James L. Buizer is a Designated Campus Colleague and Retired Professor of Climate Adaptation in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona (UA), where he was Professor from 2011-2024.   He also serves as Senior Strategy Advisor to the UA College of Medicine Aegis Consortium for a Pandemic Free Future, and on the Biosphere 2 Board of Directors

He serves as Chairman of the Blue Ribbon Advisory Council at the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia, Bangkok, Thailand, on the External Advisory Council of the Lovejoy Center for Bridging Biodiversity, Conservation Science, and Policy, on the Board of Directors, Higher Education Growth Foundation, on the Council of Advisors to Planet Forward, and as a Senior Global Futures Scientist at Arizona State University.  

From 2019-2021 he served  Senior Strategy Advisor to the Office of Research, Innovation and Impact and Founding Director of the Arizona Institute for Resilience.  Prior, he served as Director of the Climate Adaptation and International Development in the UA Institute of the Environment. 

He also served on the UA Presidential Implementation Commission for the Future of Agriculture and Food Production in a Drying Climate, , on the Humanitarian Assistance Technical Support International Advisory Board, on the Steering Committee of the France-Arizona Institute for Global Grand Challenges, on the Strategic Design Core Team for the Future of the Maricopa Agricultural Center, and as Chairman of the Boards of Directors of Second Nature, Inc., and the Global Council for Science and the Environment.  

From 2003-2011, Jim was Senior Advisor for Institutional Transformation to President Michael Crow at Arizona State University where he led the establishment of the Global Institute of Sustainability and its degree-granting School of Sustainability. Prior, Jim was Director of the Climate and Societal Interactions Division at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. His degrees are in Oceanography and Marine Economics & Policy from the University of Washington.  He is a native Spanish speaker.