Former Behavioral Science Fellow with the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team and current Director of Behavioral Science and Assessment at Climate Central, Dr. Feygina will talk about integrating behavioral science insights into Climate Central's work and improving its tracking of program success.  Appetizers provided.

Applying a psychological lens to climate skepticism and disengagement reveals that these processes are rooted in deeply seated human needs to belong and to protect ourselves and our social systems, which can come into conflict with acknowledging and addressing climate change. This reveals important opportunities for overcoming skepticism and fostering engagement through addressing and harnessing these needs, and developing a toolbox of interventions that can be used in communication, program design and implementation, policy, organizational, and educational settings.

Irina Feygina, Ph.D., is a social psychologist who specializes in climate communication and the development and implementation of policy in domains of energy efficiency, clean technology adoption, environmental protection, sustainability, and climate change assessment and adaptation. She is the Director of Behavioral Science and Assessment at Climate Central, where she works on issues of science skepticism, climate attribution, and the use of social media in engaging the public and decision makers in recognizing and responding to climate change. Previously she served as Fellow on the White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team, where she applied insights from behavioral science to improve program implementation across the federal government, and as a AAAS Congressional Fellow with Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), working on the energy and environment portfolios. She received her Ph.D. from New York University, where her research focused on the role of motivated reasoning in climate change skepticism. In her work, Irina emphasizes incorporation of human needs and behavioral approaches into program design, communication strategies, and evidence-based policy and decision making.‌