The Following is adopted from Dr. Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson’s Instagram Post and her work to encourage few climate and ocean lovers guide to action. But first who is Ayanna Elizabeth Johnson?

To understand Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is to understand the ocean—not as a distant blue expanse, but as the rhythmic, beating heart of our planet's survival. A Brooklyn native who famously decided to become a marine biologist at the age of five, Johnson has spent her career transforming that childhood wonder into a blueprint for global resilience. Today, she stands at the vanguard of a movement that bridges rigorous field science with high-level policy, fundamentally reshaping how we talk about—and solve—the climate crisis.

The Architect of the Blue New Deal

Johnson’s journey from the classrooms of Harvard to the depths of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography was always fueled by a sense of practical discovery. Early in her career, she earned an award from National Geographic for inventing a new type of fish trap designed to reduce bycatch, ensuring that conservation efforts didn't come at the cost of fishermen’s livelihoods.

This dedication to balanced, community-driven solutions eventually led her to the halls of power in Washington, D.C., where she helped architect the Blue New Deal. By integrating ocean-based strategies—like restoring coastal "blue carbon" ecosystems and expanding offshore renewable energy—into federal policy, she ensured the seas were no longer an afterthought in climate legislation. In 2022, her influence reached the global stage when she was appointed to the U.S. State Department’s Foreign Affairs Policy Board.

Designing the "Urban Ocean"

As the co-founder of Urban Ocean Lab, Johnson focuses her gaze on the 65 million Americans living in coastal cities. This Brooklyn-based think tank works to develop equitable climate-adaptation strategies, from storm-buffering mangrove restoration to smarter zoning for rising seas. Her work consistently emphasizes that the most effective environmental solutions must also be socially just, moving beyond "buzzwords" to create a world that is not just surviving, but thriving.

A Radical Optimism for 2026

In the world of science communication, Johnson is perhaps best known for her push toward "radical optimism". She co-founded The All We Can Save Project to nurture a feminist climate renaissance and co-hosted the hit podcast How to Save a Planet. Her recent bestseller,  What If We Get It Right?: Visions of Climate Futures , has become a cornerstone of climate literature, winning the 2025 Phi Beta Kappa Award for Science.

As of early 2026, Johnson continues her work as the Roux Distinguished Scholar at Bowdoin College, where she guides a new generation of leaders to find their own "Climate Action Venn Diagram"—the intersection of what they are good at, what work needs doing, and what brings them joy. With the paperback edition of  What If We Get It Right? scheduled for release on April 14, 2026, Johnson remains a tireless advocate for the idea that "getting it right" is still within our reach.

For Dr. Johnson, the goal isn't just to save the planet; it's to build a future that is worth living in—one defined by clean air, renewable energy, and, most importantly, the mended landscapes of our shared home.

Keep Showing Up

This is not a spectator sport. It’s not just billionaires and politicians who will decide our future-it’s small business owners and students and citizens: it’s whoever steps up and whoever you bring along with you. Take breaks but keep going. We shape the future.

Can you help your own company, school, church, or town charge ahead with climate solutions? Because what we need is change in every sector and every community. 

Find Your People

Someone recently ask me, “Who are your people?” And without a moment of hestitation, directly from my soul came these words:

My people are conjurers. They don’t stop at dreaming, they make something where ther was nothing, something needed. They make magic in the real world.

It gives me goosebumps to think how lucky I am to get to say that sincerely. Support your people and lover them and hold on. Lean into possibility together.

Imagining climate futures is a group effort

Join Something

Contribute your skills to existing efforts – Make it possible. Build the website, raise the funds, recruit the talent, plan the event. As Bill McKibben puts it, “Faced with the kind of crises that we face, the most important thing that we can do is to not always be an individual.”

Bring your Superpowers

Be gentle with yourself on the “What are you goof at?”  Put your insecurities aside and simply consider what you have to offer - in your personal life, professional life, and civil life. If we each harness our superpowers, that will actually enable the radical change we need.

Be a Problem Solver

What this moment in history requires is a relentless focus on solutions. Whether your purview is finance, energy, urban planning, manufacturing, construction, law, food, administration, or transportation, there is nothing more attractive than a problem solver.

Choose Your Battles

That’s how my dad put it. My mom prefers the cornier, “Do tour best and don’t worry about the rest.” And it’s the best advice my parents have given me. Keep things in perspective by keeping at least one eye firmly on the future of the Earth. Choose something to fight for, and please, no friendly fire.

Nourish Joy

There are so many things that heed to be done-don’t pick something that makes you miserable. It’s imperative to avoid burnout, so choose what enlivens and energizes you. Take climate change seriously, but don’t take yourself too seriously. The work can and should be gratify and punctuated with joy.

Love Nature

And remember that you are a part of it. I can’t it better than Rachel Carson:”Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.”