23 Facts About Victoria Herrmann

Victoria Herrmann is an American polar geographer and climate change communicator.

Victoria Herrmann is the managing director of The Arctic Institute, a National Geographic Explorer, and Assistant Research Professor at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service, where her research focuses on Arctic cooperation and politics and climate change adaptation in the US and US Territories.

Victoria Herrmann was raised Jewish and has cited her grandparents' experience as Holocaust survivors as the inspiration of her research and advocacy on the impacts of climate change on disenfranchised communities.

Victoria Herrmann joined The Arctic Institute in 2015, and in 2016 became the organization's President and managing director.

Victoria Herrmann directs strategic planning to achieve its mission to inform policy for a just, sustainable, and secure Arctic.

Victoria Herrmann oversees the implementation of global research partnerships and manages a team across North America and Europe.

Victoria Herrmann is a recognized expert in Arctic policy, and has testified before the US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee and has briefed the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee and the US Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on Arctic security and climate change.

Victoria Herrmann has sat on the Board of Directors of the Arctic Research Consortium of the US since 2019 and currently serves as a co-chair of the Arctic Youth Network Board of Directors.

Victoria Herrmann's research focuses on climate-induced migration, displacement, and relocation in the Arctic, South Pacific, and United States.

Victoria Herrmann traveled across the country interviewing 350 local leaders to identify what's needed most to safeguard coastal communities against the unavoidable impacts of climate change.

Victoria Herrmann was the inaugural Principal Investigator of the Research Coordination Network Arctic Migration in Harmony: An Interdisciplinary Network on Littoral Species, Settlements, and Cultures on the Move funded by a National Science Foundation.

Victoria Herrmann developed the 700+ member international network to facilitate open communication, foster cross-disciplinary exchange, and build new collaboration teams of scientists, stakeholders, and practitioners to investigate the ways in which the drivers and consequences of Arctic coastal migrations intersect and interact with one another and identify the implications for society.

Victoria Herrmann has published more than 20 peer review journal articles and academic book chapters.

Victoria Herrmann's research focuses on how images used in mass media construct values, identities, and ideas of power about climate change displacement, vulnerable communities, and Arctic policy.

Victoria Herrmann has argued that climate change scholarship can and should inform concrete action, and how action can enrich scholarship.

Victoria Herrmann has given over 50 public talks, including keynote addresses at the National Trust for Historic Preservation's PastForward, the Smithsonian Institution's Stemming the Tide: Global Strategies for Sustaining Culture Through Climate Change, and the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Foundation World Leadership Congress.

Victoria Herrmann has presented for traveling National Geographic events like National Geographic On Campus.

Victoria Herrmann is passionate about youth empowerment, and has worked closely with National Geographic Education to increase climate awareness and opportunities for local action.

Victoria Herrmann helped produce and was featured in the online course Teaching Global Climate Change in Your Classroom, presented climate stories across America for the Explorer Classroom program, and facilitated and mentor young storytellers at National Geographic Photo Camp for youth in Louisiana.

In 2021, Victoria Herrmann was a featured Explorer in ABC Owned Television Stations Our America: Climate of Hope in partnership with National Geographic Partners.

Victoria Herrmann frequently writes opinion pieces on climate change and Arctic policy for The Guardian, Scientific American, and CNN.

Victoria Herrmann appears often as an expert in the news, including NPR's Science Friday, On Point, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition; ABC News; and the BBC, among others.

Victoria Herrmann has been featured as a role model for girls in STEM by the National Children's Museum the Ad Council's She Can STEM campaign.