Elizabeth Sawin

Dr. Elizabeth Sawin has dedicated her career to the theory and practice of creating change in complex systems. She trained in system dynamics computer simulation with Donella Meadows at Sustainability Institute. At the Institute, she also supported sustainability leaders from around the world who used system approaches to conserve land, enact climate policy, restore rivers, and promote healthy communities. In 2010 Beth co-founded the think tank Climate Interactive to create tools for grappling with the complexity of the climate system. She also developed the concept of multisolving to describe a style of leadership she observed around the world where people collaborate to achieve multiple goals, like climate, equity, and health, at the same time. In 2021, Dr. Sawin founded Multisolving Institute to expand this research and develop tools tailored for multisolving. Her work has been widely covered including in the New York Times and the Washington Post, and she writes and speaks internationally about leadership in complex systems and multisolving. Beth holds a Ph.D. from MIT.