Humans of CIRES: Brigitta Rongstad Strong
Scientific communications specialist wanted to be a marine biologist when she was younger
Spotlight
Brigitta Rongstad Strong is a scientific communications specialist on the CIRES communications team. Her work requires a wide range of skills: she writes stories, manages social media, troubleshoots the website, pens internal communications emails, and tracks data analytics! Before trying her hand at communications, Brigitta earned a PhD in Geological Sciences at CU Boulder, where she used the chemistry of tiny shells to calculate past ocean temperatures. She loves non-traditional weddings — she and her husband both mentioned Taco Bell in their vows, and she wore a black dress.
Hiking to get a better view of Mount Fitz Roy outside El Chaltén in Argentine Patagonia (2018).
Humans of CIRES Q&A
What do you work on at CIRES?
I wear a lot of hats on the CIRES communications team. I write news stories, manage social media, produce web content, support internal communications efforts and award nominations, and lead comms-related data analytics and metrics tracking.
What is your educational background?
I earned a PhD in geological sciences from CU Boulder, where I studied paleoclimate and paleoceanography — specifically, I was interested in the ancient El Niño-Southern Oscillation. During graduate school, I also did a lot of outreach and communications work, which eventually led me to my position at CIRES.
When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
I wanted to be a marine biologist. And I wasn’t actually that far off (at least through graduate school). During my PhD, I analyzed the chemical composition of shells from tiny, single-celled marine organisms, called planktic foraminifera, to calculate past ocean temperatures.
If you could be any animal (extinct or alive), what would you be and why?
I’m fascinated by all the megafauna that lived during the Pliocene and Pleistocene, but I really love giant ground sloths. They were keystone species that helped disperse seeds, and some could rip down parts of trees and dig huge burrows and tunnels. It would have been pretty cool to be one of them!
Share something about you that’s weird or quirky.
I’m a huge fan of non-traditional weddings. I got married in a black wedding dress with a black-stone engagement ring and wedding band — and my husband and I both mentioned Taco Bell in our vows.
