Meet the team.

Susi is the founder of the Adaptive Mind project, and has been the driving force behind its development since its inception. After more than 30 years as an internationally renown scientist and consultant in climate change adaptation, communication, and science-policy-practice interactions, she is increasingly redirecting her work to focus on building the psycho-social skills needed for these transformative times. She is dedicated to helping people heal themselves and strengthen their skills and propensities needed for transformation to a soul-centered, life-affirming society working to restore Earth. In addition to her extensive track record as a social scientist, her prolific writing and speaking, Susi has wide-ranging training and personal experience in various psychological modalities and Earth-based practices. She is a spiritual seeker, poet, gardener, and incorrigible cat lover.

Lily has been working to address the environmental, systemic, and social dimensions of climate change for almost two decades. A lifelong nature lover, Lily brings a background in ecology and an earth-centered approach to her work. Lily’s career to-date has focused on building broad partnerships and defining workforce pathways through training and professional development for the climate change workforce in the public sector. Lily joyfully applies the skills she’s picked up along the way- in designing and holding spaces, navigating risk and conflict, and facilitating with ease and compassion- to her long-term role on the Adaptive Mind project team. Lily is a mother to two kids and lives in Florida, where she enjoys exploring nearby forests, swamplands, and beaches with her family and dogs.

Kristen is an interdisciplinary social scientist, leading California’s Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Coastal Training Program since 2009. In this role she provides training and technical assistance to decision-makers in southern and Baja California in social science and community-based approaches that emphasize collaboration in coastal management. She earned a M.A. in Marine Affairs & Policy from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a Ph.D. in Social Ecology from the University of California Irvine. In 2024, Kristen also completed clinical training in San Diego State University’s multicultural community counseling and social justice education master’s program. When not studying, training, or researching, she is most likely to be found in, on, or under the Pacific Ocean.