Heather is motivated to help people navigate the ever-increasing challenges of climate change. Her transdisciplinary learning sciences research unites science and data science education, climate science, civic engagement and design to explore the space between science and community and how each can support the other. In her dissertation, “Supporting Equitable Climate Change Decisions in a Rural Community Through Expanded Notions of Climate Data: Using critical data perspectives and practices to support climate learning while co-designing an online, map-based, educational resource,” for which she was awarded a NAEd/Spencer Dissertation Fellowship, she is determining how collaborative mapping with members of a rural, politically conservative-leaning, climate vulnerable community on the Chesapeake Bay might support equitable and just local responses to climate challenges.