Ms. Alison Smart is passionate about helping people see the impacts of climate change in their lives and building support for urgent action. As Executive Director of the Probable Futures initiative, she works closely with Woodwell Climate’s staff to develop innovative climate change visualizations and communications.
Alison came to the issue of climate change after serving in leadership roles at world-class arts and cultural organizations for over a decade – including Ballot Gamonet in Miami, FL, The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL, and The New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Prior to helping found Probable Futures, she was Vice President for Strategy & Advancement at Woodwell Climate.
As she educated herself about Woodwell Climate Research Center’s global research and policy initiatives, Alison discovered how intuitive climate science was, even for non-scientists, and that its principles could be recognized and applied in many aspects of life. This insight guided much of Alison’s work at Woodwell, and is what inspired her to join Spencer Glendon to launch Probable Futures – which aims to to change how we think about, talk about, and plan for the future of our society and our planet. Probable Futures, in partnership with Woodwell Climate, is building better frameworks, tools, and storytelling to help people prepare for—and choose between—the futures that the climate offers us.