Crystal Chissell is Executive Director of The Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE). Crystal is a collaborative leader who brings rich experience from the non-profit, government, and academic sectors to GCSE’s mission to improve the scientific basis of environmental decision-making.
Prior to joining GCSE, Chissell served as VP of Operations for two climate solutions nonprofits, Project Drawdown and Project Regeneration, and also served as Senior Director of Partnerships for Project Drawdown. In those roles she has worked with government, business, and academic organizations to identify, analyze, and implement a diverse portfolio of effective strategies for reversing climate change, at local to global scales. Her state and local government experience includes serving as Chief Solicitor of the Baltimore City Law Department, as Assistant Attorney General for the Maryland Environmental Service, and as Mayor of Highland Beach, Maryland. Chissell earned a B.A. from Howard University, an M.S. in Environmental Science from Johns Hopkins University, an M.B.A. from the University of San Francisco, and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law.