About
Dr. Allison Morrill Chatrchyan serves as Director of Stakeholder Engagement for the NIFA/NSF AI-LEAF Institute (AI for Land, Economy, Agriculture & Forestry) and holds appointments as a Research Associate in the School of Integrative Plant Sciences and as Adjunct Professor of Environmental and International Environmental Law at Cornell Law School. An environmental social scientist, she examines the intersections between social, legal, environmental, and agricultural systems. Dr. Chatrchyan directs interdisciplinary research and education teams that develop resources, tools, and training programs integrating climate science, impacts, adaptation, and mitigation with emerging applications of artificial intelligence across land, economic, environmental, agricultural, and food systems.
Her research program addresses climate change impacts and adaptation gaps; stakeholder perspectives on climate change and AI-related solutions; and polycentric climate governance (including the laws, policies, and non-state actions that operate across multiple levels, regions, and institutions to address climate change). In collaboration with the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell, she developed the Cornell Climate Smart Farming Program and has partnered with the USDA Northeast Climate Hub since 2017. In 2024, she was appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul to co-chair the Agriculture Chapter of the New York State Climate Impacts Assessment. She further spearheaded the development of the Cornell Climate Stewards Program, which trains cooperative extension educators and volunteer stewards throughout New York State. Within Cornell Law School, she teaches Environmental Law and Policy, International Environmental Law, and Global Climate Change Law. Since COP21 in Paris, Dr. Chatrchyan has led Cornell University's delegation to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties and has served on the official delegation of the Republic of Armenia since COP23.
Prior to joining Cornell, Dr. Chatrchyan held positions with Cornell University Cooperative Extension, the Bard Center for Environmental Policy, University of Maryland, United Nations Environment Programme in Paris, France, and the Environmental Policy Center in Washington, D.C. A native of Hamilton, New York, she earned her Ph.D. and M.A. in International Environmental and Comparative Politics from the University of Maryland, College Park, and her B.A. with Honors in Government and Environmental Studies from Colby College.
Media Highlights
Activities
Areas of Expertise
Climate change impacts and adaptation | Using AI for agriculture and forestry mitigation and adaptation | Stakeholder engagement and co-creation of decision support tools; International environmental law | Environmental law and policy | Climate-Smart Agriculture | Polycentric and Multi-level climate governance and state and local climate change action; climate change education and capacity building; Interdisciplinary social science methodologies.
Education
- Ph.D. University of Maryland, 2003
- M.S. University of Maryland, 1999
- B.A. Colby College, 1992
