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Ayana Elizabeth Johnson            

Marine Biologist, Conservation Strategist, Founder & CEO of Ocean Collectiv

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and Brooklyn native. She is co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab, a think tank for the future of coastal cities. She co-edited the bestselling climate anthology "All We Can Save," co-founded The All We Can Save Project, and co-created the Spotify/Gimlet climate solutions podcast "How to Save a Planet."

Recently, Johnson co-authored the "Blue New Deal," a roadmap for including the ocean in climate policy. Previously, as executive director of the Waitt Institute, she co-founded the Blue Halo Initiative and led the Caribbean’s first successful island-wide ocean zoning effort. She also developed U.S. federal ocean policy at the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Johnson earned a BA from Harvard University in environmental science and public policy, and a Ph.D. from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in marine biology, with a dissertation on the ecology, socio-economics, and policy of sustainably managing coral reefs. The fish trap she invented to reduce bycatch won the first Rare/National Geographic Solution Search.

She publishes widely, including in The New York Times, Washington Post, and Scientific American. Johnson serves on the board of directors for GreenWave, Patagonia, and World Surf League's PURE, on the advisory boards of Environmental Voter Project, Azul, and Scientific American, and as a fellow at The Explorers Club. Recent recognitions include the Schneider Award for climate communication and Time’s 100 Next List. Outside magazine called her “the climate leader we need.”

Johnson’s forthcoming book has the working title "What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futurism." She is the proud daughter of a teacher/farmer and an architect/potter.

News


They edited a book about the climate crisis. Here's what they learned.
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, left, and Katharine Wilkinson, editors of the anthology “ All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis.
We Can't Solve the Climate Crisis Unless Black Lives Matter | Time
By Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. July 9, 2020 6:28 AM EDT. Johnson is a marine biologist, founder of Urban Ocean Lab and co-editor of All We Can Save: Truth, ...
The Inseparable Link Between Climate Change And Racial Justice ...
Marine biologist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson wrote a Washington Post op-ed about the ways the fight around climate change and racial justice go hand in hand.
Racism derails our attempts to fight the climate crisis - The ...
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy advisor, and Brooklyn native. She is founder and CEO of the consultancy Ocean Collectiv, founder of the ...

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