Chris Rabe, Education Program Director

Chris is the Education Program Director at the MIT Solutions Initiative, where his main area of research focuses on better understanding and expanding climate justice and sustainability education at MIT and beyond. Chris is also interested in exploring environmental education and community engagement that centers inclusive and anti-racist practices and supports students who experience challenging emotions in relation to the climate crisis. 

In addition, Chris helps advance the varied goals of ESI’s education program by supporting faculty, advising students in the Environmental and Sustainability Minor, building curriculum, co-teaching courses, and conducting research on educational practices. Current examples of this include leading the Climate Environment and Sustainability Infusion Fellowship (CESIF), developing and promoting The Climate Justice Instructional Toolkit, and conducting a cross-disciplinary study on climate justice teaching and learning experiences at MIT. Chris also serves as an affiliate postdoc in the Social and Ethical Responsibility in Computing project, where he leads a reading group that is exploring the intersection of climate justice and computing.  

Prior to joining MIT, Chris spent 15 years as a composition instructor for immigrant and international students in a variety of educational contexts. He holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education and a Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics, both from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Chris enjoys spending his free time roaming parks and bike paths near his home in Dorchester, MA with his son, Tiago and wife, Lorena.