We think there was a change in awareness, there was a lot of conversation about it, but we really wanted to, after we published that book, look at how could we use that data to help inform some of the biggest actors, and biggest movers in society, and get off the sidelines and move beyond just being a research organization into an organization that actually takes action. We've published our New York Times bestselling book Drawdown back in 2017, but we really didn't see a huge amount of climate solutions scaling in the world much more quickly after we published that book. We've been doing that for several years now. Project Drawdown is a nonprofit organization that really exists in order to research, aggregate, and then communicate to the world what the biggest solutions to the climate crisis are. So Drawdown Labs is, it's sort of the experimentation hub, I would say, of broader Project Drawdown. Well, jumping right into it, what is Drawdown Labs? I've been a fan of yours for a long time, and this feels like a long overdue conversation. Jamie Alexander: The honor is mine, Jason. You've just been everywhere yet somehow we've not crossed before, so such an honor to finally meet you, and to have you on the show. Jason Jacobs: Great to have you, and as we talked about a little before recording, you've been all over the place in terms of being an active member of the MCJ community, and you wrote a Community Voices piece, and you're, of course involved with Climate Changemakers, as is my partner Cody. Jamie Alexander: Thanks for having me, Jason, great to be with you. At any rate, great discussion, and I hope you enjoy it.

There's something called nuance, which doesn't necessarily manifest well on someplace like Twitter in 140 or 200 characters, but in a long form discussion like this can actually get teased out quite nicely. Jason Jacobs: I really left this conversation feeling, one, that Jamie and I are extremely mission-aligned, but two, some of these things, they're just not obvious, there is no easy answer. At the end of the day, a little hearty debate is a good way to ignite progress. This discussion brings a new energy to the MCJ podcast as the conversation not only covers Jamie’s climate journey, but also highlights some of the double standards that manifest among people working in climate change, some of the infighting that occurs, some of the tensions, and the chicken and egg scenarios. Prior to joining Project Drawdown, Jamie worked in corporate partnerships at Ceres, Inc. Jamie has been a very active member of the MCJ community, including contributing to our Community Voices newsletter and serving on the Advisory Board at Climate Changemakers. In her role, Jamie leverages the organization's world-class research and analysis to experiment with collaborative ways to address climate change at unprecedented scale, and offers the world a more expansive vision for private sector climate leadership. ĭrawdown Labs serves as Project Drawdown’s private sector testing ground for accelerating the scaling of climate solutions quickly, safely, and equitably. Jamie lives in Duluth, Minnesota.Today’s guest is Jamie Alexander, Founding Director at Drawdown Labs. She has also authored numerous articles on climate change including “ Seeking your climate refuge? Consider this” for CNN and “ We need a new definition of corporate climate leadership” and “ Will corporations choose climate transformation or climate status quo” for Fast Company. Jamie has been a guest on popular news outlets to talk about climate solutions, including CNN International, The Weather Channel and NPR. She has worked in support of the rights and cultural revitalization of Indigenous Peoples at The Cultural Conservancy and the UN Office of the Secretary-General. Focused on malaria, HIV/AIDS, and other infectious diseases, she led an agency-wide effort to better integrate Indigenous solutions and voices into foreign aid programming and decision making. Previously, Jamie served as a civil and foreign service officer with USAID, serving in Bangladesh, India, and Tanzania. Jamie joined Project Drawdown from Ceres, working with companies to set ambitious emission reduction targets and leveraging their influence in support of strong climate and clean energy policies. Jamie Beck Alexander is a climate activist, mom, writer, and founding director of Project Drawdown Labs, Project Drawdown’s private sector testing ground for accelerating the scaling of climate solutions quickly, safely, and equitably.

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