Dana R. Fisher
Director, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity; Professor, School of International Service, American University
Chapter Member: Maryland-Washington, D.C. SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About Dana
Fisher is a dynamic speaker and author who writes about democracy, civic engagement, and climate policy. Her media appearances include CNN, MSNBC, PBS Newshour, and various programs on NPR. Her work has appeared in media outlets including the Washington Post, TIME Magazine, Politico, Rolling Stone, Scientific American, and the American Prospect. She has authored over 80 research papers and book chapters, and has written seven books. Professor Fisher has presented her work to the US National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, federal agencies, foundations, presidential campaigns, and other political organizations.
Contributions
Community Environmental Projects as a Gateway to Greater Citizen Participation
Key Findings Brief,
No Jargon Podcast
In the News
Guest on TED Countdown: Overcoming Dilemmas in the Green Transition, October, 2024.
Opinion: "Door-Knocking in a Life-or-Death Campaign," Dana R. Fisher (with ), The American Prospect, October 1, 2020.
Quoted by Melissa Chan in "These Black Lives Matter Protesters Had No Idea How One Arrest Could Alter Their Lives," Time, August 19, 2020.
Quoted by Sarah Kaplan in "Teen Girls are Leading the Climate Strikes and Helping Change the Face of Environmentalism," The Washington Post, September 24, 2019.
Opinion: "The Youth Climate Summit starts July 12. It’s full of young activists trained in the anti-Trump movement.," Dana R. Fisher, Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, July 12, 2019.
Opinion: "The Youth Climate Summit Starts July 12. It’s Full of Young Activists Trained in the Anti-Trump Movement," Dana R. Fisher, The Washington Post, July 12, 2019.
Quoted by Sasha Pezenik in "2020 candidates who are among the 1% face challenges in championing the 99%," ABC News, July 11, 2019.
Quoted by Sasha Pezenik in "2020 Candidates Who are among the 1% Face Challenges in Championing the 99%," ABC News, July 11, 2019.
Quoted by Elizabeth Weise in "Climate change the new Vietnam War? Generation Z poised to change US politics with activism," USA Today, May 6, 2019.
Quoted by Elizabeth Weise in "Climate Change the New Vietnam War? Generation Z Poised to Change US Politics with Activism," USA Today, May 6, 2019.
Quoted by Marissa J. Lang in "The Women's March Drew More Moderates in Its Third Year. It's All Trump, Researchers Say," The Washington Post, January 26, 2019.
Quoted by Marissa J. Lang in "The Women’s March drew more moderates in its third year. It’s all Trump, researchers say.," The Washington Post, January 26, 2019.
Opinion: "This year’s Women’s Marchers weren’t focused on the leadership controversy. They were all about local and national political organizing.," Dana R. Fisher, Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, January 22, 2019.
Opinion: "This Year’s Women’s Marchers weren’t Focused on the Leadership Controversy. They were All about Local and National Political Organizing," Dana R. Fisher, The Washington Post, January 22, 2019.
Guest on CNN News Day Saturday, January 19, 2019.
Guest on CNN New Day, January 19, 2019.
Opinion: "Here’s Why the Protests against Kavanaugh (and the Trump administration) won’t Go Away," Dana R. Fisher, The Washington Post, October 6, 2018.
Opinion: "Here’s why the protests against Kavanaugh (and the Trump administration) won’t go away," Dana R. Fisher, Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, October 6, 2018.
Opinion: "Will Scientists Gear Up for Activism in the Age of Trump?," Dana R. Fisher (with ), The American Prospect, July 12, 2018.
Opinion: "Will Scientists Gear Up for Activism in the Age of Trump?," Dana R. Fisher (with ), The American Prospect, July 12, 2018.
Opinion: "Who came out in the brutal heat to the ‘Families Belong Together’ march? Here’s our data.," Dana R. Fisher, Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, July 3, 2018.
Opinion: "Who Came Out in the Brutal Heat to the ‘Families Belong Together’ March? Here’s Our Data," Dana R. Fisher, The Washington Post, July 3, 2018.
Quoted by Nicole Winfield and Seth Borenstein in "Pope Summons Oil Execs to Vatican to Talk Climate Change," Associated Press, June 1, 2018.
Quoted by Adam Gabbatt in "Vietnam to Parkland: How America's Protesters are Getting Younger," The Guardian, April 15, 2018.
Opinion: "Here’s who actually attended the March for Our Lives. (No, it wasn’t mostly young people.)," Dana R. Fisher, Monkey Cage, The Washington Post, March 28, 2018.
Opinion: "Here’s Who Actually Attended March for Our Lives. (No, It wasn’t Mostly Young People)," Dana R. Fisher, The Washington Post, March 28, 2018.
Guest on Morning Joe MSNBC, March 26, 2018.
Guest on Morning Joe, March 26, 2018.
Guest on Morning Joe, January 22, 2018.
Guest on Morning Joe MSNBC, January 22, 2018.
Quoted by Charlotte Alter in "Parents of Sick Kids are a Powerful Weapon against the Senate Health Bill," Time, June 28, 2017.
Opinion: "The Demographics of the #Resistance," Dana R. Fisher (with ), The Conversation, May 31, 2017.
Opinion: "Scientists Actually Did Some Science at the March for Science," Dana R. Fisher, Wired, April 24, 2017.
Guest on National Public Radio, March 3, 2017.
Quoted by Brian Resnick in "4 Rules for Making a Protest Work, According to Experts," Vox, January 28, 2017.
Quoted by Nancy Benac in "DC Women's March Drew Many First-Time Protesters," Associated Press, January 26, 2017.
Guest on KCRW, January 23, 2017.
Opinion: "Waking Up in Trump’s America and Watching the Ocean Rise," Dana R. Fisher, Huffington Post, November 9, 2016.
Quoted by Karl Ritter and Seth Borenstein in "Trump Win Raises Questions about U.S. Pledge in Climate Deal," Associated Press, November 9, 2016.
Opinion: "American Leadership and the Silent Energy Revolution," Dana R. Fisher, Huffington Post, November 7, 2016.
Opinion: "Not a Snowball’s Chance for Science," Dana R. Fisher (with ), Contexts, November 16, 2015.
Quoted by Seth Borenstein in "A Twist for Paris Climate Talks: Al Gore the Optimist," Associated Press, The Washington Post, and Boston Globe, November 11, 2015.
Research discussed by , in "40 Percent in U.S. Believe Climate Change is Real, are Unworried," Christian Science Monitor, November 4, 2015.
Quoted by in "Poll: Most Americans Understand, Aren’t Too Worried about Climate Change," CBS News, November 4, 2015.
Research discussed by "Americans Don’t Worry Much about Climate Change, Poll Says," The Washington Post, November 3, 2015.
Opinion: "The Tangible Effects of Connecting with Your Neighbors," Dana R. Fisher, Stanford University Press Blog, May 2015.
Opinion: "An Easy Solution To America’s Democracy Problem," Dana R. Fisher, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, March 26, 2015.
Opinion: "Political Action," Dana R. Fisher, a short film on Fisher and her coverage of the People's Climate March, FiveThirtyEight/ESPN Films, January 14, 2015.
Opinion: "Ending Rot in America’s Grass Roots," Dana R. Fisher, Christian Science Monitor, October 30, 2006.
Publications
Urban Environmental Stewardship and Civic Engagement: How Planting Trees Strengthens the Roots of Democracy (with ). (Routledge Press, 2015).
Assesses the connection between urban environmental stewardship and civic engagement by studying volunteers working on the MillionTrees initiative in New York City. Argues that environmental stewardship is a gateway to numerous other forms of civic engagement.
"An Empirical Examination of Echo Chambers in U.S. Climate Policy Networks" (with ). Nature Climate Change (2015).
Explains why climate denialism continues to thwart political action on climate change at the federal level. Presents data from the top policy actors involved in U.S. climate politics and the ways that scientific information diffuses through their policy networks to show that information is being amplified and distorted through echo chambers.
"Youth Political Participation: Bridging Activism and Electoral Politics" Annual Review of Sociology 38 (2012): 119-137.
Provides an overview of the state of knowledge on youth political participation in America, arguing that we must integrate perspectives on activism and electoral politics to understand the process more effectively.
Activism, Inc. (Stanford University Press, 2006).
Explores the outsourcing of grassroots campaigns on the Left in America by presenting extensive in depth data on the largest canvassing organization in the country.
"How Do Organizations Matter? Mobilization and Support for Participants at Five Globalization Protests" (with ). Social Problems 52, no. 1 (2005): 102-121.
Looks at the ways that protesters mobilize to participate in social protest. It finds that “global protests” are mostly populated by local people who are mobilized through local organizations.
National Governance and the Global Climate Change Regime (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2004).
Compares domestic responses to international climate policy-making and the Kyoto Protocol in the U.S., Japan, and the Netherlands.