About Leslie

Speaker at World-Class Events

Leslie Davenport is an internationally recognized voice on the emotional and psychological dimensions of climate change. She has presented at premier venues including the Aspen Ideas Festival, Aspen Ideas: Climate, Bioneers, and Bloomberg Green, delivering talks that inspire action, deepen understanding, and equip audiences to meet the climate crisis with resilience.

Known for blending cutting-edge science with a warm, human-centered approach, Leslie makes complex ideas accessible, whether speaking to global leaders, educators, frontline professionals, or community advocates. Her talks illuminate the deep connections between climate, mental health, and social transformation, leaving audiences with both practical tools and renewed inspiration.

Leadership & Vision

Leslie integrates the power of psychology into interdisciplinary efforts that drive creative, effective solutions for climate change. A founding member of the Institute for Health & Healing, one of the nation’s first and largest hospital-based integrative medicine programs, she brings over 25 years of experience helping people navigate crisis through an empowering, collaborative approach. This work has shaped her community-centered model of climate psychology, one that bridges science, mental health, and social transformation.

Her path has been anything but conventional. Before becoming a therapist, Leslie was a professional dancer praised by San Francisco Chronicle critic Allan Ulrich for her “superior sense of balance” and “powers of communication that set her apart from the herd.” Today, as a licensed Therapist with three decades in practice, she draws on this rich, interdisciplinary background to address the health and cultural impacts of how we perceive, think, and feel about our rapidly changing world.

Author & Thought Leader

Leslie’s clinical and academic expertise has led to the publication of multiple books, including Emotional Resiliency in the Era of Climate Change, Healing and Transformation through Self-Guided Imagery, and Transformative Imagery: Cultivating the Imagination for Healing, Change, and Growth. She contributed to the American Psychological Association, ecoAmerica, and Climate for Health’s landmark report Mental Health and Our Changing Climate (2017), and has written chapters for Existential Toolkit for Climate Justice Educators, Being a Therapist in a Time of Climate Breakdown, Integrative Rehabilitation Practice, and Parker Palmer’s The Heart of Higher Education. Her upcoming Climate Emotions Workbook: Practices for Personal, Collective, and Planetary Healing will be released by the American Psychological Association in 2026.

Supporting & Empowering Young People

Committed to equipping the next generation with tools for emotional resilience and engagement, Leslie has authored two children’s books published by APA’s Magination Press: All the Feelings Under the Sun and What To Do When Climate Change Scares You. Both blend climate science with social justice and mental health strategies to help kids navigate a warming world with courage and clarity.

Advisor & Collaborator

Leslie serves as an Ambassador to THE HERDS, a groundbreaking public art and climate initiative, and as a climate psychology advisor to Project InsideOut, One Resilient Earth, the Climate Mental Health Network, and the Post Carbon Institute. She has contributed to interdisciplinary think tanks hosted by the Post Carbon Institute and the Institute for Policy Studies, ensuring that climate solutions are informed by a deep understanding of human behavior and emotional dynamics.

Educator & Program Lead

An experienced educator, Leslie has taught at Mills College, the University of San Francisco, California State University Hayward, Holy Names University, and Five Branches University, and served as core faculty in the Transpersonal Psychology Graduate Program at John F. Kennedy University. She is currently the Program and Faculty Lead for the nation’s first Certificate Training in Climate Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies.