Lavin Exclusive Speaker
Combining cutting-edge scientific research and pertinent ethical inquiry, BRITT WRAY offers a bold convergence point for climate change and mental health. Millions around the world are suffering from anxiety and grief directly related to environmental challenges. From changing relationships to land and water and environmental displacement, to post traumatic stress that comes with the rise of extreme weather events, Wray breaks down the current ecological crisis and provides the tools to build resilience within ourselves and our communities.
As a science storyteller, broadcaster, and author, Wray’s work is at the forefront of science, technology, and ethics surrounding environmentalism. Environmental and biodiversity collapse are not the stuff of science fiction anymore. Wray’s groundbreaking and accessible work brings the psychological impacts of the climate crisis to the forefront—helping us understand how the world is changing and what that means for us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
Currently a host on CBC Radio 1’s flagship science show Quirks and Quarks, Wray is also developing a documentary with CBC’s legendary science program The Nature of Things. The New Yorker named her first book Rise of the Necrofauna: The Science, Ethics, and Risks of De-Extinction a “book we loved” and The Sunday Times called it a “must-read.” By making science accessible and illuminating its possible consequences, Wray’s writing, broadcasting, and talks help us understand how the world is changing, creating a rich space for conversation about how each of us can respond to those changes.
As co-host of the BBC podcast Tomorrow’s World, Wray answers big questions about the future on a biweekly basis, discussing how science will change and influence our lives in the years to come. She is also directing a documentary series with the National Film Board of Canada about personal genomics. Wray is preparing to defend her PhD in Science Communication and Synthetic Biology at the University of Copenhagen in the Department of Media, Cognition and Communication, and holds a BSc (Hon) in Biology from Queen’s University and an Interdisciplinary MA from OCAD University. She has been a Visiting Scholar at the NYU Arthur L. Carter Institute for Journalism.