Biography
Elisa Raffa is a broadcast meteorologist and climate specialist, most recently at CNN on both domestic and international platforms. She graduated Cornell University in 2015 with a B.S. in Atmospheric Science, and holds the American Meteorological Society Certified Broadcast Meteorologist distinction. Native New Yorker, she’s covered sunny, snowy, and stormy skies across the country, from Iowa to Missouri, and North Carolina. With a passion for communicating climate change, she’s earned national and international recognition for using everything from beer, chocolate, snow shovels, vultures, and even religion to help viewers relate to the climate crisis. When she’s not on-air, you’ll find her writing lessons and testing hands-on activities in weather and climate science for children at local science museums.
I always say I wouldn’t be where I am today without the foundation Cornell laid down for me. I still keep in touch with the professors in the Atmospheric Science program, updating them on my career successes to thank them every step of the way. I am thrilled to join the Council to mentor and advise a new generation of scientists and communicators in perhaps our most crucial challenge, our rapidly warming and changing climate.