Like the best science communicators, Hayhoe does not hold anything back when it comes to the details of models and hypotheses. In a recent CNN interview, she was asked about the role of climate change in forming the hurricane trifecta that struck the US and Caribbean last year: Irma, Harvey, and Maria. Hayhoe explained that the back-to-back hurricanes were simply a statistical anomaly, but that their ferocity could be tied directly to rising sea levels and warmer global temperatures — a trend that is expected to continue.

Hayhoe is perhaps unique among other scientific advocates in that she engages with matters of religion and faith as often as she does science. She is an evangelical Christian, and her husband is a pastor and professor. The couple have written a book together, titled A Climate for Change, about how Christians can reconcile, understand, and ultimately align climate change action with their faith.

Hayhoe’s unique knowledge of both spiritual and scientific matters enables her to educate those who might see science as antagonistic to religion.

“I believe we are called, first of all, to love each other, and second of all, to act,” she said. Today, Hayhoe is found on the front lines fighting for climate change awareness and government legislation to combat it.

Read the rest of this story in my alma mater’s student newspaper, The Varsity, here.