Chelsea Cervantes De Blois

U.S. Department of State, Office of the Geographer and Global Issues
Ph.D., Climate Security Analyst


Dr. Chelsea L. Cervantes de Blois is the lead Climate Security Analyst for the Office of the Geographer and Global Issues at the Department of State and works closely with the Presidential Special Envoy for Climate, John Kerry. As a Human Geospatial Geographer, Dr. Cervantes de Blois is an expert in monitoring climate change impacts using spatial modeling from both qualitative and quantitative datasets. Prior to her present position, Dr. Cervantes De Blois worked on extensive collaborations, consultancies, and research with diverse organizations such as the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, the World Bank Group, the German Federal Ministry, the United Nations, and commercial agricultural firms in Serbia, Kyrgyzstan, and the United States.

Dr. Cervantes de Blois received her PhD from the University of Minnesota, specializing in Geosciences (Remote Sensing, Cartography and Geographic Information Systems) and Population Studies. She is also an alumna of the Population Trainee Program at the Minnesota Population Center. Dr. Cervantes de Blois earned a Masters from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Languages and Cultures of Asia, specializing in regional languages of Eurasia and the Caucasus. She earned her undergraduate Bachelor of Science from UW-Madison’s Soil Sciences and Agriculture and Applied Economics.

Dr. Cervantes de Blois’ passion for climate change sprouted when she worked on climate-diplomacy initiatives as an intern with the Department of State’s Todd Stern’s Special Envoy for Climate Change team.


Last updated on: March 14, 2023