Thomas Okey, Ph.D.

Climate change is affecting the global ocean ecosystem in profound ways, and these changes are manifesting unevenly across ecological and human systems. Tom Okey’s Pew fellowship project focused on climate impacts on northeast Pacific marine and coastal ecosystems, with a goal to produce globally applicable approaches. Okey advanced and applied multiple climate impact screening assessments, which he previously co-developed with researchers at Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, or CSIRO.

Okey’s project advanced the marine climate impacts work in Canada’s Pacific region and included collaborations with regional science and synthesis organizations such as the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), and the OceanCanada Partnership. He also partnered with Indigenous First Nations and community-based organizations to develop approaches for marine resources assessment and planning that blended Western science with Indigenous knowledge and community-based monitoring.

His project activities included the advancement and application of the Local Environmental Observer (LEO) Network, in partnership with the First Nations Health Authority, and a community-based monitoring program to protect and conserve salmon ecosystems, in partnership with Broughton Area First Nations.

Okey also produced journal articles, reports, and book chapters to inform new directions in coastal marine research and management in provincial and federal ministries, universities, NGOs, and the private sector. His project outputs were designed to enhance readiness, understanding, and resilience to climate change impacts in the Pacific region and globally.