David Cleaves

Biography

David A. Cleaves is the Climate Change Executive and Advisor to the Chief of the USDA Forest Service. He is the primary spokesperson for the Agency on the role of forests in climate change and leads the implementation of the Forest Service’s nationwide strategy for weaving climate change response into policies, processes, and partnerships.  Dave was formerly the Deputy Administrator for the Agency’s $300 million Science and Technology Program consisting of 75 labs and 3000 employees at five regional research stations, the national Forest Products Lab, the Institute of Tropical Forestry, and 83 Experimental Forests. Dave has a B.S. and M.S. from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. in economics from Texas A&M University.