Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Debra A Willard, Ph.D.

I am a palynologist (pollen and spores) with expertise in paleoecology, paleoclimatology, and biostratigraphy. My biostratigraphic expertise extends from the Carboniferous to the Holocene, with an emphasis on Euramerica (Paleozoic) and the Northern Hemisphere. My paleoclimate expertise includes the late Paleozoic and the Paleogene to Holocene intervals.

Editorial Boards

  • Global and Planetary Change
  • Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution – Paleoecology section Review Editor
  • Quaternary
  • Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology

Professional Experience

  • 2021-Present    Research Geologist, US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

  • 2011-2021         Coordinator, USGS Climate Research & Development Program

  • 1991-2011         Research Geologist, US Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia

  • 1990-1991         Postdoctoral Researcher, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

Education and Certifications

  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign  -  Ph.D., Botany 1990

  • University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign  -  M.S., Botany 1985

  • The Pennsylvania State University  -  B.S., Botany 1982

  • Stephens College -  A.A., Geology 1980

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • American Geophysical Union

  • Geological Society of America

  • The Palynological Society

Science and Products

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government