Dr. Roslynn Brain McCann is a Sustainable Communities Professor in the Department of Environment and Society at Utah State University (USU) in Moab, Utah, USA. She applies conservation theory, communication techniques, and social marketing tools to foster environmental action. Roslynn teaches an upper-level community-engaged learning undergraduate course called Communicating Sustainability as well as the globally-recognized Permaculture Design Certification. Permaculture is an ecological design framework with the ethics of earth care, people care, and fair share. The framework interweaves Indigenous and Western science, providing a critical pathway toward social and environmental healing. She has coordinated the creation of perennial edible and medicinal permaculture garden sites on campuses and throughout the town of Moab, and has taught permaculture design to community members, colleagues, students, and interns over the past ten years. Roslynn has also conducted and published national research regarding the permaculture movement, worked on a team to simplify Utah’s greywater policy, and has woven permaculture design into presentations on greywater, sustainable living, local food, composting, water conservation, and climate change mitigation and resilience. Her work has influenced thousands of individuals in audiences ranging from elementary school students to the federal government.

In addition to permaculture design, Roslynn helps lead the National Extension Climate Initiative, researches and provides outreach on Indigenous climate change perceptions and strategies to build resilience, is the coordinator for the Utah Farmers Market Network, and Sustainable You! kids’ camps, and she co-leads the Utah High School Clean Air Marketing Contest.

Outside of the University, she lives in a passive solar, 100% electric strawbale home that feeds the grid solar energy. She designed and built her home with her husband within a walking/biking only community in Moab. Her perennial edible-centric landscape is fed primarily by greywater and rainwater. Roslynn rides a mountain and electric commuter bike as her primary modes of transit and supports local farmers and local economies both within and outside of her work. She is a mother of two wild boys and is helping them recognize - and express gratitude for - Mother Earth.