John Fleming
John Fleming
Dr. John Fleming is a geoscientist currently serving as a Senior Scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. His research analyzes global warming pollution, clean energy, and ecosystem and species protection.
Dr. John C. Fleming was born in Tampa, Florida, but spent most of his childhood in the Atlanta suburbs of Georgia. His favorite subject in school was always science, but he did not settle on the environmental field until college. He attended Princeton University, completing his B.A. in Geosciences and a certificate in environmental studies in 2009. Dr. Fleming obtained his Ph.D. in Geological and Earth Sciences and Geosciences from the University of Southern California in 2016. His dissertation explored the connection between climate change and biological oxygen demand in marine waters off the Los Angeles coast.
During graduate school at the University of Southern California, Dr. Fleming was a Research and Teaching Assistant, researching carbon, nitrogen, and nutrient budgets within Southern California. His teaching responsibilities included teaching lab sections of introductory earth science courses, preparing lab lessons, and assessing student work and progress.
After receiving his Ph.D. in 2016, he started as a Staff Scientist for the Center for Biological Diversity. In 2020, Dr. Fleming was promoted to Senior Scientist, where he works on campaigns to limit global warming pollution and shift to clean energies. He also works on projects relating to species and ecosystem protection threatened by climate change. In addition, Dr. Fleming is an Alumni Interviewer for Princeton University Admissions and a Special Events Volunteer for the Los Angeles LBGT Center.
Dr. Fleming’s career highlights include attending and presenting at the UNFCCC COP conferences and speaking at the 2018 March for Science in Los Angeles. He says the latter event “represents a time when sciences really rose to the occasion to advocate for and defend the importance of science-based decision-making” (2024).
As a Senior Scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, Dr. Fleming takes on summer interns. He states that it is a rewarding experience matching undergraduate students with projects that expose them to real-world work in an environmental advocacy setting. Moreover, it is rewarding for him to help foster their interest in the field.
Dr. Fleming advises young professionals not to be afraid to change course if their path is unfulfilling. He speaks to his own experience in college, where he thought he would study astrophysics. He became interested in earth sciences and graduated from that department. Furthermore, in graduate school, Dr. Fleming thought he would ultimately work in academia but realized that academia was not the right path for him and that he would be happier in environmental advocacy. This led him to his current position at the Center for Biological Diversity.
John C. Fleming, Ph.D. LinkedIn. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-c-fleming-ph-d-ba04b88b/
Meet the Staff. Center for Biological Diversity. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/staff/#kfalk
Survey and interviews conducted by Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Sustainability Initiative staff. 2022-2023. Yale University-School of the Environment. New Haven, Connecticut.
Meet the Staff [Photo]. Center for Biological Diversity. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2023 from https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/about/staff/#kfalk