Susan I., Principal & Founder at Climate Creatives

Susan I.

Principal & Founder at Climate Creatives

Renewables and Environment

Education: Harvard College - Harvard Graduate School of Design

Newton, MA, USA

Biography

Climate Creatives helps businesses and communities align their culture to sustainability goals using art and design. Our workshops and participatory Public Art educate and motivate people on issues related to climate mitigation and adaptation. Susan's work has appeared nationally and internationally, including at the UN. Her work is highly innovative and her process entrepreneurial. Previously, Susan was an architect for over 20 years, starting three practices. Susan is an engagement innovator, serving as a long time Member of the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors, in various alumni positions, and on several advisory boards including ArtWeek.

Passion

Bending the curve on change, starting up new ventures and launching them, connecting with people. Designing something inspirational and beautiful. Finding strategies to solve huge problems.

I am willing to travel

More than 100 miles

When it comes to payments

I need my expenses covered - travel, hotel, meals, etc.

Topics

art and engagement climate change adaptation outreach engagement renewables green tech innovation entrepreurship women entrepreneurs creative communications creative marketing strategic partnerships culture change communitybuilding talking across divides collaboration innovation

Best Story

Installing my sea level rise project- Rising Waters- on remote islands off of Panama was really cool, but that was long after my aha moment. When my team and I led 900 Harvard Business Schools through my sculpture-making workshop for sustainability and innovation, I saw the least likely group to make art become energized and engaged. I thought, this really works and can be effective in bringing new audiences to sustainability issues.

Origin Story

After a long career in my own architectural practices, and experimenting with different ways to deliver services, I read "Hot, Flat & Crowded" by Thomas Friedman in 2008 and decided that working on climate solutions was the only path worth pursuing. I co-founded a green architecture practice, studio2sustain, but soon saw that the impediments lay in awareness and engagement. We needed to get people to make an emotional commitment to climate, and data wasn't doing it. Art can reach people in a fun and novel way to communicate data and touch people emotionally - both making art and public art...and so Climate Creatives was born.

Example talks

Creative Communications & Talking Across the Divide

On a panel at EarthDay Texas about talking across the political divide about climate change