Lisette is postdoctoral researcher at the Urban Futures Studio at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. She is interested in how imaginaries of climate futures gain traction, and how dominant imaginaries can be opened-up through creative and participatory processes. In her PhD project (2019 - 2023), she focused on how Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) shape imaginaries in climate politics, supervised by prof. dr. Maarten Hajer and prof. dr. Detlef van Vuuren. Her PhD was part of the CLIMAGINARIES project.
In her work, Lisette combines critical interpretative research on the role of expertise and imaginaries in climate politics with transdisciplinary collaborations with artists, activists, experts, policymakers and citizens. Examples include an collaboration with two artists-in-residence, co-designing a citizen engagement tool for Dutch climate policy and coordinating the Mixed Classroom on just transitions.
In her current postdoc project (2023-2024), Lisette explores how we can rethink the university in the climate crsisis, funded by Pathways to Sustainability. This involves visiting other European universities, collecting inspiring examples of transformative research and education, en organiseert een seminar. In her blog series, the Climate University Express, Lisette shares inspiring stories of how the university could be otherwise.