M Jackson

Dr. M Jackson is an American geographer, glaciologist, and science communicator whose work focuses on climate science, human geography, and storytelling. Jackson earned a doctorate in geography and glaciology from the University of Oregon, where she worked in The Glacier Lab and co-developed a feminist glaciology framework for global environmental change. She is a three-time U.S. Fulbright Fellow, having completed research fellowships in Turkey and Iceland. Jackson also holds a Master of Science degree from the University of Montana and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia.

Jackson investigates the intersections of societal transformation, glaciology, and climate change, combining fieldwork with narrative to communicate scientific concepts. She spent a year on the southeastern coast of Iceland, documenting the cultural and societal impacts of glacier change on local communities and interviewing hundreds of Icelanders living near ice. Jackson has worked for more than a decade chronicling climate change and communities in the Arctic and Antarctic. She has led a multi-year project in partnership with National Geographic Society Explorers, filmmakers, and scientists, examining the socio-physical dimensions of glacier retreat in near-glacier communities across all eight circumpolar nations.

Jackson is a public speaker and author of the books "Ice to Water," "The Ice Sings Back," "The Secret Lives of Glaciers," and "While Glaciers Slept: Being Human in a Time of Climate Change." Her memoir "While Glaciers Slept" weaves together the story of personal loss with the effects of climate change. In "The Secret Lives of Glaciers," Jackson recounts stories of glaciers told by people throughout Iceland, exploring the plasticity of glaciers, their influence on society, and the consequences of glacier change.

Jackson is a National Geographic Society Explorer and a TED Fellow. She has delivered a TED talk on the importance of viewing glaciology through a feminist lens, and her feminist glaciology framework encourages discussion about the people researching glaciers and whose voices are represented. Jackson's work challenges audiences to reconsider their relationship with the planet's ice, emphasizing that understanding glaciers is closely connected to understanding the communities and cultures that live alongside them.