Aissa Linsley-Dearing (she/they)

How are you using education to build more sustainable and equitable communities? Tell us about your EE work and impact.

I believe education is the most transformational form of environmental impact. I approach education through public writing, community partnership, and formal teaching. At Oxford, I have designed courses for undergraduate and Master's teaching that requires students to interrogate who holds power in environmental decision-making, drawing on Indigenous and marginalized knowledge systems that are all too often left out of climate discourse.

Through my public writing, specifically on JSTOR Daily (for an audience of around 40,000), I write to break down complex ideas about food and land use, carbon sequestration, and justice to be accessible to anyone who is curious. Through my community-based partnerships, I am both a teacher and a learner, working to ensure my research is supportive of the political struggles they undertake towards environmental justice and community self-determination. 

Tell us about your journey to where you are today. What inspired you? What has your path been like?

Before I became a researcher, I was an environmental justice advocate in my hometown of Durham, North Carolina. I lived closer to a landfill than a decent grocery store, and yet, I did not have the language growing up to understand what was happening around me as an issue of environmental injustice. Gaining this language, firstly through activism and later through scientific training, made me realize the importance of having accessible environmental educators to communicate these issues. 

As a young person, I worked to make such stories, like mine, more visible. I joined environmental movement spaces with the hope of gaining some recognition of the intersectional issues of race, class, and environmental burden. I grew frustrated with the lack of attention dedicated to these issues, so I co-founded the Durham Youth Climate Justice Initiative, an intentional space for young climate organizers of color. We held listening sessions in community centers to suggest better bus routes for young people, organized campaigns against Duke’s Energy Monopoly, started a community garden in one of Durham’s historically Black communities, and held direct actions in solidarity with Black Lives Matter. These experiences taught me how to listen deeply, distill complex scientific issues into compelling narratives, and educate across different audiences—from fellow students to nurses to policymakers.

Through this activism work, I was encouraged to learn the science behind climate change and environmental disparities. I saw how our lives are borne statistically and scientifically. Now, as a trained environmental scientist, I am bringing this community-rooted lens into higher education and policymaking spaces. And I hope to inspire others to do the same.

How can people learn more about or support your work? 

Follow me on my socials—I post regularly on Substack, LinkedIn, and Instagram on these topic areas, and I am always open to connecting!

A Little More About Me

What advice would you give to the next generation of leaders?
Always find your community—Mariame Kaba reminds us that "everything worthwhile is done with other people."

What (or who) keeps you hopeful for the future?
All of the creative ways in which we are already tackling climate and environmental crises.

What makes you most excited to be an 30 under 30 awardee?
The learnings that will come from being around cool people :)