Faith Kearns

Faith Kearns is a scientist and science communication practitioner who focuses primarily on water, wildfire, and climate change in the western United States. Her work has been published in New Republic, On Being, Bay Nature, and more. She has been working in the science communication field for more than 25 years, starting with the Ecological Society of America, and going on to serve as a AAAS Science and Policy Fellow at the US Department of State; manage a wildfire research and outreach center at the University of California, Berkeley; bridge science and policy advocacy efforts at the Pew Charitable Trusts; and lead science communication efforts with the California Institute for Water Resources. She is currently the Director of Research Communications for the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative with Arizona State University's Global Futures Lab. Kearns holds an undergraduate environmental science degree from Northern Arizona University, and a doctorate in environmental science, policy, and management from the University of California, Berkeley.

Getting to the Heart of Science Communication

A Guide to Effective Engagement

At a community fire day in a northern California town several years ago, author Faith Kearns gave a talk on building fire-safe houses able to withstand increasingly common wildfires. Much to her surprise, Kearns was confronted by an audience member whose house had recently burned. What she thought was straightforward, helpful scientific information had instead retraumatized audience members, forcing Kearns to reevaluate her approach.