Carolyn McGrath is a visual arts and climate change educator who has worked in New Jersey public schools for 27 years. A passionate advocate for interdisciplinary climate change education that integrates art, justice, emotion, and action, she frequently presents workshops on these topics. In 2022, as part of Subject to Climate’s inaugural New Jersey teacher task force, Carolyn developed art and climate lessons for the New Jersey Climate Education Hub. 

Through collaboration with the Climate Psychology Alliance of North America, where she chairs the Educators and Counselors Committee, she co-authored An Educator’s Guide to Climate Emotions in 2024. Her chapter on “The Role of Art in Climate Change Education” was published in Climate Change Education Across Disciplines K–12 in 2025. Carolyn and her students’ artworks about climate change have been featured on NPR and PBS, as well as in The Washington Post, The Hechinger Report, USA Today, Education Week, Unthinkable, Grist, 5th National Climate Assessment, and other publications.

Alongside her work in art and climate education, Carolyn is also a school sustainability leader and champion of youth climate leadership. As co-chair of her district’s Green Team, she worked to achieve Sustainable Jersey bronze certification for all HVRSD schools and has secured numerous grants for school sustainability projects. Carolyn was recognized by Sustainable Jersey for Schools as a Sustainability Hero in 2022. She has been a longtime board member of OASIS (Organizing Action for Sustainability in Schools). 

Under her mentorship, the Youth Environmental Society at Hopewell Valley Central High School has been recognized for their outstanding commitment to climate advocacy on national and local levels; recent awards include the NJ Student Climate Challenge, the NJ Department of Education Student Recognition Award, and EcoAmerica’s Climate Leadership Award. In 2024, US Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman issued a proclamation acknowledging the Youth Environmental Society for their role in organizing the first NJ Youth Climate Justice & Action Summit. In 2022, Carolyn’s students successfully petitioned the Hopewell Valley Regional School Board to create a district Climate Action Committee. She currently co-leads that committee and is working with students, teachers, parents, and administrators to develop a Climate Action Plan.