PNNL featured experts are available to provide scientific and technical expertise to the news media. To arrange an interview with a PNNL expert, contact the PNNL News & Media team. To search the entire database, visit Featured Experts.
Ann Miracle, PhD
Group Leader, Risk and Environmental Assessment
Ann Miracle, PhD
Group Leader, Risk and Environmental Assessment
Biography
When large, complex energy projects are built, there is potential for environmental resources to be affected that may be of interest to the local communities. As group leader for risk and environmental assessment, Ann Miracle manages and is part of multidisciplinary teams at PNNL that identify the risk to environmental resources, and engage with communities and stakeholders to understand concerns and questions to be considered as part of the analyses. Her work aims to describe the potential for adverse impacts on environmental resources, as well as to assure that stakeholders and communities have a voice in the development of projects.
Miracle's group has developed a web-based software solution for analyzing, sorting, tracking, summarizing, and responding to public comments on newly proposed infrastructure projects. The group has also developed the Framework for Assessment of Complex Environmental Tradeoffs, a science-based, data-driven framework to navigate and rigorously evaluate tradeoffs between complex environmental, economic, and social impacts. Miracle's data-driven work is complemented by conversations with groups that will be affected by large infrastructure projects.
Different communities and stakeholders have unique perspectives on their environments," Miracle said. “We reach out early, in a meaningful way to identify their values, and find appropriate ways for people to participate in the decision-making process.”
Miracle has over 15 years of experience in preparing National Environmental Policy Act evaluations for the Department of Energy, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the Department of Defense.