Climate and Sustainability

As the climate changes due to human activities, our projects are focused on how society can adapt to live in a manner that has less of an impact on the natural environment.

  • CECE Incubator Grant Project: Remote Sensing and Knowledge Co-Production in Northern Haiti

    Scott Freeman, Michael Alonzo
    Right now, Haiti is in a moment of intense political crisis, and gangs in urban Port-au-Prince have a stranglehold on the country’s economy. In the countryside, this means food, medicine, and other commodities are extremely expensive and hard to obtain. In this chaotic moment, this collaborative research continues to support civil society groups who are […]

  • WCL Students Visit the Federal Environmental Regulation Commission

    William John Snape, III
    On Tuesday March 26, The Federal Environmental Regulation Commission (FERC) hosted students from the Program on Environmental and Energy Law at the American University Washington College of Law (WCL). The students were greeted by a panel of 4 alumni from WCL whose careers have been significantly shaped by the agency. FERC is an independent federal […]

  • Queer Brown Vegan Event

    CECE
    On March 7, CECE was thrilled to welcome Isaias Hernandez to AU for an informal discussion with students and the broader community. Isaias is a writer, influencer, educator, and activist who works on deconstructing complex environmental issues, while centering diversity and authenticity, and is the founder of Queer Brown Vegan. The center point of this […]

  • An Untapped Opportunity for DC’s Media: Connecting the gaps in the climate conversation 

    Rosalind Donald
    Years of heavy industry pollution mean DC’s rivers aren’t safe for fishing or swimming. Many local media articles carry updates on the health of the water, but, as a study of local media my class carried out indicates, journalists may not be linking stories about related topics like river pollution, trash pickup, and more, to […]

  • On the Social Side of the Climate Crisis

    CECE
    On Thursday, The Eastern Sociological Society (ESS) kicked off their annual conference at SIS, co-sponsored by CECE, American Institutes for Research, Deloitte, the MacArthur Foundation, Science Advances, AU’s School of International Service, The Department of Environment Development and Health, and the Hewlett Foundation. This was a significant landmark for ESS, because under the leadership of […]

  • Book Talk: China’s Environmental Challenges, 3rd Edition

    Judith Shapiro
    On February 27, the AU community gathered to celebrate the release of the third edition of SIS professor and China specialist, Dr. Judith (Judy) Shapiro’s book, “China’s Environmental Challenges.” This book is yet another chapter in Judy’s lifelong work of narrating Chinese politics and environmental governance amidst the country’s history of explosive economic development and […]

  • AU Site Tour at the Environmental Protection Agency  

    CECE
    On Friday February 9th, students from the Washington College of Law (WCL) and the School of International Service (SIS) had the opportunity to visit the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), to talk with SIS/WCL alumni, learn about a career in federal service, and to discuss the NETI […]

  • Article: Busting Myths and Calls to Action – A Round-Up of Environmental Books

    Dana R. Fisher
    Saving Ourselves, by CECE Director Dana Fisher was discussed as part of a review of a “roundup of environmental books” in the Financial Times on February 12th. See the full review here.

  • In the News: Apocalyptic Optimism Could Be the Antidote for Climate Fatalism

    Dana R. Fisher
    TIME excerpts CECE Director, Dana R. Fisher’s new book Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action. For the full excerpt click here

  • COP28 DC Climate Hub

    Kyra Jones
    On Thursday, December 7th, CECE, The School of International Service, and We Don’t Have Time cohosted the COP28 DC Climate Hub. Policymakers, climate activists, journalists, and academic experts came together to discuss what is needed to ensure a just and equitable climate transition. This multi-panel event included: Ambassadors Up-Close: COP28 Reflections, The Power of Storytelling, […]

  • COP28 Around American University

    Dana R. Fisher
    As all eyes turn towards Dubai for the 28th Conference of the Parties to discuss climate change on a global scale, we are taking this opportunity to look inward to the work happening across American University’s campus related to climate policymaking and COP28.    CECE will also be co-hosting a live event with We Don’t Have […]

  • Article: How Effective are Climate Protests at Swaying Policy—and what could make a difference

    Dana R. Fisher
    Nature has just published “How Effective are Climate Protests at Swaying Policy—and what could make a difference.” By CECE Director Dana R. Fisher, Oscar Berglund, and Colin J. Davis. The piece integrates Fisher’s research on climate protests and the growing radical flank in climate activism with Berglund and Davis’ work on public responses to climate action, which […]

Climate and Sustainability Experts

Abeer Y Al-Eryani

Postdoctoral Fellow, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity

Robert Albro

Research Associate Professor, Center for Latin American and Latino Studies

Michael Alonzo

Assistant Professor, Environmental Science

Julia A. Anderson

Associate Program Director, Masters of Science in Sustainability Management (MSSM)

Valentina Aquila

Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science

Barbara Balestra

Director, Environmental Sciences Teaching Laboratory, Micro-Lab.

Kristine Beran

Professorial Lecturer, Department of Environmental Science

Robin Broad

Research Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health
Jennifer Brown

Jenn Brown

Program Manager, Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy

Claire Brunel

Associate Professor, Department of Politics Economics and Governance

Anny Cárdenas

Assistant Professor, Biology

Ernesto Castañeda

Director, Center for Latin American and Latino Studies

C. Anne Claus

Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology

Ken Conca

Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Parthiban David

Senior Associate Dean, Kogod School of Business

Rosalind Donald

Assistant Professor, Public Communication

Todd Eisenstadt

Research Director, Center for Environmental Policy

Larry Engel

Associate Director Center for Environmental Filmmaking

Dana R. Fisher

Director, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity

Scott Freeman

Senior Lecturer, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Julie A. Gonzalez

Environmental Justice Postdoctoral Fellow, CECE

Garrett Graddy-Lovelace

Provost Associate Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Edward Guetti

Professorial Lecturer, Department of Philosophy and Religion

Matthew Hartings

Associate Professor, Chemistry

David Hunter

Professor of Law, WCL Program on Environmental and Energy Law
Chris Jayko

W. Chris Jayko

Project Manager, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity
Kyra Jones

Kyra Jones

Operations Manager

Victoria Kiechel

Senior Professorial Lecturer, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Chelsea Koch

Assistant Professor, Arctic Ecogeochemistry Lab/Department of Environmental Science Assistant Professor, Arctic Ecogeochemistry Lab/Department of Environmental Science

Megan Litke

Director of Sustainability, Office of Sustainability

Maya Livio

Assistant Professor, Climate, Environmental Justice, Media and Communication

Stephen MacAvoy

Associate Professor, Department of Biology

Simon Nicholson

Co-Director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy

Jennifer Oetzel

Research Professor, Department of Management

Angela Pashayan

Professorial Lecturer, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Claudia Persico

Associate Professor, Public Administration and Policy

Natalia Piland

CECE Collaborating Researcher, Interdisciplinary Scientist
Malini Ranganathan

Malini Ranganathan

Associate Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Jesse Ribot

Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Thurka Sangaramoorthy

Professor, Department of Anthropology

Judith Shapiro

Professor, Department of Environment, Development, and Health

Garima Sharma

Assistant Professor, Department of Management

Sauleh Siddiqui

Professor, Environmental Science

William John Snape, III

Professor and Director, WCL Program on Environmental and Energy Law

Maggie B. Stogner

Executive Director, Center For Environmental Filmmaking

David J. Vázquez

Associate Professor, Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies
Rachel Weiss

Rachel Weiss

Program Manager, Center for Environment, Community, & Equity

Paul Yoo

Assistant Professor, Finance