Mary Barber appointed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — Mary Barber, Ph.D., a senior research environmental scientist at RTI International, has been selected to serve on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Advisory Board. 

Barber was appointed by the secretary of defense to serve a three-year term. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Environmental Advisory Board counsels the organization’s chief of engineers by providing independent guidance and recommendations concerning relevant environmental issues. The board also fosters partnerships and establishes mutual understanding among the USACE, environmental community and general public.

The board is chartered by the Federal Advisory Committee Act and reports to the secretary of defense through the secretary of the Army, the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Board members include experts in natural, social and related sciences.

Barber has nearly 30 years of experience in environmental and research policy, working with research scientists, policy makers, and government, industry and public interest sectors in Washington, D.C. She has contributed to discussions at the federal level, including the Department of Defense, on issues related to global climate change and sustaining ecological systems.

Her current research involves ecosystem services and valuation, environmental markets, ecological indicators and thresholds, and ecological and marine water quality support to the Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency.

At RTI, Barber serves as an associate editor for RTI Press and provides technical oversight on environmental and ecological projects.

Barber holds a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Johns Hopkins University and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Vassar College. She is certified by the Ecological Society of America as a senior ecologist.