Dr. Toddi Steelman serves as the Vice President and Vice Provost for Climate and Sustainability at Duke University. In this role, she leads the Duke Climate Commitment - a university-wide initiative that unites education, research, operations, and public service to fully engage the Duke community in developing and implementing solutions to climate change.
Dr. Steelman is internationally recognized for her research expertise in wildland fire. An elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Steelman explores: how can people, communities, and institutions work better together to respond to complex problems—especially when the stakes are high, the science is uncertain, and the solutions require collaboration across sectors.
For over 25 years, she has studied how governments, agencies, and communities navigate challenges like wildfires, natural disasters, and climate change. Her work reveals how trust, communication, and shared decision-making lead to more effective emergency responses and more resilient systems.
From 2018 to 2023, Dr. Steelman was the Stanback Dean of the Nicholas School of the Environment, where she led transformative work in environmental education, interdisciplinary research, and community impact. She is a past president of the International Association of Wildland Fire. She has delivered invited keynote addresses across the globe - including in Portugal, Canada, Germany, Australia, and the U.S. and has contributed to the Royal Society (UK) and the National Academy of Sciences (US).
She is the author of four books and has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. Her commentary has also appeared in major outlets including Nature, The Globe and Mail, The Hill, and the Los Angeles Times. She sits on the Boards of the World Wildlife Fund and the Research Triangle Institute.