Pamela Berkowsky is a former Pentagon and state government official with expertise in disaster preparedness and response. She currently works as a consultant on issues related to defense innovation, resiliency, and the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on military installations. In March 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin established a Department of Defense Climate Working Group in response to an executive order from President Biden. The working group, comprised of senior civilian and military officials, is tasked with coordinating DOD responses to climate directives and tracking implementation progress.

1. Pamela Berkowsky

2. Pamela Berkowsky is a former Pentagon and state government official with
expertise in disaster preparedness and response. She served in senior
Pentagon positions during the Bush I and Clinton Administrations is
president of Blue Sapphire Strategies, a public affairs business
consultancy. As a Senior Executive Defense Consultant to the South
Florida Defense Alliance
(https://www.southfloridadefensealliance.org/about-us-1), Pamela
Berkowsky focuses on defense innovation and resiliency issues, including
the impacts of climate change and sea level rise on U.S. military
installations, personnel, readiness and operations. She is a CLEO-certified
Climate Communicator.

3. In March, 2021, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin established the
Department of Defense (DOD) Climate Working Group. This was a direct
response to President Biden’s issuance of Executive Order 14008, which
promulgated his Administration’s policy regarding the primacy of climate
considerations in the development and conduct of foreign and national
security policy. The new DOD Working Group, which has already met, is
comprised of senior civilian and military officials, including the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Secretaries of the Military Departments
and the Service Chiefs. According to the Defense Secretary’s
memorandum which established it, the mission of the Climate Working
Group is two-fold, to: “1) coordinate Department responses to EO 14008
and subsequent climate and energy-related directives, and 2) track
implementation of climate and energy-related actions and progress
against future goals.” He also directed the Working Group to consult on
these matters with Congress -- on a bipartisan basis – and to work with
other federal agencies and departments to coordinate efforts as
necessary.