Jul 22, 2022
Dr. Jonathan Foley is a world-renowned environmental scientist, sustainability expert, author and public speaker, and the executive director of Drawdown. Drawdown’s mission is to help the world reach the point in the future when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to decline as quickly, safely and equitably as possible.
Dr. Foley’s work focused on understanding the changing planet and finding solutions to sustain climate, ecosystems, and natural resources. He has been a trusted advisor to governments, foundations, NGOs, and business leaders globally. He has published over 130 peer-reviewed scientific articles and, in 2014, was named a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science.
He has also presented at the Aspen Institute, the World Bank, the National Geographic Society and more. He’s taught at major universities on climate change, global sustainability solutions, the food system and other major world challenges.
Dr. Foley has won numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, awarded by President Clinton; the J.S. McDonnell Foundation’s 21st Century Science Award; an Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellowship; the Sustainability Science Award from the Ecological Society of America; and the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Award. In 2014, he was also named as the winner of the prestigious Heinz Award for the Environment.
Prior to joining Drawdown, Dr. Foley launched the Climate, People, and Environment Program (CPEP) at the University of Wisconsin, founded the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE), and served as the first Gaylord Nelson Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies. He was the founding director of the Institute on the Environment(IonE) at the University of Minnesota, where he was also McKnight Presidential Chair of Global Environment and Sustainability. And he also served as the executive director of the California Academy of Sciences, the greenest and more forward-thinking science museum on the planet.
In this podcast, Sonya and Dr. Foley talk about climate solutions, food and agriculture, deforestation and how you can make a difference.
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