Author: Christina Mills

Deputy Director

Christina Mills (she/they) is the Deputy Director of the Geos Institute. She currently leads the organizations data systems and communications efforts. Christina worked directly with several communities through the Geos Institute’s Climate Ready Community program and the now-closed ClimateWise consulting services, helping with community engagement efforts, project coordination, and technology needs. 

Christina supported the development of a national resilience actions database and led the data collection effort of the database now hosted on NOAA’s Climate Resilience Toolkit. She also served on the National Advisory Council for the Tribal Resilience Actions Database. 

Prior to joining Geos Institute, Christina was a Project Scientist at the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research providing technical analysis to support advocacy of carbon-free and nuclear-free energy systems. Publications include “Renewable Minnesota”, “Energy Efficient and Pollution-Free Space Heating and Cooling in Maryland”, and “Energy Justice in Maryland’s Residential and Renewable Energy Sectors”. They also worked as a Policy Analyst for Windustry, an organization that promotes community-based wind energy across the country. 

Christina holds a J.D. from Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, MN and a B.A. in Biology from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. She has a certificate in UX Design from Google.

Email: christina@geosinstitute.org
Phone: 541.819.0756

Finance Director

Patricia handles all aspects of Accounting and Finance for Geos Institute. She has over 40 years of experience in bookkeeping, accounting and finance. Her work experience includes many years in the corporate finance industry and over ten years in the non-profit sector.

She has a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Washington and is a Certified Management Accountant.

Email: patricia@geosinstitute.org
Phone: 541.482.4459 x306

Executive Director

Tonya Graham is the Executive Director of the Geos Institute. Over the past 17 years, she has taken a lead role in leading community-based climate resilience programs at the Institute, including leading the Institute’s team in developing the Whole Community Resilience planning framework. This framework takes a holistic approach to help communities understand and address climate change impacts, and develops solutions that are both ecologically sound and socially equitable. She and the Institute’s ClimateWise team have helped community leaders across the country understand likely future conditions, determine vulnerabilities, and develop strategies to address them that care for both people and nature.

Through these on-the-ground projects, Tonya has helped communities adapt to changing climate conditions in Oregon, California, Montana, Alaska, Texas, Kentucky, Colorado, Hawaii, and Ontario, Canada. In 2012, she co-organized with the Kresge Foundation the first national gathering of adaptation practitioners: The Practitioners Workshop on Climate Change Adaptation: Integrated Strategies for Human and Natural Communities. She has developed climate adaptation curricula for the Association of Climate Change Officers.

In 2019, she and the Geos Institute team launched Climate Ready Communities, an “assisted do-it-yourself” climate resilience planning program that provides affordable assistance to small, mid-sized, and/or under-resourced communities nationwide. She is a co-author of A Practical Guide to Building Climate Resilience, the free, step-by-step planning guide which serves as the foundation for the Climate Ready Communities program.

Tonya now leads the Geos Institute’s primary initiative – Climate Ready America. In that capacity, she convenes the National Strategy Team of partner organizations, supports in-state partners working to develop their Climate Innovation Centers, develops partnerships, and secures funding to expand the program.

Tonya is a member of FEMA’s National Advisory Council and recently served as the Vice-President of the Council’s Climate Subcommittee. She also served on the Project Advisory Committee for Community-Based Adaptation in the United States: Understanding How and Why Communities are Taking Action. Tonya is a member of the American Society of Adaptation Professionals where she has led working groups to develop climate adaptation guidance for congressional committees and incoming administrations.

Tonya served four years as a city councilor in Ashland, Oregon, where she is currently the mayor. She formerly served as the Treasurer for the Nonprofit Association of Oregon. Tonya holds a B.S. in Biophysical Environmental Studies from Northland College and a M.A. in Community Development from Goddard College.

Email: tonya@geosinstitute.org
Call: 541.482.4459 x301 (office)
Text: 541.778.0718 (mobile)

Organization and Strategy Analyst

Kim Adams is a cutting-edge professional in the field of Living Systems workplace design. Living Systems design supports optimal employee engagement, resulting in high performance and excellent outcomes. She is a registered nurse, as well as an organizational development professional and has worked for over 12 years as a change agent in organizational and operational effectiveness. Her work brings together the insights of human systems analysis & design, Lean process efficiency, change management and importantly, human thriving. Kim’s diverse background includes work in information technology, healthcare systems, coaching, and consulting for a variety of industries and non-profits.

When not at work, you will find Kim surrounded by family, outdoors identifying birds or with her nose in a book about science, health or philosophy.

Email: kim@geosinstitute.org