About

EarthLab’s new Interim Executive Director, Phil Levin, reflects on the moments that led him to this role and the possibilities available to us in this moment of change.

Ben Packard, inaugural Harriet Bullitt Endowed Executive Director of EarthLab, reflects on his eight years of leadership at the University of Washington before passing the baton to new Interim Executive Director Phil Levin.

After eight years of leadership, Ben Packard will step down from his role as EarthLab's inaugural Harriet Bullitt Endowed Executive Director, effective August 1, 2025. Phil Levin, a professor of practice at the UW College of the Environment and the director of the United by Nature initiative, will serve as the interim executive director until a comprehensive national search is conducted for a permanent successor.

Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab awarded TealWaters one of 20 grants who will receive a combined $5 million in assistance over the next two years for "game-changing organizations and projects helping solve today's challenges and paving the way for a better future."

TealWaters, an EarthLab partner, is a multidisciplinary collaboration, co-led by UW scientists Monika Moskal and Meghan Halabisky, to transform Washington state's water management capacity by providing tools that inform and guide wetlands planning, protection, and restoration. TealWaters plans to support AI model testing beyond the scope of its existing tools to increase communities' resilience to climate change and environmental stressors.