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 the illegal wildlife trade to the impacts of a changing climate, 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.

Building on a rigorous academic foundation in the social and natural sciences, he has more than 10 years of domestic and international experience as an interdisciplinary practitioner, researcher, educator, and science-informed visual storyteller working to bridge the gap between research and practice to create more just outcomes to the climate crisis. Based in Stanford, California (the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe), he is currently a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program on Environment and Resources (E-IPER) in the Doerr School of Sustainability at Stanford University. His research is focused on how transformative adaptation can lead to more just climate adaptation and resilience outcomes using community-based participatory social science research methods. 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, his experience includes supporting communities, organizations, and governments at all levels (federal, state, Tribal, city, and county) to prepare for and respond to the impacts of a changing climate, including: the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe, the District of Columbia, the United Kingdom Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the National Academy of Sciences (NASEM), the State of New York, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the State of Colorado, the Town of Windsor, the Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation, and more. Beyond publishing dozens of white papers, policy reports, government plans, academic journal articles, and popular media articles, Basaraba is currently a contributing author on the 6th National Climate Assessment (Science of Response Management Chapter). He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in the Human Dimensions of Natural Resources (2016) and a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Biology (2010), both from Colorado State University.