Alanna Casey’s research focused on climate change impacts on coastal historic sites, examining how historic perspectives on change are either confronted or continued through the development of climate change policies for coastal historic sites. She is also interested in how climate change preservation priorities are established for historical sites and what barriers exist to undertaking adaptation action. Her dissertation work looked at three national parks: Colonial in Virginia, Gulf Islands in Florida, and San Francisco Maritime in California.

She previously earned a MA in History with a specialization in Underwater Archaeology. Before matriculating at the University of Rhode Island, she worked for a Berkeley, California-based science education non-profit and the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington D.C. Alanna earned a Bachelor of Arts cum laude from Smith College in both History and Coastal and Marine Sciences and pursued off-campus study through the Williams-Mystic Maritime Studies Program and at Bogazıҫı Universitesi in Istanbul, Turkey.

She now serves as a GIS/Research Analyst at California Coastal Commission