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Dana R. Fisher

Nonresident Senior Fellow – Governance Studies, Center for Effective Public Management (CEPM)
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Dana R. Fisher is a nonresident senior fellow with the Governance Studies program at The Brookings Institution. She is also the director of the Center for Environment, Community, and Equity at American University and a professor in the School of International Service.
 
Her research focuses on questions related to democracy, civic engagement, activism, and climate politics. Current projects include studying political elites’ responses to climate change, the ways national service corps programs in the U.S. are expanding their work on disaster response, recovery, and resilience, and on-ramps to activism and political engagement. Fisher has authored over 80 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and has written seven books. Her most recent book is “Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action” (Columbia University Press 2024). Fisher presented a TED Talk about “How to Be An Apocalyptic Optimist” and what it will really take to get us to the other side of the climate crisis based on the findings of the book in 2024. 
 
Her media appearances include ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and PBS Newshour. Her work has appeared in media outlets including the Washington Post, The Nation, Rolling Stone, TIME magazine, The Hill, Politico, Teen Vogue, and The American Prospect. Fisher has presented her work to the U.S. National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, federal agencies, foundations, presidential campaigns, and other political organizations. She served as a contributing author for Working Group 3 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Review (IPCC AR6) writing about citizen engagement and civic activism. Fisher holds a Ph.D. and Master of Science degrees from the Department of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her undergraduate degree is in East Asian studies and environmental studies from Princeton University.

  • Current Positions

    • Nonresident Senior Fellow, Governance Studies; The Brookings Institution
    • Director, Center for Environment, Community, and Equity
    • Professor, School of International Service, American University

  • Past Positions

    • Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland-College Park
    • Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Kluge Center at the Library of Congress
    • Visiting Professor, Centre for Sustainability Studies; Lund University
    • Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland-College Park
    • Guest Professor, Department of Politics and Management; University of Konstanz
    • Associate Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
    • Visiting Professor, Centre des Amériques; Sciences-Po
    • Assistant Professor of Sociology, Columbia University

  • Education

    • Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
    • M.S. in Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
    • A.B. in East Asian Studies/Environmental Studies, Princeton University

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