Laura A. Schifter

Laura Schifter is a lecturer on education with the Harvard Graduate School of Education where she teaches courses on education, climate change, and policy. She is also a senior fellow with the Aspen Institute where she founded and directs This Is Planet Ed, an initiative to unlock the power of education as a force for climate action, solutions, and environmental justice to empower the rising generation to lead a sustainable, resilient, and equitable future. Previously, she worked as a policy and research consultant with clients including Education 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Justice. She also served as a senior education and disability advisor for Rep. George Miller (D-CA) on the Committee on Education and Labor, an education fellow for Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and a fellow with the Century Foundation. After graduating from college, she taught elementary school in San Francisco. Schifter earned an Ed.D. in education policy, leadership, and instructional practice and an Ed.M. in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a B.A. in American studies from Amherst College.