Katlyn M. Turner is a researcher, traveler, educator, and creator who focuses on technology, environmental and climate justice, marginalized communities, and self determination. She has led & conducted research on topics like critical minerals x AI, frontline communities and storytelling sovereignty, the theory & practice of inclusive innovation, epistemic & institutional exclusion in the nuclear sector, and climate justice praxis in sub-Saharan Africa. Her theoretical frameworks about technology and social hierarchy aim to make visible the externalities of technology systems and the ways in which intersectionally marginalized groups are uniquely impacted; they are frequently cited in Black feminist, HCI, STS, and systems engineering communities. Her work has been featured in large venues like climate week, The Conference, and COP, and intimate ones like Racism and the Origins of the Atomic Bomb and the Indigenous and Antiracist Innovators Summit. Katlyn earned her PhD from Stanford University advised by the late Prof. Rodney C. Ewing and Prof. Wendy Mao. Katlyn is a research affiliate at the MIT Media Lab and the CU Boulder Information Science Department, and is the founder and principal investigator of KTLN Consulting. When not doing research-y things, you can find her hiking with her dog Ru, at the City Park farmer’s market, biking (outside or in dark rooms), or on a train in Europe somewhere.
News
| Katlyn has accepted a role as Assistant Professor of Environmental Justice & Technology in the Department of Information Sciences at CU Boulder , effective Fall 2026 ! |
| Katlyn's coauthored work on water management in Angola A subnational social vulnerability index for use in drought decision support systems was published in Environmental Science & Policy on March 2, 2026. |
| 2025 |
| Katlyn is convening the upcoming session: Frontline Community-Driven Approaches to Climate and Environmental Change: Theory, Narrative, and Practice on December 18, 2025 at the American Geophysical Union Conference (AGU25) in New Orleans, Louisiana. |
| Katlyn’s work on frontline communities was featured as an editor highlight in Eos. |
| Katlyn is the senior author on: Best Practices for Frontline Narrative and Storytelling Sovereignty: A Guide. |
| Katlyn is the senior author on the publication: A Mixed Methods Needs Assessment of Frontline Communities: Insights for Engagement and Partnerships Between Communities and Intermediary Organizations, published September 8, 2025 in Community Science. |
