Each month, Citizens’ Climate Lobby supporters gather locally for a monthly meeting where we educate ourselves by listening to a guest speaker.
May 12 Guest Speaker
Julia Roberson, VP of Communications for Ocean Conservancy
One of the more troubling aspects of climate change is its impact on oceans, which are a major source of food and also affect our weather patterns. Joining us for the May call to discuss that impact is Julia Roberson, VP of Communications for Ocean Conservancy. Her passion is communicating about the people and stories behind big environmental issues in a way that leads to action.
Roberson is a skilled writer and media relations professional deeply committed to ocean issues and to finding the intersections between serving nature and people’s needs in our rapidly growing world. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, from Appalachian State University.
April 14 Guest Speaker
Amber Sullins, Meteorologist
With surveys showing a persistent gap between what scientists say about climate change and what the public thinks scientists believe, it’s clear that Americans need more exposure to the views of scientific experts. As Amber Sullins says, the only scientist most people hear from is the person who delivers the weather forecast every evening. That’s why the Phoenix meteorologist talks about climate change during her reports. Sullins, who holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Atmospheric Science from the University of Arizona in Tucson, joins our call to discuss how meteorologists are helping the public to connect the dots between climate change and our changing weather.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
Previous Speakers and Calls
March 10 Guest Speaker
Joan Blades, MoveOn.org co-founder
Joan Blades and her husband Wes Boyd co-founded the political action group MoveOn.org in 1997. In 2006, she co-founded MomsRising.org, dedicated to “bringing millions of people, who all share a common concern about the need to build a more family-friendly America, together as a non-partisan force.” Her latest project, Living Room Conversations, seeks to bridge the political divide in America by encouraging people with differing views to come together for respectful discussions. These conversations increase understanding, reveal common ground, and sometimes even allow us to discuss possible solutions.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
February 10 Guest Speaker
Celia Paris, Loyola University
Our February guest is Celia Paris, Assistant Professor in Political Science at Loyola University. She is currently working on a book manuscript that explores whether Madisonian ideals for deliberative and collaborative political decision-making have lost their appeal. Titled Madison’s ABCs: Why the Public Still Values Accomplishment, Bipartisanship, and Civility in Congress, her book argues that the desire for a more Madisonian approach to politics remains alive and well in the American public and that citizens value accomplishment, bipartisanship, and civility.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
January 13 Guest Speaker
Sabine Marx, Earth Institute at Columbia University
How do we communicate effectively with policy makers about climate change? For answers on our January call, we turn to Sabine Marx with the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED). She’s the Director of Research at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at the Earth Institute, Columbia University and the co-author of “The Psychology of Climate Change Communication.” Dr. Marx joined CRED in 2005 after two years of post-doctoral work at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) at Columbia’s Earth Institute. She received her Ph.D. in medical history from Carnegie Mellon University and holds a Masters degree in Sociology and Pedagogy, with a minor in Psychology and Art Therapy from the University of Cologne, Germany.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
December 9 Guest Speaker
José Aguto, Catholic Climate Covenant
José Aguto is Associate Director of Catholic Climate Covenant, where he raises up the call to care for creation and care for the poor. Prior to joining Catholic Climate Covenant, he was Legislative Secretary for Sustainable Energy and Environment at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. Aguto was one of CCL’s earliest allies on Capitol Hill and worked with CCL on the introduction of the Republican Climate Resolution, which eventually led to the formation of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus. Aguto has also worked for the National Congress of American Indians in the service of tribal governments seeking to address climate change.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
November 11 Guest Speaker
Maj. Gen. Rick Devereaux, USAF (ret.)
Our Veterans Day 2017 speaker was retired Maj. Gen. Rick Devereaux, who served 34 years in the U.S. Air Force before retiring in 2012. His last assignment was Director of Operational Planning, Policy, and Strategy in Washington, D.C. He is currently Executive Vice President for Government Affairs at Texzon Technologies, a pioneer in the field of electromagnetic wave propagation, power storage, and electricity distribution.
Gen. Devereaux is also a volunteer with the Asheville chapter of Citizens Climate Lobby where he educates the public about the national security risks of climate change.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
October 14 Guest Speaker
Barbara Love, Professor Emeritus UMASS-Amherst
Our October 2017 guest speaker was Barbara Love, Professor Emeritus of Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Love taught graduate classes on foundations of social justice education, design development and facilitation skills, and on self-awareness for social justice educators and liberation workers.
She is recognized globally for her work on organizational and societal transformation and on issues of diversity, inclusion, and liberation. She directs the Black Liberation and Community Development Project of the International ReEvaluation Counseling Communities. Her publications appear in a variety of journals and anthologies and focus on personal, organizational, and societal transformation and strategies for liberation.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
September 9 Guest Speaker
Dr. Shi-Ling Hsu, D’Alemberte Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at the Florida State University College of Law
Dr. Shi-Ling Hsu is the D’Alemberte Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Environmental Programs at the Florida State University College of Law. He is the author of The Case for a Carbon Tax: Getting Past our Hang-ups to Effective Climate Policy, which remains the most comprehensive general treatment and argument for carbon taxation. He teaches and writes in the areas of environmental and natural resource law, climate change, law and economics, and property.
Professor Hsu holds an M.S. in ecology and a Ph.D. in agricultural and resource economics, and was an EPA Star Fellow from 1996-98. A member of CCL’s advisory board, Dr. Hsu has completed 22 marathons, including 6 Boston Marathons.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the video recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
August 12 Guest Speaker
Paul Hawken, author of Drawdown
Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, author and activist who has dedicated his life to environmental sustainability and changing the relationship between business and the environment.
He is the author of Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming. The book is based on the work of researchers from around the world who identified, researched and modeled the 100 most substantive, existing solutions to address climate change. What was uncovered is a path forward that can roll back global warming within thirty years. It shows that humanity has the means at hand. Nothing new needs to be invented.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
July 2017 Guest Speaker
Andrew Jones, Climate Interactive
Andrew (Drew) Jones is Co-Founder of Climate Interactive, a top-rated climate change think tank that creates the simulations used in the United Nations negotiations. An expert on international climate and energy issues, his quotes and interactive data stories appear frequently in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and other media.
Jones and his team at CI and MIT Sloan developed “C-ROADS”, the user-friendly climate simulation in use by thousands of climate analysts around the world. He teaches Systems Thinking and Sustainability at MIT and UNC-Chapel Hill’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch or download the recording. Or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
June 10 Guest Speaker
Congressman Ted Deutch
Just days before 1,000 CCL volunteers hit Capitol Hill, Congressman Ted Deutch — Democratic co-chair of the House Climate Solutions Caucus — joins us to provide an overview of the caucus’ activities and where progress is happening between Republicans and Democrats on the climate issue.
Background
Deutch represents Florida’s 22nd district, home to communities throughout western Palm Beach County and Broward County in South Florida and is now serving his fifth term in the 115th Congress. In addition to the Climate Solutions Caucus, he is a member of the House Judiciary Committee, the House Ethics Committee, and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on which he serves as Ranking Democrat on the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
May 13 Guest Speaker
Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, American Public Health Association
The burning of fossil fuels takes a tremendous toll on public health, not only from the impact of climate change, but also from the pollution that leads to heart and respiratory problems. To learn more about this, we’re joined this month by Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, policy analyst in the American Public Health Association’s Center for Public Health Policy. Her specialty areas within the Policy Center include climate change and environmental exposures.
Dr. DeJarnett received her PhD in Public Health from the University of Louisville in 2013. As a postdoc at the University, she was awarded a fellowship by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences to investigate cardiovascular risks of air pollution exposures. In 2015, she received the prestigious Impact Award from the Society of Toxicology’s Cardiovascular Toxicology Specialty Section for her 2014 paper “Acrolein Exposure is Associated with Increased Cardiovascular Disease Risk.”
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
April Guest Speaker: Katherine Hammack, former Asst. Secretary of the Army
Katherine Hammack is an experienced leader in the energy and environmental field who was appointed by President Obama, and confirmed by the Senate, to be the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. She worked with the Obama administration, focusing on Net Zero (energy, water and waste), resiliency and sustainability for all of the Army’s installations worldwide.
Katherine is an expert on Climate Change and Sustainability strategies and oversaw LEED certification for the largest LEED project in the world when she was with Ernst & Young. She has extensively spoken around the world at conferences and in radio interviews regarding sustainability, resilience and net zero strategies.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
March Guest Speaker: Devashree Saha, Brookings Institution
Devashree Saha will discuss the decoupling of decarbonization and the economy, and how carbon emissions are declining despite a growing economy. She is a senior policy associate and associate fellow at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program. Her research primarily focuses on the intersection of clean energy and economic development policy, including the transition to a clean energy economy.
Prior to joining Brookings, Saha worked at the National Governors Association, where her work spanned clean energy, transportation, and land use planning issues. She holds a Ph.D. in public policy from the University of Texas at Austin and a master’s in political science from Purdue University.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
February 11 Guest Speaker: Sandy Reisky, Apex Clean Energy
How do we speed up the transition to clean energy? On our February call we turn to Sandy Reisky, Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer for Apex Clean Energy, which is developing and managing dozens of wind and solar power projects throughout the U.S. Sandy’s companies have developed over $4 billion of wind and solar facilities. He was founder and president of Greenlight Energy, a leading independent wind energy company that was acquired by BP in 2006. Sandy was also the founder of Axio Power, a utility-scale solar developer; Columbia Power Technologies, a pioneer in wave energy technology; and Greenlight Biofuels, a waste-to-energy company.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
January Guest Speaker: Yoram Bauman, founder of yeson732.org
What are the lessons we can learn from the defeat of the Washington state carbon tax referendum, Initiative 732? To find out, our guest on January’s call is Yoram Bauman, founder and co-chair of YesOn732.org, which spearheaded the campaign for I-732. Bauman holds a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Washington and is known as the “Stand-up Economist.” He is co-author of the 1998 book Tax Shift that helped inspire the revenue-neutral carbon tax in British Columbia. In 2012, he co-authored with Shi-Ling Hsu an op-ed in the New York Times, The Most Sensible Tax of All.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
December 10 guests: Sam Daley-Harris and Jay Butera
Sam Daley-Harris
Jay Butera
Most members of Congress do not go to Washington with the intention of being a champion for climate change solutions. So, how then do we turn them into one? RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris and CCL Senior Congressional Liaison Jay Butera join our December call to walk us through the process of moving members of Congress up the ladder of leadership on climate change.
Sam is currently the CEO and Founder of the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation and author of “Reclaiming Our Democracy.”
Jay was instrumental in the founding of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus and is featured in Season Two of National Geographic’s documentary series on climate change, “Years of Living Dangerously.“
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes or PodBean.
November Guest: Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, climate scientist
Following a very stressful election season, we thought it would be good to hear the calm and reassuring voice of our favorite climate change communicator, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe. Dr. Hayhoe recently gave CCL a big shoutout at the South by South Lawn climate change discussion at the White House with President Obama and actor Leonardo DiCaprio. In addition, she just launched a series of short videos on climate change, “Global Weirding.”
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes.
October 8 Guest: George Lakoff, linguistics expert
Linguistics expert George Lakoff, author of “Don’t Think of an Elephant,” “The Political Mind,” and many more books examining the power of language, is our guest for the October national call. He’ll share his recent work on the distinction between direct causation and systemic causation, which is the frame through which climate change can be better comprehended. Mr. Lakoff is recently retired from the University of California at Berkeley, where he was Professor of Cognitive Science and Linguistics.
Playback options for meetings:
Watch the recording or listen to the podcast on iTunes.
September 10, 2016 – Former Congressman Bob Inglis
As we gear up to introduce and pass legislation, this is good time to look at the nuts and bolts of the legislative process, and who better to guide us than former Republican Congressman Bob Inglis. Inglis, who introduced his own carbon tax bill in 2009, left Congress in 2011 and founded RepublicEn, which is working to build support among conservatives for a market-based solution to climate change.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
August 13, 2016 – Rikkia Ramsey from Truman Center
Our guest for the August 13 national is Rikkia Ramsey, Policy Program Coordinator for the Truman Center. Before joining the Truman Center, Rikkia was Military Legislative Correspondent for U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC), addressing constituent concerns regarding defense and foreign policy issues. She’ll talk about the Truman Center’s Operation Free, a coalition of veterans and national security experts that advocate for securing America with clean energy. It recognizes that climate change and our dependence on oil, are national security threats and fights on a local, state and federal level for strong clean energy policies.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
July 9, 2016 – Matt Anderson, director the National Audubon Society’s Climate Initiative
Our July guest is Matt Anderson, director the National Audubon Society’s Climate Initiative. In 2014, Audubon released a report, Birds and Climate Change, which found that 314 bird species — nearly half of all North American birds — are severely threatened by global warming. Prior to working at Audubon, Matthew spent two and half years as executive director of the National Religious Partnership for the Environment (NRPE). Before joining NRPE, Matthew directed the Creation Care Fund, which provides financial and technical support to Christian environmental grassroots initiatives.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
June 11, 2016 – Bessie Schwarz, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication
Bessie Schwarz is the Communications Strategist for the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, managing media, and outreach analysis. She comes to YPCCC with extensive experience designing, running and winning national and local grassroots campaigns. She has worked with Citizens’ Climate Lobby to help CCL groups leverage the polling information found in YPCCC’s Climate Opinion Maps, which provide state- and district-level detail on public opinion about climate change and climate solutions. As we approach our lobby day on June 21, we’ll talk about how to use Yale’s data in meetings on the Hill.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
May, 2016 – Climate scientist Dr. James Hansen
We’re thrilled to have Dr. James Hansen as our guest for the May national call. Dr. Hansen is the American adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University. Recognized by many as America’s leading climate scientist, Dr. Hansen is a member of CCL’s Advisory Board and is a strong advocate for CCL’s Carbon Fee and Dividend proposal. He is the author of Storms of My Grandchildren, and he recently spoke at the Berkshire-Hathaway shareholders meeting in Omaha to urge support for a revenue-neutral fee on carbon.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
April 9, 2016 – Renee Lertzman
Author, teacher, consultant and public speaker Renee Lertzman is our guest for CCL’s April 9 call. She is a practicing climate change engagement specialist, applied researcher and senior advisor for the Center for Sustainable Energy, along with teaching Psychology and Environmental Education and Communications at Royal Roads University. Her latest book is Environmental Melancholia: Psychoanalytic Dimensions of Engagement.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
March 12: U.S. Rep Carlos Curbelo
U.S. Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Republican who represents Florida’s 26th District, is our guest for the March 12 call. Along with Rep. Ted Deutch (D-FL), he recently formed the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus in the House. Congressman Curbelo was also the first Republican to cosponsor the climate resolution introduced by Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) last September.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
Feb 13: Jeffrey O’Malley
Our February guest is Jeffrey O’Malley, Director of the Division of Data, Research and Policy for UNICEF. He is responsible for shaping research and evidence priorities, ensuring that evidence in turn shapes UNICEF policies and strategies. Mr. O’Malley joins our February call to discuss UNICEF’s report, Unless We Act Now, about the impact of climate change on children.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
January 9, 2016: Hahrie Han
Our guest speaker at our January meeting is Hahrie Han. Han is the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics in the Department of Political Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She specializes in the politics of environmental and social policy, focusing particularly on the role that civic associations play in mobilizing participation in politics and policy advocacy.
Hahrie is also the author of the book, How Organizations Develop Activists.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
Dec 5: Retired Rear Admiral David Titley
Our guest for the December call is Dr. David Titley, a professor of practice in meteorology at Pennsylvania State University and the founding director of their Center for Solutions to Weather and Climate Risk. He was also NOAA’s chief operating officer from 2012-2013. Before assuming these positions, he was a rear admiral and the chief oceanographer of the U.S. Navy, in which he served for 32 years.
While serving in the Pentagon, Dr. Titley initiated and led the US Navy’s Task Force on Climate Change.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
November 2015 – Rob Williams, Resources for the Future
Our guest for the November call is Rob Williams, Senior Fellow and Director of Academic Programs at Resources for the Future (RFF). He’ll discuss results from two recent papers RFF published that examine the different impacts a revenue-neutral carbon fee would have across U.S. states and across income quintiles if the revenue was recycled to reduce corporate taxes, to reduce payroll taxes, or returned as a dividend. Rob and his RFF colleague Dallas Burtraw will also be featured at the Nov. 19 briefings on Capitol Hill before members of Congress.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
October 2015: Patrick Verkooijen from the World Bank
Our guest for the October call was Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change for the World Bank Group. He has been working closely with Rachel Kyte, the World Bank Vice President and Special Envoy for Climate Change, and has been instrumental in the building of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.
On the national call, Dr. Verkooijen spoke about the World Bank’s involvement in climate change and the role it is playing to facilitate carbon pricing throughout the world.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
September, 2015: Jerry Taylor, Niskanen Center
Jerry Taylor is president of the Niskanen Center, a libertarian think tank developing and promoting proposals to legislative and executive branch policymakers. Prior to founding the Center in 2014, Mr. Taylor spent 23 years at the Cato Institute, where he served as director of natural resource studies, assistant editor of Regulation magazine, senior fellow, and then vice president. He is the author of The Conservative Case for a Carbon Tax, a paper published earlier this year by the Niskanen Center.
Playback options for calls:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
August 2015 – Sam Daley-Harris, Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation
How can we maximize the leverage from the media we generate and other actions we take? RESULTS founder and CCL mentor Sam Daley–Harris will join our August call and coach us on best practices to ensure that our actions have the greatest impact with members of Congress. After 15 years with RESULTS, Sam founded the Microcredit Summit Campaign, which he left in 2012 to establish the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
July 2015 – Patrick Carolan, Executive Director of Franciscan Action Network
Now that the Pope has released his encyclical on climate change, how can we best leverage Francis’ message for policy action? In the run up to the Pope addressing Congress and the UN in September, what messages should we be putting forward in the media? For answers, we’ll turn to Patrick Carolan, Executive Director of the Franciscan Action Network, a grassroots organization amplifying the justice efforts of Franciscans and Franciscan-hearted people around the country.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
June 6: Danny Richter, CCL Legislative Director
What do we really know about people’s carbon footprints? What role does income and geography play? This is important to know, because the greater one’s carbon footprint, the more one will pay under a carbon-pricing regime, and elected officials want to know which of their constituents will be most affected. A new study from the Center for Global Development sheds light on these questions, and CCL’s Legislative Director Danny Richter will walk us through the study and its findings on the June call.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
May 2: Tony Leiserowitz, Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
The “gateway belief,” what makes people more likely to accept the facts on climate change and support public policy solutions, is this simple fact: 97% of climate scientists are convinced, based upon the evidence, that human-caused global warming is happening. On our May call, Tony Leiserowitz from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication will discuss how we can get this vital information across to people and also talk about using the Yale Climate Opinion Maps as a tool for advocacy.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
April 4: George Marshall, Climate Outreach and Information Network
On our April call, we dive into the psychology of climate change communication with George Marshall, author of Don’t Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired To Ignore Climate Change. Why is there such a big gap between what the scientists tell us about climate change and what the public believes? Marshall, co-founder of the Climate Outreach and Information Network will discuss what we can do to close that gap.
Marshall has 25 years experience working across the environmental spectrum – from community level protest groups to senior positions in Greenpeace and the Rainforest Foundation to consultancy work for governments and businesses. He is an expert advisor to the Welsh Government on public communications.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
March 7: Lonnie Ellis, OFS is the Associate Director of the Catholic Climate Covenant
Pope Francis will issue his encyclical dealing with climate change this year. What can we expect and what impact will it have in the Catholic community? To find out, we’ll talk to Lonnie Ellis, the Associate Director of the Catholic Climate Covenant, which emphasizes the need for Catholics to care for God’s creation and minimize the impact that climate change has on the poor.
He speaks nationally on the intersection of climate and faith, is frequently quoted in national media outlets, and has appeared on local and national television news programs. He has nine years of grassroots organizing experience, serving in leadership on several successful campaigns including expanding health insurance for children in Minnesota and securing a living wage ordinance for St. Paul. He is a lay member of the Order of Franciscans Secular (OFS) and holds a Master of Arts in Theology from Washington Theological Union.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
February 7, 2015: Keya Chatterjee, US Climate Action Network
What other organizations are working on climate change and what are they up to? To find out, we’ll turn to Keya Chatterjee, executive director of the US Climate Action Network. Prior to joining USCAN, Keya served as Senior Director for Renewable Energy and Footprint Outreach at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). Before that, She was a Climate Change Specialist at USAID. Keya is also the author of The Zero Footprint Baby: How to Save the Planet While Raising a Healthy Baby.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
January 10, 2015: David Hone, Climate Change Advisor for Shell
On our January call, we’ll discuss why businesses should embrace carbon pricing with our guest David Hone, Climate Change Advisor for Shell. He is also a board member of the International Emissions Trading Association and also the Washington-based Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). Check out David’s blog, which includes recent posts about the COP20 meeting in Lima.
Playback options:
Listen to or download the call from our podcasting channel or iTunes.
December 6, 2014: Allan Savory of the Savory Institute
Can we reverse desertification and sequester carbon through cattle herding?
That’s the hopeful theory behind the work of our December guest, Allan Savory of the Savory Institute, who began developing his holistic management methodology in Zimbabwe in the 1980s.
Listen to December 2014 call on our podchannel
November 1, 2014: Charles Kennel, Former director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography
2C or not 2C? That is the question on CCL’s next international call.
Charles Kennel, who was the ninth director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and a former Associate Administrator at NASA, is our November guest. He recently co-authored an article in the journal Nature arguing that it is time to abandon the 2C warming goal and track a range of vital signs instead, provoking “hot” debate in the climate science world.
Listen to the November 2014 call.
October 2014: Adam Browning, Vote Solar
Adam Browning is co-founder and executive director of Vote Solar, which works at the state, federal and local level to implement programs and policies that allow strong solar markets to grow — and pave the way for a transition to a renewable energy economy. On October’s call, Adam will share his insights from building support among conservatives for clean-energy policies. Prior to Vote Solar, Adam spent eight years with the EPA where he ran an award-winning pollution prevention program.
September 2014: Rear Adm. Len Hering (ret.), Center for Sustainable Energy
Rear Admiral Len Hering Sr. (ret.) joins our next call to talk about the impact that climate change is having on national security. Hering is Executive Director of the Center for Sustainable Energy in San Diego. During his career in the Navy, Hering built a team that reduced energy consumption by nearly 42%, diverted 75% of Navy waste from landfills and reduced water consumption by more than one billion gallons. He instigated wind, thermal, photovoltaic and conversion technology at all levels in Navy facilities.
August 2014: Scott Nystrom, Regional Economic Models Inc.
As our volunteers prepare for district meetings, it’s a good time to check in with Scott Nystrom, Senior Economic Associate at REMI, to answer questions about their groundbreaking study showing that a carbon tax, done the right way, will add millions of jobs to the U.S. economy. His major projects have included impact analyses on energy, healthcare, labor, transportation, state taxes and budgets, and federal fiscal policy.
Listen to the August 2014 Call
July 2014: Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, climate change evangelist
What could possibly top 600 volunteers lobbying in DC for a carbon tax? How about a national call with Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, cited as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world for bridging the gap on climate change between the scientific and religious communities? Oh, yes, and she’s been featured in Showtime’s (soon to be award-winning) “Years of Living Dangerously.” Katharine is an atmospheric scientist who studies climate change. An expert reviewer for the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, her life’s work has been dedicated to discovering and communicating the realities of a changing climate to those who will be affected most by it. She directs of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. Together with her husband Andrew Farley, lead teaching pastor of Ecclesia, she wrote “A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions”, a book that untangles the complex science and tackles many long-held misconceptions about global warming.
June 2014: Anthony Leiserowitz, Yale Project on Climate Change Communication
As we prepare for meetings in Washington, we thought it would be a good time to check in with Tony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. He is an expert on American and international public opinion on global warming, including public perception of climate change risks, support and opposition for climate policies, and willingness to make individual behavioral change.
May 2014: Dana Nuccitelli from SkepticalScience.com
The cost of cutting carbon emissions is a lot cheaper than we think, according to the latest IPCC report. Guardian blogger and SkepticalScience.com contributor Dana Nuccitelli will help us dive into the economics of curbing fossil fuel use on our next call. Dana Nuccitelli is an environmental scientist at a private environmental consulting firm in the Sacramento, California area. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in astrophysics from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Master’s Degree in physics from the University of California at Davis. He has been researching climate science, economics, and solutions since 2006, and has contributed to Skeptical Science since September, 2010.
April 2014: Scott Nystrom from Regional Economic Models, Inc.
What’s the economic impact of a carbon tax if the revenue is recycled back into the economy? Scott Nystrum from Regional Economic Models, Inc. (REMI) will discuss their recent study about the impact such a tax would have on California. Spoiler alert: The news is good. Scott is a Senior Economic Associate at REMI and holds a B.S. in economics and an M.A. in economic history from Iowa State University. His major projects have included impact analyses on energy, healthcare, labor, transportation, state taxes and budgets, and federal fiscal policy.
March 2014: Eli Lehrer, President of R Street Institute
Eli Lehrer is president and co-founder of the R Street Institute, a free-market think tank based in Washington, D.C. Prior to co-founding R Street, Lehrer was vice president of the Heartland Institute. He also played a major role in founding SmarterSafer.org, a coalition of taxpayer, environmental, insurance and free-market groups dedicated to risk-based insurance rates, mitigation and environmental protection. On our March call, Lehrer will discuss the no-nonsense view of climate change held by the insurance and re-insurance industry, which has the most to lose for getting it wrong. We’ll have the opportunity also to discuss the problems that conservatives have with climate change solutions and how we might overcome those problems.
February 2014: Jon Haidt, author of The Righteous Mind
Jonathan Haidt, a professor in the Business and Society Program at NYU-Stern, is a social psychologist and author of The Righteous Mind and The Happiness Hypothesis. He’ll discuss how we came to be so politically polarized as a nation and what needs to happen to restore a more cooperative system of governing. “To live virtuously as individuals and as societies, we must understand how our minds are built. We must find ways to overcome our natural self-righteousness. We must respect and even learn from those whose morality differs from our own.”
Listen to the February 2014 Call
January 2014: Adele Morris of the Brookings Institution
Adele Morris is a fellow and policy director for Climate and Energy Economics at the Brookings Institution. Her expertise and interests include the economics of policies related to climate change, energy, natural resources, and public finance. She joined Brookings in July 2008 from the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) of the U.S. Congress, where she spent a year as a Senior Economist covering energy and climate issues. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton University, an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of Utah, and a B.A. from Rice University.
Morris was cited in this recent Washington Post blog: Could the EPA push a carbon tax on its own? Maybe — here’s how.
December 2013: Anne Kelly, Director of Public Policy at Ceres
Anne L. Kelly is Director of Public Policy at Ceres, a non-profit coalition of investors and companies, which seeks to promote leadership and best practices in sustainability. Anne directs Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), a coalition of twenty-three leading consumer-facing companies, including Nike, Starbucks and eBay, seeking to advocate for meaningful climate and energy policy at the federal level. She is a registered lobbyist and is actively engaged on Capital Hill on behalf of Ceres and BICEP member companies. Anne is an environmental lawyer with twenty years of combined experience in the private and public sectors. In the 1990’s she directed the Massachusetts-based Environmental Crimes Strike Force consisting of a multi-disciplinary team of legal and engineering professionals charged with brining high-profile civil and criminal actions against environmental violators through the MA Office of the Attorney General. She later worked as Special Assistant to EPA Region I Administrator John DeVillars. In this role she worked on corporate leadership programs and developed an International Pollution Prevention Program which was piloted in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
November 2013: Working with faith communities; Eric Sapp of Eleison Group
Eric Sapp, a native of Durham, NC, is founder of Eleison Group, a consulting firm that helps political, non-profit, business and government entities better understand America’s rich and complex faith landscape and build relationships with people of faith from across the ideological spectrum on the local and national level. Prior to founding Eleison Group, Eric was Senior Partner at Common Good Strategies (CGS), which received significant national attention following the ’06 cycle for its groundbreaking faith outreach and messaging work for Democratic candidates. Eric has been a regular speaker on faith and politics on television and radio shows.
Listen to the November 2013 Call
October 2013: All about the IPCC’s 5th Assessment Report
As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change rolls out its Fifth Assessment Report, our October national call will turn to Dr. John Abraham, IPCC reviewer and climate scientist at the Univ. of St. Thomas in St. Paul. What’s changed since the 2007 report? What are the most important takeaways from the new report? Let’s ask a climate scientist!
Listen to the October 2013 Call
September 2013: Climatologist Paul Beckwith, University of Ottawa
The month of September is the time of year when the Arctic reaches minimum ice, so we thought it would be good to check in with climatologist Paul Beckwith from the University of Ottawa to see what this year’s meltdown looks like and what we might expect as a result.
Listen to the September 2013 Call
August 2013: Sam Gomberg, Union of Concerned Scientists
How will a carbon tax affect farmers? This is the question often asked by members of Congress who have agricultural constituents. On the August call, joining us to shed some light on this topic is Sam Gomberg, an energy analyst at the Midwest office of the Union of Concerned Scientists. He advocates for responsible energy policies that support the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency resources, and that result in significant reductions of global warming emissions.
Listen to the August 2013 Call
July 2013: Lynne Twist of the Pachamama Alliance;
Reports from CCL’s conference
Lynne Twist, a board member of the Pachamama Alliance, has been a recognized global visionary committed to alleviating poverty and hunger and supporting social justice and environmental sustainability. From working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta to the refugee camps in Ethiopia and the threatened rainforests of the Amazon, Lynne’s on-the-ground work has brought her a deep understanding of the social tapestry of the world and the historical landscape of the times we are living in.
June 2013: Dr. Lauren Rafelski – Keeling Curve and Speaking the Issues
On the June call, we’ll have an abbreviated educational section, with Dr. Lauren Rafelski from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography explaining the Keeling Curve and the 400 parts per million milestone that was passed last month. The rest of the call will be devoted to an essential activity that few of us take the time to do: practicing our speaking so that we become fluent in communicating all the issues that are critical to our success as climate advocates.
May 2013: Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, climate champion
Nearly every week, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) goes to the floor of the Senate to speak about climate change and the urgent need for congressional action. Earlier this year he organized the Bicameral Climate Change Task Force, which meets regularly to discuss national climate policy. Along with three other members of Congress, Whitehouse authored a carbon tax discussion draft seeking public comment. We’ll talk to him about the discussion draft and the potential for legislation in this Congress.
April 2013 : Sam Daley-Harris – Founder of our Sister Organization RESULTS
The story of CCL — and how we became a force for climate advocacy — will be published in a book this fall. Joining us for the April national call is the author of that book, Sam Daley-Harris. The 20th anniversary edition of Sam’s book, “Reclaiming Our Democracy,” includes a new chapter in the growth of citizen empowerment — Citizens Climate Lobby. Sam is the founder of RESULTS, the advocacy organization that serves as the model for CCL, and has been coaching our organization since its inception. He recently founded the Center for Citizen Empowerment and Transformation to bring this model to other organizations.
March 2013 : Dr. Amanda Staudt, National Wildlife Federation
Dr. Amanda Staudt is a climate scientist with the National Wildlife Federation who uses her expertise to translate complex scientific theories into terms the public an understand. Dr. Staudt connects the dots between global warming and weather related phenomenon including wildfires, hurricanes, increased flooding and drought in certain areas of the country. On our next call, she will give an overview of the National Climate Assessment, a report that will be finalized and released later this year.
February 2013 : Dr. Martin Tresguerres, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Our February guest speaker is Dr. Martin Tresguerres, assistant professor at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. He’ll shed some light on global warming’s evil twin – ocean acidification, which could lead to a collapse of the marine food chain if left unchecked. Dr. Tresguerres is currently working with a four-year grant from the National Science Foundation to study the effect of ocean acidification on coral. He’ll share some preliminary findings from that study.
Listen to the February 2013 Call
January 2013: Dr. Robb Willer, Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences, UC Berkeley
Dr. Willer is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Psychology at UC, Berkeley, where is currently a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences. A previous guest on CCL conference calls, he was co-author of “Apocalypse soon? Dire messages reduce belief in global warming by contradicting just-world beliefs.” In a forthcoming paper, he examines the differences in moral views between Republicans and Democrats on big issues such as climate change and how understanding these differences is key to the messaging that resonates with various groups.
December 2012: Dr. Kevin Trenberth, National Center for Atmospheric Research
In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, there are many questions about this disaster’s connection to climate change. For answers, we turn to Dr. Kevin E. Trenberth, Distinguished Senior Scientist in the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research. From New Zealand, he obtained his Sc. D. in meteorology in 1972 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was a lead author of the 1995, 2001 and 2007 Scientific Assessment of Climate Change reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, which went to the IPCC. He has published over 480 scientific articles or papers, including 47 books or book chapters, and over 213 refereed journal articles and has given many invited scientific talks as well as appearing in a number of television, radio programs and newspaper articles. He is listed among the top 20 authors in highest citations in all of geophysics. He recently wrote in The Scientist, “As Mark Twain said in the late 19th century, ‘Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.’ Now humans are changing the weather, and nobody does anything about it! As we have seen this year, whether from drought, heat waves and wild fires, or super storms, there is a cost to not taking action to slow climate change, and we are experiencing this now.”
Listen to the December 2012 Call
November 2012: Dr. Wendy Ring, Physicians for Social Responsibility
Dr. Wendy Ring, a physician in Northern California who has practiced family medicine for 25 years, will talk about the impact climate change is expected to have on our health. Dr. Ring, a member of Physicians for Social Responsibility, recently completed a cross-country bicycle trip to “wake people up to the danger we face and the need to move clean energy to the top of our national agenda.” Near the end of her trip, she teamed up with CCL to lead briefings for congressional staffers in Washington.
Listen to the November 2012 Call
October 2012: Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Our October guest is America’s leading climate scientist, Dr. James Hansen, author of “Storms of My Grandchildren.” Hansen is perhaps best known for bringing global warming to the world’s attention in the 1980s, when he first testified before Congress. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University and at Columbia’s Earth Institute, his most recent report draws the connection between extreme weather events of recent years and climate change. Writing in a Washington Post oped, Hansen said, “Our analysis shows that, for the extreme hot weather of the recent past, there is virtually no explanation other than climate change.”
Listen to the October 2012 Call
September 2012: Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
As the clock ticks down toward the tipping point on global warming, is there a way to buy more time for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? An initiative launched by the U.S. State Department earlier this year aims to do just that by regulating and reducing non-CO2 sources of global warming – methane, soot and ozone. This initiative is being guided by the research of our September conference call guest, Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, Director of the Center for Clouds, Chemistry, and Climate at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. He is currently working on Project Surya to replace traditional biomass cooking in developing countries with clean-burning cook stoves that can slash emissions, improve indoor air quality and curb climate pollutants at the same time. Dr. Ramanathan also co-chaired the publication of Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene, a report from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Listen to the September 2012 Call
August 2012: Report from the CCL conference in Washington
The August national call is all about the conference in Washington. We’ll debrief and share the experience our volunteers had after sharpening their knowledge and skills and going to Capitol Hill for meetings with more than 300 congressional offices. Volunteers who presented workshops at the conference will give brief versions of their presentations on this month’s call. We’ll hear reports from our meetings and let volunteers share their stories from the conference.
Listen to the August 2012 Call
June 2012: Former Congressman Bob Inglis
Former Congressman Bob Inglis, a Republican from South Carolina, served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before leaving office in 2011. During his tenure, he introduced the Raise Wages, Cut Carbon Act of 2009, a bill to tax carbon and return the revenue through cuts in payroll taxes. Since leaving Congress, he continues to be a staunch advocate for a national policy to price carbon. Early in his career, Inglis was a climate change skeptic. His views began to shift after a conversation with his son, who had recently turned 18. “My son said to me, ‘Dad, I’ll vote for you, but you got to clean up your act on the environment.’ His sisters and mother agreed and so, I mean, that’s a pretty important constituency to please.”
May 2012: Major Gen. Anthony L. Jackson, USMC, retired
Major General Jackson recently retired from the United States Marine Corps after 36 years of service. Prior to his retirement, Major General Jackson served as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Installations West. Mindful of the strategic risks inherent in petroleum-based fuels, Jackson has been a strong advocate of Defense Department initiatives to use more energy from clean, renewable sources and less from fossil fuels. His personal decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Medal (w/two gold stars for second and third award), the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (w/two gold stars), and the Navy Commendation Medal (w/one gold star).
April 2012: Shi-Ling Hsu, author of ‘The Case for a Carbon Tax”
Shi-Ling Hsu is Professor at the University of British Columbia School of Law, where he has taught since 2004. Dr. Hsu has also been an Associate Professor at George Washington University. He has taught courses in Environmental Law, Climate Change, Law and Economics, and Property. Prior to his academic career, Dr. Hsu was Senior Attorney and Economist for the Environmental Law Institute in Washington D.C. In “The Case for a Carbon Tax,” Hsu explores the social and political factors that prevent us from embracing this commonsense approach to addressing climate change. And he shows why we must get past our hang-ups if we are to avert a global crisis.
March 2012: Robert W. Howarth, Cornell University
Bob Howarth is the author of a study published last year that examined the greenhouse gas footprint of extracting shale gas through hydraulic fracturing. He is the David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology & Environmetal Biology at Cornell. Bob chairs the International SCOPE Biofuels Project, directs the Agriculture, Energy & the Environment Program (AEEP, formerly AEP) at Cornell University, and represents the State of New York on the science and technical advisory committee of the Chesapeake Bay Program. He has worked extensively on environmental issues related to human-induced changes in the sulphur, nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon cycles, the impacts of global climate change, and interaction of energy systems and the environment.
February 2012 Amory Lovins, Chairman and Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute
Physicist Amory Lovins is Chairman and Chief Scientist of Rocky Mountain Institute (www.rmi.org) and Chairman Emeritus of Fiberforge Corporation (www.fiberforge.com). His wide-ranging innovations in energy, security, environment, and development have been recognized by the Blue Planet, Volvo, Onassis, Nissan, Shingo, and Mitchell Prizes, MacArthur and Ashoka Fellowships, the Benjamin Franklin and Happold Medals, and 11 honorary doctorates. He advises governments and major firms worldwide on advanced energy and resource efficiency, has briefed 20 heads of state, and has led the technical redesign of more than $30 billion worth of industrial facilities in 29 sectors to achieve very large energy savings at typically lower capital cost. A Harvard and Oxford dropout, he has published 29 books and hundreds of papers and has taught at eight universities. His most recent book is “Reinventing Fire”.
Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era.”
Listen to the February 2012 Call
January 2012: Daphne Wysham, Institute for Policy Studies fellow
Daphne Wysham is a fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) and is the founder and co-director of the Sustainable Energy and Economy Network (SEEN). She has worked on research and advocacy at the intersection of climate change, human rights, fossil fuels, international finance, carbon markets and sustainable economies since 1996. She is a frequent guest speaker on the concerns around carbon markets — and carbon offsets in particular — in generating meaningful greenhouse gas emissions reductions. Wysham has played a leadership role on Capitol Hill, advising the Congressional Progressive Caucus on a progressive agenda for climate change. Her writings, commentary and analysis has appeared in national news publications and on radio and TV, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Grist, The Guardian, The Financial Times, and on Al Jazeera, Democracy Now!, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, and Marketplace, among others. From 2003 to May of 2011, she hosted Earthbeat Radio and TV. She was arrested at the White House during the Keystone XL pipeline protests this past summer.
December 2011: Col. Mark ‘Puck’ Mykleby, USMC, co-author of ‘A National Strategic Narrative’
Mark “Puck” Mykleby has served as a Marine fighter pilot, participating in combat operations in support of Operations PROVIDE PROMISE, DENY FLIGHT, SOUTHERN WATCH, and IRAQI FREEDOM. From July 2009 until April 2011 he served as a special strategic assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff developing grand strategy. He is co-author of “A National Strategic Narrative,” a report suggesting that America must “move beyond a strategy of containment to a strategy of sustainment(sustainability); from an emphasis on power and control to an emphasis on strength and influence; from a defensive posture of exclusion, to a proactive posture of engagement.” Mark retired from the Marine Corps in July 2011 and has joined LRN, a company dedicated to helping organizations build ethical, values-based cultures that inspire principled performance in business and in life.
Listen to the December 2011 Call
November 2011: Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, atmospheric scientist and co-author of ‘A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions’
Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on the potential impacts of human activities at the regional scale. She is an associate professor at Texas Tech University and director of the TTU Climate Science Center, as well as CEO of the scientific consulting company ATMOS Research. Her past assessments for California, the Great Lakes, and the Northeast have been cited in IPCC assessments, presented before Congress, and highlighted by state and federal agencies as motivation for the implementation of policies to reduce human emissions of greenhouse gases. She teamed up with author, professor and pastor Andrew Farley, to write “A Climate for Change: Global Warming Facts for Faith-Based Decisions,” a book that untangles the complex science and tackles many long-held misconceptions about global warming.
Listen to the November 2011 Call
October 2011: Dr. Mark Jacobson, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director, Atmosphere/Energy Program, Stanford University
Dr. Jacobson’s research evaluates the atmospheric effects of proposed energy solutions to climate change and air pollution, examines resource availability of renewable energies, and studies optimal methods of combining renewable energy resources. He co-authored a new study analyzing what is needed to convert the world’s energy supplies to clean and sustainable sources. His study says it can be done with today’s technology at costs roughly comparable to conventional energy. But converting will be a massive undertaking on the scale of the moon landings. What is needed most is the societal and political will to make it happen.
Listen to the October 2011 Call
September 2011: Anthony Leiserowitz, Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University
Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD, is director of the Yale Project on Climate Change and a research scientist at the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale University. He is also a principal investigator at the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University. He is a widely recognized expert on American and international public opinion on global warming, including public perception of climate change risks, support and opposition for climate policies, and willingness to make individual behavioral change. His research investigates the psychological, cultural, political, and geographic factors that drive public environmental perception and behavior.
Listen to the September 2011 Call
August 2011: CDR. Blake McBride, USN Task Force Climate Change
This month’s conference call guest, Commander M. Blake McBride III, will talk about some of the challenges the U.S. Navy faces in a changing climate. CDR McBride is a naval meteorology and oceanography officer and has served as the Executive Officer of the U.S. National/Naval Ice Center in Suitland, Maryland. He also served as a Meteorology and Oceanography Officer on the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, completing two deployments during operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He holds undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in physics, meteorology and physical oceanography, hydrographic science, and national security and strategic studies.