Margaret Orr

Margaret Orr

Margaret Orr

Graduate Teaching Assistant

Climate Change Communication, Misinformation, Propaganda, Research-to-Practice

Margaret Orr is from Swarthmore, PA. Her lifelong passions of reading, words, writing, and science led her to her current post as a third-year doctoral student in the GMU Department of Communication, where she focuses on climate change communication and is involved with the George Mason Center for Climate Change Communication (4C). Her research interests include climate change misinformation, inoculation theory, and working with broadcast meteorologists on debunking misinformation about climate change. 

Margaret received a B.S. in Meteorology & Climatology with a minor in French from the University of Delaware in 2018, and an M.S. in Geography from the University of Georgia in 2020, where her research focused on climate change psychology. She is very involved in the American Meteorological Society and is a co-chair for their 2022 and 2023 Student Conference.

Outside of her professional life, Margaret is an ice dancer and also enjoys hiking and being outdoors, reading, watching Real Housewives, and spending time with friends and family. 

Current Research

Climate Myth Debunking for TV Meteorologists - a handbook for broadcasters to debunk climate change misinformation

Selected Publications

Orr, M.; Stewart, A.; Grundstein, A. Investigating Connections between Need for Cognitive Closure and Climate Change Concern in College Students. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 202017, 5619.

Orr, M., Veron, D. E., & Rogers, M. J. (2021). Communicating about Climate Change through AMS Student Chapter Activities. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 102(2), 157-162. doi:10.1175/bams-d-18-0245.1

Courses Taught

COMM101 - Fundamentals of Communication

COMM200 - Communication Theory

Education

B.S. Meteorology & Climatology, Minor in French: University of Delaware

M.S. Geography: University of Georgia

Recent Presentations

Orr, A. Borth, M. S. Sublette, J. Cook, B. Lindmeier, E. W. Maibach, J. E. Trujillo, V. Yas, C. Bianchi, A. Morales, M. J. Molina, I. Sans, A. del Moral Mendez, L. Vidana Guiterrez, V. Alonso, G. Dellan, and J. Gallardo. (2022, January 25). Climate Myth Debunking for TV Meteorologists. Presented at the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society, virtual.