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Katie Patrick
I design programs, products, and experiences that get people to change
Get my free climate action design tips every sustainability leader needs to triple your engagement.
Environmental Engineer, Action Designer, and Can-Do Systems Builder
Hello! I'm Katie. I'm an environmental engineer, climate action designer, author, and entrepreneur.
I've spent over 20 years building companies, technology, and behavior-change programs that inspire people to take environmental action. From high-tech dashboards and games for kids to mass-media campaigns, I've designed more than 130 tools, products, and experiences for environmental action.
My work combines environmental psychology, behavioral science, game design, and technology to turn ambitious sustainability goals into engaging experiences that deliver measurable results.
I've founded environmental media and technology ventures, written two books, spoken at the United Nations and TEDx, and advised organizations including UNEP, NASA JPL, Google, Stanford University, and the European Commission.
I'm also the author of How to Save the World: How to Make Changing the World the Greatest Game We've Ever Played, which is taught in Harvard University's graduate sustainability programs, and host of the How to Save the World Podcast, where I unpack peer-reviewed research on environmental behavior change.
Today, through Hello World Labs, I help organizations design and architect behavior-change programs and teach teams the frameworks and systems to do it themselves.
Work with me to turn your sustainability goal into a complete, measurable engagement program.
Program Architecture Sprint ↗
Learn the frameworks, psychology, and systems behind effective environmental change programs.
Explore Action School ↗Turning Ideas for Change Into Action
Explore some of my favorite projects:
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Dive Deep into the Theory of Environmental Change
Work with me to turn your sustainability goal into a complete, measurable engagement program.
Purchase on Amazon ↗Learn the frameworks, psychology, and systems behind effective environmental change programs.
Apple Podcasts ↗Spotify ↗Working with Organizations Serious About Scaling Change
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A Few Adventures Along The Way
Across environmental engineering, design, technology, and entrepreneurship.
Founded and led a venture-funded environmental publishing company.
Worked on thermodynamic modelling for Melbourne's poineering green buliding Council House II.
Cosmopolitan Australia's entrepreneurship award.
Partnered with major consumer brands through the Ogilvey Agency to bring environmental ideas and engagement campaigns to mainstream audiences.
Presented on the power of environmental imagination.
Gathered the world's leading behavioral psychology experts together to launch the world's first Climate Action Design School.
Served on the board of Good Environmental Choice Australia, supporting independent environmental standards and product certification.
Have a project, partnership, or speaking opportunity?
I work with governments, utilties, non-profits, and change-makers to design and implement behavior change programs that deliver real results.
What People are Saying
“Katie translates cutting-edge behavioral research into a straightforward method to create campaigns of change. Those who would like to effectively wield social science to meet our environmental challenges should read her work.”
“Katie's materials are invaluable for change-makers looking to make real impact in communities. One cannot go through any of the steps Katie teaches without figuring out how to use civic data for doing good, and that’s a frontier all innovators, journalists and startup founders should be very excited about.”
“I was blown away by the gamification concepts Katie Patrick uses. She brings a fresh sense of play and perspective to tough, serious environmental topics. At the same time, her assertions make sense as she lays out her strategies and then proves them using game concepts. You can't help but be transformed.”
Katie Patrick is a Silicon Valley based environmental engineer, climate action designer, and author of How to Save the World: How to Make Changing the World the Greatest Game We've Ever Played, now taught in Harvard University’s graduate program and top recommended reading material by UNEP.
Katie specializes in designing innovative apps, dashboards, and campaigns that drive environmental action by leveraging insights from behavioral science and game design. Her work combines rigorous research with creative execution to develop solutions that inspire sustainable behaviors and measurable impact.
She regularly studies leading academic research, including The Journal of Environmental Psychology, and interviews experts in the field on her podcast to integrate evidence-based strategies into her designs.
Katie has advised the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), Google, the U.S. State Department, the University of California, the European Commission, Dassault Systèmes, the Institute for the Future, Magic Leap, and Stanford University, as well as numerous startups focused on behavior design for environmental action.
Katie is passionate about biophilic design and envisions a future shaped by ecotopian principles. Her thought leadership has been recognized globally; she delivered a TEDx talk in 2020 and spoke at the UN General Assembly in 2021 on the role of creativity, optimism, and imagination in environmental change.