climate change adaptation specialist. science-informed storyteller. educator.

Alex Basaraba (he/him) is a climate change adaptation and resilience specialist, science-informed storyteller, and educator. From documenting illegal gold mining and deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon, to the lasting impacts of colonization and oil development in the US, he has honed a unique skill-set and approach to science-informed storytelling, supporting communities adapt and build resilience to climate change, and empowering youth to address the climate crisis. His passion for connecting with people, places, and stories have taken him to over 25 countries documenting the interstice between the environment and human’s lives and supporting solutions that work for people and the environment. His work weaves compassion, creativity, resilience, integrity, and resistance.

Based in Stanford, California (the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe), Basaraba works on a variety of projects domestically and internationally. Building on a rigorous academic foundation in the social and natural sciences, Basaraba has more than 10 years of domestic and international experience specifically focused on climate adaptation, environmental conservation, and knowledge co-production using social science research methods, climate and social vulnerability assessments, and visual storytelling tools. His experience includes supporting communities domestically and internationally, as well as organizations and governments at all levels (federal, state, Tribal, city, and county) including the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Shoshone-Paiute Tribes, the State of Colorado, the District of Columbia, among others. Basaraba is currently a PhD student at Stanford University in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at the Doerr School of Sustainability. His current research focuses on how collaborative knowledge production and futurities can lead to more robust and just climate adaptation and resilience outcomes using community-based participatory social science research methods. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources (2016) and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biology (2010). In addition to working as an instructor for the Harvard C-CHANGE Youth Summit on Climate, Equity, and Health and an educator and expedition leader for National Geographic Student Expeditions, Alex has supported and collaborated with a variety of clients including the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the State of Colorado, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM), the State of New York, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the State of Colorado Resiliency Office, the Town of Windsor, the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation, and more.