Bio
Marybeth Melcher is an environmental scientist with 3 years of experience in geographic information systems (GIS), climate change research, sustainability, and environmental remediation consulting.
Relevant Experience
GIS & Geoscience
Flood Visualization, United States — Served as GIS advisor on the implementation of FloodVision® technology, an advanced data collection technology with artificial intelligence processing, which creates flood visualizations and elevation data of varying flood scenarios based on atmospheric conditions. Utilized GIS technologies to create coastal flood risk layers, produce story maps for three regions for state government and emergency management teams which highlight flood risk in their regions, and leveraged publicly available environmental and social vulnerability GIS data to accentuate maps.
Contaminated Site Mapping and Analysis, Pacific Northwest — Supported remediation and cost allocation through georeferencing, digitizing, cartography, locating external geospatial data to support internal analysis, and application of data analysis skills within ArcGIS products.
Geospatial Analysis for Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Mid-Atlantic United States — Conducted geospatial analyses to assist in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human use of resources.
Geospatial Analysis for Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Midwest United States — Conducted geospatial analyses to assist in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human use of resources.
Geospatial Analysis for Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Northeast United States — Conducted geospatial analyses to assist in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human use of resources.
Geospatial Coastal Risk Analysis, Michigan — Conducted research for a university department of economics, performing geospatial coastal risk analysis for residential and commercial property, identified changing local land cover and environmental conditions, and navigated numerous GIS databases to access necessary data.
Public Health Mapping and Analysis, Michigan — Performed analysis of relationships between housing and maternal and infant health, utilizing public health mapping, spatial and temporal analysis, population dynamics modeling, and disparities mapping and analysis.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment
Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Mid-Atlantic United States — Conducted geospatial analyses and literature review to assist in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human use of resources.
Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Midwest United States — Conducted geospatial analyses and historical document review to assist in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human use of resources.
Natural Resource Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Northeast United States — Conducted geospatial analyses and historical document review to assist in the defense of several statewide claims for damages to natural resources from historical releases of compounds with potential injury to ecological services and human use of resources.
Natural Resource and Cultural Resources Damage Litigation Support Services, Confidential Sites, Southwest United States — Assessed potential cultural and natural resource damage from historical mining activities by reviewing historical cultural resource natural resource damage cases and analyzing documentation on tribal uses of regional natural resources.
Litigation Support
Litigation Support, Synthetic Organic Chemicals in Stormwater System, Midwest United States — Supported expert report evaluating impact of synthetic organic chemicals to stormwater system through geospatial analyses, assessment of state and site-specific stormwater permits and planning documents, assessment of historical regional industrial history, and review of document repository with more than 750,000 documents for relevant information.
Litigation Support, Chemical Impacts on Fisheries, California, Oregon, and Washington — Conducted geospatial analyses and literature review in support of expert report evaluating emerging stormwater contamination and potential ecological impacts.
Cost Allocation
Nexus Evaluation for CERCLA Site, Illinois — Assisted a client in responding to EPA’s 104(e) request for information regarding an alleged nexus to a former zinc smelter. Conducted geospatial analyses, reviewed documents from the U.S. National Archives, and reviewed current and historical site operations.
Cost Allocation for Contaminated Sediments, Pacific Northwest — Served as neutral allocation consultant to 100+ parties engaged in a dispute resolution process concerning liability and allocation issues for study and remedy costs incurred along a 10-mile stretch of a large river in the Pacific Northwest. Allocation process required comprehensive review of discharges from hundreds of waterfront and upland properties, spanning more than a century of industrial and urban development.
Sustainability
ESG Consulting, Pennsylvania — Member of the Global Biodiversity Working Group, tracking the evolving environment, social, and governance (ESG) and sustainability reporting frameworks in the U.S. and abroad.
Climate Change
Risk Exposure to Weather Impacts, United States — Performed statistical analysis and data manipulation using R software to interpret the relationship between tropical cyclone translation speed, climatic conditions, and resulting weather impacts. Analyzed statistical findings in social context and discussed trends in terms of community vulnerability and risk exposure.
Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Santa Cruz, California — Conducted geospatial analyses of coastal hazards along a 3-mile stretch of coast to support creation of a site-specific erosion hazard layer and to determine risk of private and city infrastructure.
Education & Credentials
Master of Environmental Studies—concentration in Resiliency and Adaptation, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2024
B.S., Environmental and Sustainability Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2022
B.S., Geography—concentration in Climate Science, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 2022
Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM)
Professional Affiliations
Member of The Association of Floodplain Managers
Insights & News
Resources
CalEPA Updates Environmental Justice Screening Tool
Posters
Evaluating the Vulnerability of Sea Turtle Nesting Beaches to Sea Level Rise, Coastal Erosion, and Shoreline Armoring on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i