Breanna Byrd

Breanna Byrd (she/they) is the Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate Humanities and Social Justice. Her research charts the ecosocial relationships among Southern (U.S. and Global South) Black communities. They received their PhD from the University of California Santa Cruz in 2025. Breanna is a 2025-2026 North Carolina Climate Justice Collective Taproots Artist in Residence and a 2025 SISTORIES Luminary Editorial Fellow. Her creative and scholarly work weaves together histories of land, belonging, and futurity to tell a story beyond the inevitability of climate collapse. Breanna loves spending time with her sweet pitbull and very wise snake—both are named after flowers!