Laura schifter 2017

Laura Schifter

Senior Fellow, This Is Planet Ed

Laura A. Schifter, EdD, is a senior fellow with the Aspen Institute where she leads This Is Planet Ed, an initiative to unlock the power of education as a force for climate solutions to empower the rising generation to lead a sustainable and resilient future. She is also a Senior Advisor with SustainableED at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University. In 2025, Schifter co-authored Students, Schools, and Our Climate Moment: Acting Now to Secure Our Future to provide a framework for climate action in schools and share inspiring stories from parents, educators, and leaders nationwide. Her expertise is widely recognized, with publications in TIME, CNN, The Hechinger Report, and Education Week, and features in national media including The Washington Post, USA Today, and NPR

Previously, Schifter served as a Lecturer on Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education (2014-2024), teaching courses on education, climate, and policy. She has worked as a policy and research consultant with clients including the Massachusetts Department of Education and the U.S. Department of Justice. She also served as a senior education and disability advisor for Rep. George Miller (D-CA) on the Committee on Education and Labor and an education fellow for Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Her early career included teaching elementary school in San Francisco and co-authoring How Did You Get Here? Students with Disabilities and Their Journeys to Harvard. Schifter earned her Ed.D. and Ed.M. from Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. from Amherst College. After years working in special education policy, in 2019, she shifted her career to focus on the intersection of education and climate change.

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Alexis Anderson

Program Coordinator, Executive Office

Annabella Ronca

Program Associate, Ocean & Climate

Bea Kuijpers

Senior Program Manager, Ocean & Climate

Catherine Kent

Finance Manager

Catie Tobin

Senior Program Manager, Ocean & Climate

Dana Lhundup

Program Coordinator, Ocean & Climate

Emily Engel

Policy Associate, Ocean & Climate

Greg Gershuny

Vice President And Executive Director

Ingrid Irigoyen

Senior Director, Ocean and Climate

Jade Rouse

Senior Program Associate, Climate & Environment

Jérôme Krumenacker

Senior Operations Associate

Julia Merjan

Strategic Partnerships Manager

Kate Jaffee

Director, Climate & Environment

Kathryn Benz

Assistant Director, Ocean & Climate

Kitty Pollack

Assistant Director, Aspen Ideas: Climate & Senior Advisor to the Executive Director

María Ortiz Pérez

Managing Director

Maya Townsend

Speaker Coordinator, Aspen Ideas: Climate

Michellie Hess

Senior Program Associate, Ocean & Climate

Nadia Phyu

Program Associate, Ocean & Climate

Nikki DeVignes

Associate Director

Rishma Vora

Program Assistant, Ocean & Climate

Selena Elmer

Associate Director, Ocean & Climate

Tanzia Redi

Senior Program Associate, Energy & Mitigation Policy

Taylor Goelz

Senior Program Manager, Ocean & Climate

Timothy Mason

Director, Energy & Mitigation

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