DaNa Carlis
DaNa L. Carlis is an American meteorologist and the director of the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) in Norman, Oklahoma. He is the first African American to lead a NOAA research lab.
Carlis was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grew up there. He went to Carver Middle School and Booker T. Washington High School, which later inducted him into its Distinguished Hall of Fame in 2018.
He went toHoward University, earning a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, and then a Master of Science and a PhD in atmospheric sciences. He studied with Vernon R. Morris, a founder of Howard’s Atmospheric Science Program, and he was the second African American male to earn a PhD in that program.
While in graduate school, Carlis began working with NOAA, researching how air moves over the island of Maui and helping develop semi-operational weather models for the Hawaiian Islands. He co-authored a paper in Monthly Weather Review with Yi-Leng Chen; Morris was a co-author.
After earning his PhD, Carlis worked at the National Weather Service in Honolulu, then at the Pacific Region Headquarters. He later held roles at the NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Environmental Modeling Center from 2007 to 2014. He served as a policy advisor to the NOAA chief scientist and to the assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction from 2014 to 2016.
In 2016, Carlis joined the NOAA Weather Program Office, where he helped create the Earth Prediction Innovation Center (EPIC) and the Next-Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS) programs. In September 2020, he became deputy director of NOAA’s Global Systems Laboratory. In 2023, he was named the sixth director of NSSL, leading efforts to improve severe weather forecasting and warnings.
Carlis is active in professional groups. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and was elected to the AMS Council for 2023–2026. He has also chaired the AMS Forecast Improvement Group. In 2014, he co-founded NOAA’s Diversity and Professional Advancement Working Group (DPAWG); it was recognized as a top employee resource group by the Global ERG Network in 2021. He serves on the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) External Advisory Committee.
He is married to Dr. Lydia Carlis, a leader in early childhood education. They co-authored the book M. I. T.: Meteorologist in Training (2014). They have a daughter, Dia Carlis, who graduated from Georgia State University and works as a law clerk in New York City.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 15:25 (CET).