Dr. Wasula’s Bio
Alicia is a Certified Consulting Meteorologist (CCM), and the President and owner of Shade Tree Meteorology, a company which specializes in forensic meteorology. Forensic meteorology is the reconstruction of past weather events, usually for the purposes of litigation support. The majority of cases involve personal injury or property damage claims and involve all types of weather hazards ranging from snow and ice to wind and hail damage from severe thunderstorms.
Alicia received her PhD from the University at Albany (SUNY), where her time as a teaching assistant developed her passion for helping her students understand difficult weather concepts and making abstract ideas relevant and real. This passion saturates every aspect of her business today. Since purchasing Shade Tree Meteorology in 2016, her focus is on helping clients and her community understand how to use the vast amount of weather information which is available to save time and money, prevent injuries, and even save lives. She also regularly speaks with landlord and property management groups, school children, and the public about how to prepare ahead for hazardous weather. Alicia served a four-year term, including one year as Chair, on the American Meteorological Society (AMS) Board of Certified Consulting Meteorologists, and is currently a member of the AMS Board of Best Practices, which is tasked with drafting statements to alert groups, including the general public, as to the AMS-endorsed best practices for communicating and using weather data and information.
WITH GROUPS CREATING PROGRAMS TO ENCOURAGE FEMALES TO CONSIDER STEM, WHAT IS THE BIGGEST BARRIER TO ENTRY THAT IS STILL PREVALENT TODAY?
I always knew I wanted to have a career in the sciences from when I was a child. However, I had no idea that meteorology was an option, much less that a field such as forensic meteorology even existed. I always thought careers in the sciences were limited to traditional career paths such as academia, research labs, and government jobs. There have been so many advances and great programs which encourage young girls to pursue STEM fields in general, but I think it would be so helpful for girls to be more exposed to the huge variety of careers, particularly non-traditional ones, that exist in STEM fields. There are so many career paths that offer more flexibility and opportunities than more traditional ones, but students often are unaware of these less-traveled career paths. It is one of the reasons I love going into schools to talk to students about what I do.
WHAT OR WHO INSPIRES YOU?
My kids. I have a daughter and a son, and I think it is so important for both of them to see me first and foremost as their mom, but second, as an entrepreneur in a STEM field and someone who has truly taken the road less-travelled in terms of a career path. I realize that I really am a role model for them as they see me work through challenges in my career. It is truly an overwhelming, but positive, feeling of responsibility when they tell their friends or teachers, “my mom is a meteorologist”, or “my mom has her own business”. I am so proud that it is just a normal part of their lives that their mother is a scientist and an entrepreneur, and that they go forward into their futures with that vision.
WHAT IS YOUR PROUDEST MOMENT/ACCOMPLISHMENT?
There have been a few along the way, but the most recent moment was a few years ago when I reached the one year milestone of owning my own business. Despite having had the benefit of a truly exceptional mentor in my former boss, who really took the time to show me everything he knew about running a meteorology consulting business, I still felt nervous as he retired and I assumed ownership of what was a successful company. After I passed that one-year milestone, I really began to see myself as capable and possessing the knowledge and acumen necessary to continue to grow this business. Achieving that mindset was a professional milestone for me, and I now look forward into the future with confidence.