Debera Johnson

Debera leads Pratt’s commitment to integrate sustainability into academics in her role as Academic Director of the Center for Sustainable Design Studies (CSDS). Founded in 2008, the CSDS interdisciplinary thesis lab supports innovative student projects in design, architecture and urban planning. The CSDS is the campus resource for sustainable design and has published open source evaluation tools and programming, workshops for faculty development, and documented case studies by students, faculty and alumni. The CSDS is also resource for K-12 educators in the NYC region.

Debera coordinates the groundbreaking Partnership for Academic Leadership in Sustainability (PALS), a cohort of educators that represent 33 independent art and design colleges across North America. The PALS fellows have are actively collaborating to advance sustainability in art and design education by creating events, exhibits and processes that share and leverage their collective resources.