Dr. Michael “Mick” Smyer is the founder and CEO of Growing Greener: Climate Action for a Warming World. With support from Stanford’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (the d.school), Mick taps expertise in gerontology, communication strategies, and human-centered design to move people from anxiety to action to habit on climate change.
Growing Greener views people not solely as potential victims of climate change, but also as potential leaders of climate action. In a workshop, Your Climate Journey, Mick uses psychology and behavioral economics to help participants replace their habit of climate avoidance with a specific action, their next step on their own climate journey. With Mick’s help, climate advocates and organizations are using Your Climate Journey to engage others in climate action.
Mick is the former Provost and an Emeritus Professor of Psychology at Bucknell University. He is also a Senior Fellow in Social Innovation at Babson College. A national expert, Smyer has written and lectured extensively on aging. In addition to holding leadership roles in national organizations on aging, Mick has also consulted with Fortune 500 companies, state and national legislative leaders, and higher education organizations on the impacts of aging. His most recent book is Aging and Mental Health (3rd Ed.) with Daniel Segal and Sara Qualls.Dr. Smyer holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Yale University and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Duke University. A native of New Orleans, Mick provides vocals and “nuanced” washboard with the Rustical Quality String Band, including on their most recent CD, Rescued from Oblivion.
