Suzanne Pierre is a microbial ecologist and biogeochemist working in soil. Her technical expertise includes nutrient and carbon cycling in plant and microbial systems experiencing climate change. She is also the founder and lead investigator of the Critical Ecology Lab – a nonprofit organization researching the intersection of global ecological change, social justice, and liberation of oppressed peoples.
Through her research, Pierre strives to explain the phenomena of global ecological change as responses to systems of global colonialism and capitalism. She speaks and writes about the intersections of identity, liberation, and ecology in publications such as MOLD, Loam, and a forthcoming nonfiction book. She also collaborates with artists and curators to convey these topics through art and exhibitions internationally.
Pierre received a Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University and an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies from New York University. She also completed a University of California President’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley. Suzanne Pierre is a 2022 National Geographic Wayfinder Award recipient.