Lauren Keeler

Lauren Withycombe Keeler is a professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University where she also chairs the undergraduate program in Innovation in Society. She serves as Director of the Just Energy Transition Center and Interim Director of the Center for the Study of Futures within the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. 

In her research and role as center director, Professor Keeler works with governments, corporations, utilities, and communities to understand how renewable energy, decarbonization, and climate action impact people's lives and how development in these areas can foreground community aspirations and principles of justice and equity. She's published extensively on education, capacity building, and partnership development in the fields of sustainability and futures studies. Her work integrates insights from these fields to advance climate action and decarbonization in ways that are just, equitable, inclusive, and sustainable.

She has a doctorate and master's in sustainability science. Her master's research focused on defining the knowledge and skills necessary for undergraduate and graduate sustainability education. She has consulted with universities in the U.S., Europe and Mexico, helping them develop sustainability degree programs. Her doctoral studies focused on the use of foresight methods to explore complex governance challenges in sustainability, including climate governance, water governance, the governance of emerging technologies, and urban planning for sustainability.