UNLV climate expert and research professor Kristen Averyt (Office of the Vice President for Research) has been named the director for drought and Western resilience for the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Averyt has a long record working on different facets of the climate issue, including U.S. western water resources, the energy-water nexus, and climate resilience and adaptation. She most recently served as the senior climate advisor in the office of former Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, where she led climate planning and policy development for the state.