Draft:Deb L. Morrison

Dr. Deb L. Morrison is a global expert in climate learning design.

Early Life
Deb was born in Gibsons, B.C., Canada. She has two children with her life partner, Graham Garlick who is currently an active member of the Professional Disc Golf Association. Dr. Morrison has a transdisciplinarity educational background in resource management, environmental science, and learning. She has a Bachelor of Science with a major in Geography from University of Victoria in Victoria, BC, Canada with an honors thesisthat examined her own community’s pulp and paper mill with respect to issues of coastal zone management. After a few years working in forest management and silvicultural consulting, Deb pursued a Master of Science majoring both in Plant Sciences and Environmental Sciences at the University of Western Ontario in London, ON, Canada. Continuing her academic pursuits, Deb defended her PhD thesis at the University of Colorado Boulder focusing on science education in particular on curriculum and instruction surrounding formative assessment and equity in the classroom.

Climate Learning and Empowerment
Deb moved from science work into education because she was deeply concerned about the future of the environmental literacy and the communication of climate change to the public. Education, communication, and outreach are key factors influencing the global efforts around climate change action. She accepted a position at the University of Washington as a Learning Scientist in 2016 and contributed to the building of the ClimeTime Network. The ClimeTime Network is the first statewide climate change education initiative in the U.S. which funds projects and events that connect public school teachers with environmental organizations in their communities, as well as teacher professional development. Deb is the founder of CLEAR Environmental, an organization that collaboratively engages with communities, nonprofit organizations and governments in organizational change that leads to the building of systemic, equitable, and intentional learning ecosystems to mobilize just climate action, and promote global sustainability. Dr. Morrison is a trusted leader in climate learning policy and has been part of collaborative efforts in research, policy, and community partnerships related to climate justice and learning for climate action.

Action for Climate Empowerment and the UNFCCC
In 2019, Deb was appointed to the University of Washington's observer delegation to the UNFCCC. As such, she attended the UNFCCC COP25 meeting in Madrid, Spain and contributed written submissions to the Doha Work programs for the Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE) program within the UNFCCC. In the fall of 2020, Deb was selected to participate in the UNFCCC Climate Dialogues that were held in lieu of the COP 26 meeting (due to COVID-19) as part of the RINGO sessions. Climate work depends on continued action and so Deb worked collaboratively with colleagues in early 2021 from several nations to provide a justice-informed review of ACE work for the UNFCCC efforts, by co-authoring the ACE National Strategic Planning Framework  for the United States. She followed this up with the book ‘Empowering Climate Action in the United States’ ’ co-written with Tom Bowman as a companion to the framework. Deb co-facilitated a digital storytelling workshop series with the Paris Committee of Capacity Building  at the UNFCCC along with her colleague, Chris Cameron, as CLEAR Environmental. In November 2022, Dr. Morrison was named as the ACE expert for the PCCB Hub during COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh and supported the first Climate Justice pavilion through panel facilitation and reception hosting to "share knowledge from community to community". In September 2023, Deb presented at the 2nd International Seminar on Climate Change Education for the Office of Climate Education (OCE) as a board advisor and resource sharing partner in France, which was summarized on youtube. Deb was presented with the William E. Bennett Award for Extraordinary Contributions to Citizen Science from the SENCER (Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities) Institute as a collaborative award with her colleagues, Sonya Remington Doucette and Heather U. Price, for their work in climate justice learning research and implementation.

CLEAR Environmental
After her experience at COP25, Deb realized there was a need for action to move the work of policymakers and government officials. She founded the organization CLEAR Environmental in 2021 to collaborate with community organizations internationally and connect colleagues through justice-centered projects related to adaptation, resilience and empowerment for the climate. CLEAR Environmental has grown over the past 3 years and expanded work throughout Canada, United States, France, Liberia, Ghana, Norway and Mexico.

Learning Design and Facilitation
Deb works as a critical friend in learning design partnership with these collaborators:


 * Accelerating Climate Change Education in Teacher Education in Canada
 * Advancing Coherent And Equitable Systems For Science Education (ACESSE) Network
 * Climate Change and Environmental Justice Program (CCEJP), California Environmental Literacy Initiative
 * Climate Education Task Force, Maine Department of Education
 * Climate and Environmental Justice Learning, Portland Public Schools
 * Climate Justice Pavillion, COP27
 * ClimeTime, Washington State’s Climate Education Proviso
 * ClimeTime Book Group – All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis with Dr. Philip Bell and Nancy Price.
 * Global Futures Oriented Research Collective on Education for Sustainability (G-FORCES)
 * OER Climate Project
 * Oregon Educators for Climate Education
 * Teaching Across the Curriculum, CIRES Center For Education, Engagement, and Evaluation
 * Washington Climate Summit 2023

Selected publications

 * Bowman, T. & Morrison, D. (2021). Empowering climate action in the United States. Part of Resetting Our Future Series. Changemaker Books.
 * Ibourk, A., Wagner, L. Morrison, D. L., Young, S., & Milledge, J. (2024). Community Gardens as places for ecological caring in action. Science and Children, V.61(2). Retrieve from: https://www.nsta.org/science-and-children/science-and-children-marchapril-2024/community-gardens-places-ecological.
 * Morrison, D., Annamma, S. A., & Jackson, D. (Eds). (2017). Critical race spatial analysis: Mapping to understand and address educational inequity. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing. Peer Reviewed.
 * Morrison, D. L. & Jessen, S. (2023). Creating Just and Resilient Sustainability Learning Ecosystems. Diplomatic Courier, Special COP28 Issue, November 22, 2023. Retrieve from: https://www.diplomaticourier.com/posts/just-resilient-sustainability-learning-ecosystems