Pronouns: He/Him
Associate Director, Communications and Special Projects, Communications, Columbia Climate School
Instructor, M.A. in Climate and Society
BIOGRAPHY:
Francesco has more than 15 years of experience in strategic science communication, visual communication, and media relations. Since 2020, he has also been teaching courses at Columbia on science communication and strategic climate communication. He holds master’s degrees in both journalism and environmental science from Columbia University. Before joining the Climate School communications team, Francesco was the head of communications for the International Research Institute for Climate and Society, where he used his writing and photography to convey how some of the world’s most vulnerable people struggle with the realities of climate, and what scientists are doing about it.
He is especially interested in ways to bring science into the public sphere through collaborations with artists, photographers, and other cultural messengers. He is on the advisory board of Planet Forward. Before joining Columbia, Francesco worked as an information graphics editor and staff writer at The Wall Street Journal.
Advanced weather-forecasting tools and techniques, like those developed at Columbia Climate School’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI), can help key stakeholders in Africa prepare for the worst.
In order to offer protective insurance to greater numbers of smallholder farmers, in 2021, the ACToday project began testing mobile crowdsourcing apps that tap into the experiences and memories of farmers themselves.
As part of its goal to increase food security in six countries, the ACToday project has helped develop new climate services that lead to better agricultural decision making.
In early 2021, ACToday, Cheikh Anta Diop University and Senegal’s national meteorological service organized a three-hour webinar to launch discussions about connections between climate and nutrition.
CONTACT
ffiondella@climate.columbia.edu
6463212271
Visit Website
EXPERTISE
EDUCATION
M.A. Journalism (honors), Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University. M.S. Earth and Environmental Science, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Columbia University. B.S. Environmental Science, Brown University