Duke’s new Climate Leaders in Residence program, managed by the Nicholas Institute, brings top thought leaders on climate change to campus to enrich student learning and help advance bold, pragmatic climate research and initiatives. Insurance executive Francis Bouchard became the inaugural resident in early 2024. His work focuses on the insurance sector’s role in advancing climate solutions. Bouchard has engaged in deep commitments to RESILE, a new university-wide initiative to advance research related to climate risk based in Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering, and CIRCAD, an NSF-seeded partnership between Duke and the University of Georgia that uses data science, risk assessment, and economic and policy analysis to develop innovative solutions to society’s climate challenges.
Bouchard has also been involved in existing Nicholas Institute program areas. Alongside Duke scholars and nonprofit and faith-based institutions, the “Cooling Communities” project will assess the feasibility of a parametric insurance model triggered by high temperatures and explore community-based strategies to mitigate heat exposure. Bouchard has also helped lead a Climate+ team of students to understand and model risks in flood-prone areas of North Carolina.