Debera Johnson

Debera Johnson is Academic Director of Sustainability for Pratt Institute. She founded the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation in 2002 during her tenure as chair of the industrial design program. Under her leadership the Incubator has helped launch 25 design-driven enterprises in four sectors: clean energy, fashion, design, and design consulting. The Incubator provides affordable space, mentorship, and strategic business development within a collaborative community of entrepreneurs. Currently the Incubator hosts 12 businesses and has just opened the Pratt Pop-up! shop in the new Dekalb Market in Brooklyn.

Debera also leads Pratt’s commitment to integrate sustainability into academics in her role as Academic Director of the Center for Sustainable Design Studies. She also coordinates the groundbreaking Partnership for Academic Leadership in Sustainability, a cohort of educators that represent 33 independent art and design colleges across North America. PALS fellows are actively collaborating to advance sustainability in art and design education by creating events, exhibits, and processes that share and leverage their collective resources.