Dr. Annette Olson is an environmental scientist and the Founder and President of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Climate Steps ([www.climatesteps.org](http://www.climatesteps.org)), which provides science-based, accessible information on effective climate actions people can take around the world. Prior to this, she served as a scientist, outreach liaison, project director, and strategist for over 23 years for the U.S. federal government, including the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA, and NIST, and later for the nonprofit American Association for the Advancement of Science, where she also led panels to evaluate large national research projects.
In 2020, she made a major life change, becoming a full-time climate activist. She helped transform her blog, Climate Steps, into a nonprofit while also co-founding the app Earth Hero ([www.EarthHero.org](http://www.EarthHero.org)), which now has over 200,000 global users. Additionally, through an article in Climate Steps and her leadership of the hyperlocal climate action group Green Neighbors DC, she helped jump-start Washington, DC’s Tool Library system ([www.dctoollibrary.org](http://www.dctoollibrary.org)) as a climate solution.
Dr. Olson holds a B.S. from Baylor University in Texas and a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of Miami in Florida, where she studied the behavioral ecology of a species of mongoose in the forests of West Africa. Witnessing the extensive deforestation in West Africa inspired her to focus her career on environmental issues with agencies and organizations.