Hanne Mauriello: 35-years of service to UCAR
As the crow flies, Copenhagen, Denmark is about 4,900 miles (7,887 kilometers) from Boulder, Colorado. The distance didn’t phase Hanne Mauriello.
Upon graduating from the University of Copenhagen in 1989, Mauriello boarded a plane and flew across the Atlantic Ocean to start a job at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado as an administrator for the COMET Program, also established in 1989. Mauriello joined the nascent program as it was aiming to become a world leader in innovative weather, water, and climate education and training solutions for the forecasting community.
Little did Mauriello know that she would leave her fingerprints across UCAR | NCAR as she advanced through the organization over the next 35 years, relying on her business acumen, technical skills, penchant for excellence, and facility in team building to develop UCAR programs into highly regarded resources for the scientific community.
Mauriello left COMET in 2001 and in the decade-plus that followed, she became an administrator for the NCAR High Altitude Observatory (HAO) followed by a stint as director of UCAR Community Programs (UCP), Budgets, and Administration. Having left her mark at COMET, she was invited back to serve as interim director for the program as well as the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) program while UCAR leadership searched for a permanent director. GLOBE was yet another innovative, international science and education program launched in the 1990s at UCAR that was funded by NASA through a cooperative agreement.
With a wealth of experience and institutional knowledge, Mauriello next joined the UCAR President’s Office in 2013 as chief of staff. Soon thereafter, she served as deputy director of the UCAR Visiting Scientist Programs (VSP) while simultaneously serving as deputy director of GLOBE.
Around this time, UCAR leadership was exploring ways to support large scientific partnerships with federal funders and initiatives in the Earth system science (ESS) community. The Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science (CPAESS), situated within UCP, emerged as the mechanism to support these partnerships. Mauriello was tapped as the first director of CPAESS in 2016 and continues in that role today.
“Hanne is a relationship builder,” said UCP Director Bill Kuo. “She is well-liked by everyone who works with her. Hanne has earned the trust and confidence of our sponsor, which is a key factor in the success of CPAESS. I have genuinely appreciated Hanne’s friendship and partnership during my role as UCP Director, and I congratulate her on 35 years of dedicated service to this wonderful organization.”
Mauriello’s name has become synonymous with fostering the agility and responsiveness of CPAESS to meet, sustain, and exceed sponsor expectations for scientific and technical staffing needs, scientific program management, and community building through effective events management and communications.
She completed the UCAR Executive Leadership Program in 2009 and the UCAR Leadership Academy Program in 2005. Mauriello has served on many committees within UCAR including: President’s Council, UCP Directors’ Committee, UCAR Management Committee, Business Management Working Group, and Financial Management Tools Lead Team Committee.
Cindy Bruyère, SPS | CPAESS Deputy Director shared this about Hanne. “Hanne is an innovative and visionary thinker, key elements that shaped SPS CPAESS into the collaborative and thriving Center it is today. On a personal level, Hanne is a fantastic manager; I learn something new from her daily.”
Reflecting on the expanse of her career, Mauriello said, “It has been an honor to work on fostering and developing UCAR programs into a resource for the Earth system scientific research community within the UCAR | NCAR organization.”
Mauriello was honored for her 35 years of service to UCAR at an award ceremony in November 2024 along with other staff who achieved milestones in their careers.
