Sweta Chakraborty, PhD — CEO
Dr. Chakraborty is a globally recognized behavioral scientist and expert on global risks ranging from climate change to emerging pandemics. She is a trusted authority on proactive preparedness to mitigate against the impacts of climate change, motivated by the need for clear, credible, evidence-based communication. Sweta is the founder of Scientista, the CEO of We Don't Have Time US, a Partner at Pioneer Public Affairs, and is on the steering committee of the Global Commons Alliance alongside Johan Rockstrom. She is an Independent Director at Lightbridge Corp. (NASDAQ: LTBR) where she chairs their ESG committee. She is the Key Behavioral Scientist at Resilience Action Partners (an Ogilvy and Michael Baker joint enterprise) for a $250 million (CERC 2.0) FEMA contract to address US-wide adaptation to climate change impacts. She is also the founder and principal of Adapt to Thrive, a venture that seeks to better inform entities on the complex, interconnected challenges already existing and emerging from a warming planet. She has worked in the private sector as Chief Scientist for a risk management-consulting firm, and has taught at Columbia University as an adjunct professor. Sweta is a TEDx and SXSW featured speaker, most recently alongside Nikolaj Coster-Waldau for the UNDP’s #dontchooseextinction campaign, and is regularly interviewed on major, international news media outlets including CNN, the NYT, the BBC, Forbes, Fox News Channel, Sky News, CBS, NowThis, MSNBC to name a few. She has appeared on networks like Nickelodeon and Discovery+, where she was featured alongside Kamala Harris for an Earth Day 2021 special. Sweta has written extensively in peer-reviewed journals, is a book author from her time as a postdoc at Oxford University, and is currently working on her second book on adaptation to global risks. She has built her career around how to connect science, media and policy to change attitudes, empower audiences, and inspire action alongside celebrities like Questlove and Joaquin Phoenix. She is a 2019/2020 Millennium Fellow at The Atlantic Council, and serves on the boards of the New York Academy of Sciences, Climate Power, Earth HQ, Serendipity Foundation, America Adapts, Food for Climate League, and We Don’t Have Time. In 2022, she launched “House of Scientista” a not- for- profit with the purpose to empower women and underrepresented groups to pursue careers in STEM. House of Scientista is where fashion and science come together to support the next generation of women scientists.
Stackforce AI infers this person is a Climate Science and Policy expert with a focus on behavioral science and risk management.
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Experience: 20 yrs 4 mos
Skills
- Leadership
- Business Strategy
- Communication
- Climate Change
Career Highlights
- Founder of Scientista empowering women in STEM.
- Key Behavioral Scientist for FEMA's $250 million climate adaptation contract.
- Featured speaker at TEDx and SXSW events.
Work Experience
Scientista
Founder (1 yr 2 mos)
Forbes
Contributing Author (1 yr 4 mos)
Harris for President
Climate Surrogate (3 mos)
The Earthshot Prize
The Earthshot Prize, Expert Advisory Board and Nominator (3 yrs 4 mos)
Food for Climate League
Advisor (2 yrs)
The New York Academy of Sciences
The International Science Reserve Advisory Council Member (3 yrs 11 mos)
Terraformation Inc.
Climate Voices Fellow (1 yr 9 mos)
We Don't Have Time
Chief Executive Officer, North America (4 yrs 6 mos)
Executive Board Member (7 yrs 7 mos)
Lightbridge Corporation
Independent Director (4 yrs 8 mos)
Resilience Action Partners
Behavioral Scientist (4 yrs 9 mos)
Climate Power
Advisory Board Member (4 yrs 9 mos)
Pioneer Public Affairs
Partner (4 yrs 10 mos)
Global Commons Alliance
Global Commons Alliance Steering Committee; Component Board Member for Earth HQ (5 yrs 4 mos)
Top Tier Impact
Head of Unit, TTI Impact Policy (5 yrs 11 mos)
Atlantic Council
2019/2020 Millenium Leadership Program Fellow (7 yrs 1 mo)
Adapt to Thrive
Founder and Principal (7 yrs 4 mos)
The Center for Climate and Security
Host, The Climate and Security Podcast (4 yrs 2 mos)
Serendipity Foundation
Member Board Of Directors (8 yrs 4 mos)
Institute on Science for Global Policy (ISGP)
Associate Director (3 yrs)
Lootok, Ltd.
Cognitive Behavioral Scientist (11 mos)
Columbia University
Adjunct Lecturer (0 mo)
University of Oxford
Post Doctoral Fellow (3 yrs 8 mos)
Institute on Science for Global Policy
Senior Fellow (2 yrs 7 mos)
EJRR
Risk Corrospondent (1 yr)
Indiana University
Summer School Professor (3 yrs)
SRA International
Member (5 yrs)
Education
Postdoctorate at University of Oxford
PhD at King's College London
General Course at The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
BSc at Carnegie Mellon University