative research for multiple legal cases that pertain to various meteorological and climatological hazards
- Develop climate change, climate adaptation, and resilience curricula for the K-12 youth of the Upper Snake River Tribes, in partnership with Adaptation International and the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation
Assistant State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
01.2015 - Current
- Advance the knowledge of climate and weather among a variety of audiences including K-16 teachers and students, the public, the fire community, public safety officials, and university faculty and staff by organizing, coordinating, and presenting educational climatological and meteorological workshops and talks throughout Oklahoma
- Leveraging social media platforms to reach audiences and deliver meaningful content that informs, educates, and generates engagement
- Co-Principal Investigator on two NASA missions whose objectives are to monitor changes in Earth’s geography due to earthquakes, human-induced land use change, climate change, and other factors
- Facilitate and organize fire management (OK-FIRE) workshops across the state
- Facilitate and organize round-tables and focus groups related to various climate hazards
- Content expert for a K20 Center educational video game that has players assume the role of an emergency manager tasked with designing a weather-ready response plan for a community-based weather or climate event
- Host mentorship programs for high school students
- Participate in student career fairs and recruitment strategies
- Ensure climate record accuracy by conducting quality assurance of Oklahoma Cooperative Observer (COOP) data
- Contribute to the historical weather and climate archive by accurately documenting and summarizing events
- Ensure climate and weather products, databases, and information utilized by global users daily are updated and maintained
- Conducted a pilot research study on the valuation of the Mesonet’s OK-FIRE program that will guide future research on the program and economic impact
- Supervise and mentor student employees
Research Scientist (Sabbatical)
Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP)
10.2017 - 09.2018
- Advanced public education by creating educational drought videos and presenting webinars
- Organized, coordinated, and lead a state drought plan advisory meeting to discuss strategies for updating the 1997 Oklahoma Drought Response Plan
- Senior representatives from various state agencies and sectors attended
- Presented climate and weather-related information to stakeholders, the fire community, and the public
- Researched drought- and weather-related workshops, meetings, webinars, and forums in the southern plains region for the National Integrated Drought Information System
- Researched and documented other state drought plans to formulate ideas for an updated Oklahoma plan
- Composed a 27-page summary report from the Oklahoma Drought Plan Advisory Meeting that was shared with attendees and various heads of collaborating state and federal agencies as a first step in updating the state drought response plan
Manager of Governmental Affairs (Sabbatical)
South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (SC CASC)
04.2017 - 09.2017
- Developed a 33-page report that provided detailed information about legislators and their interests by CASC region
- This information was used to lobby for and communicate the relevance of CASCs to legislators in Washington D.C
- Provided support that included facilitating Congressional visits and legislator meetings
- Collaborated with stakeholders and other regional CASCs about communication and lobbying strategies that would garner support for CASC funding throughout the nation
Service Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
01.2012 - 01.2015
- Conducted educational outreach to the public, K-16 students and educators, and university settings
- Presented and communicated climate science to a wide range of audiences
- Assisted in a post-disaster assessment of the May 20, 2013 tornado outbreak with the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP)
- Assisted in creating a document of climate and weather statistics for the Oklahoma City Economic Developers
- Assisted in the creation of historical climate narratives for the Heartland Sustainability Project
- Provided customer service and fulfilled data/information requests
- Used GIS to create county-level monthly climate normals/averages for Oklahoma
- Prepared weather and climate summaries and reports
Climate and Data Services Student Assistant
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
01.2009 - 01.2012
- Maintained original records, such as cooperative observer forms
- Managed climate and weather data archives
- Provided customer service and fulfilled data/information requests
Research Assistant
University of Michigan Department of Pathology
01.2006 - 01.2009
- Co-authored published research
- Performed microbiology research in a lab setting
- Lab maintenance
Education
Ph.D. - Geography and Environmental Sustainability
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK05-2024
M.A. - Geography and Environmental Sustainability
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK05-2015
B.S. - Meteorology and Minor in Mathematics
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK05-2012
B.S. (partial, transferred to University of Oklahoma) - Environmental Science and Minor in Meteorology
Michigan State University
East Lansing05-2009
Skills
- Microsoft Office
- Adobe suite
- Publishing digital multi-media content
- Project management
- Research methodologies
- Stakeholder engagement
- Effective communication
- Team collaboration
- Community building
- Project coordination
- Data analysis and management
- Proactive mindset
- Reliability
- Adaptability and flexibility
- Organizational skills
- Teamwork
- Written communication
- Effective leader
- Team building
- Attention to detail
- Critical thinking
Professional And Academic Affiliations
- International Association of Wildland Fire, 01/01/24, Present
- Earth Science Women’s Network, 01/01/13, Present
- American Association of State Climatologists, 01/01/12, Present
- American Meteorological Society, 01/01/08, Present
- Association of Geography Graduate Students, 01/01/12, 12/31/15
- Association of American Geographers, 01/01/13, 12/31/15
- American Geophysical Union, 01/01/13, 12/31/13
- OU School of Meteorology Mentor-Mentee Program, 01/01/09, 12/31/12
- OU Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society, 01/01/09, 12/31/11
- Oklahoma Weather Lab, 01/01/09, 12/31/10
Awards
- Oklahoma Online Excellence Awards - Oklahoma Mesonet Outreach, 01/01/23
- Robberson Research Grant, 01/01/22
- NASA NISAR Team Award, 01/01/22
Leadership And Volunteer Service
- Vice Chair, Middle Earth Child Development Center Board of Directors, 11/01/21, 12/31/23
- American Association of State Climatologists, 01/01/15, Present, Member, AASC Membership Committee, Member, Annual Meeting Planning Committee
- Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Mesonet, 01/01/12, Present, Supervisor, Climate and Data Services, Member, Mesonet 25th Anniversary Advisory Committee, Member, Seminar Committee, Member, Marketing Committee, Member, Employee Relations Committee, Instructor, Climate Change and Variability Workshop, Instructor, Climate and weather hazards: Preparing for the present and future, Miami, Instructor, Tree-Ring Analysis, Project Learning Tree Teacher Climate Summit, Instructor, OKAGE Teacher Workshop, Oklahoma Alliance for Geographic Education, Host, Junior Achievement of Oklahoma Job Shadow Program
- University of Oklahoma, 01/01/12, 12/31/17, Volunteer and Co-Coordinator, DGES Geography Day, Judge and Scorekeeper, Oklahoma Geographic Bee, National Geographic: Oklahoma State Bee, President, Association of Geography Graduate Students, Vice President, Association of Geography Graduate Students, Member, Seminar Committee, Member, Association of Geography Graduate Students
Computer And Technology Skills
Proficient in the Microsoft Office suite with additional experience in Adobe suite, GIS, Linux, Camtasia video editing software, and publishing digital multi-media content.
Certification
- New Emergency Manager Orientation
Timeline
OK-FIRE Program Coordinator
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
06.2024 - Current
Research Scientist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
06.2024 - Current
CEO and Co-Founder
DEWCOM Solutions, LLC
01.2019 - Current
Research Scientist (Sabbatical)
Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP)
10.2017 - 09.2018
Manager of Governmental Affairs (Sabbatical)
South Central Climate Adaptation Science Center (SC CASC)
04.2017 - 09.2017
Assistant State Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
01.2015 - Current
Service Climatologist
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
01.2012 - 01.2015
Climate and Data Services Student Assistant
Oklahoma Climatological Survey/Oklahoma Mesonet
01.2009 - 01.2012
Research Assistant
University of Michigan Department of Pathology
01.2006 - 01.2009
Ph.D. - Geography and Environmental Sustainability
University of Oklahoma
M.A. - Geography and Environmental Sustainability
University of Oklahoma
B.S. - Meteorology and Minor in Mathematics
University of Oklahoma
B.S. (partial, transferred to University of Oklahoma) - Environmental Science and Minor in Meteorology
Michigan State University
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