Erika Spanger-Siegfried, climate analyst for Union of Concerned Scientists, provides an update on the growing threat of rising seas to coastal cities and smaller communities. She discusses the need to prepare for coastal communities to prepare for more frequent coastal flooding. Image credit: [Pexels](http://https://www.pexels.com/photo/big-waves-under-cloudy-sky-753619/)
**Erika Spanger-Siegfried**, the lead climate analyst in the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, researches, writes and speaks about U.S. climate change impacts and preparedness. She currently manages UCS’s climate impacts analyses, work that helps shed light through new research, analysis and outreach on ongoing climate change impacts, current efforts to cope with these impacts, and the urgency of strong leadership and action. Most recently, Ms. Spanger-Siegfried has overseen and co-authored UCS’s leading-edge work around coastal flooding and extreme heat, including "When Rising Seas Hit Home" and "Killer Heat in the United States" Ms. Spanger-Siegfried formerly managed several multi-year climate research and engagement projects. These included the Energy-Water Initiative, aimed at raising awareness of the connection between energy use and water consumption, particularly in the context of climate change; and the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment, a collaboration between UCS and a multi-disciplinary team of more than 50 scientists from across the region that explored future climate change in Northeast states and impacts on key sectors.