Seminars

Matthew R. Auer is Dean of the School of Public and International Affairs and Arch Professor of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia. His research focuses on the politics of decision-making in the arenas of environmental protection, energy policy, and forest policy. His recent research considers social media as a space for influencing users’ perspectives of environmental risks. Auer has served in a variety of public policy roles at national and international levels. He was senior advisor to the U.S. Forest Service from 2001 to 2006, and during that time was a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Forum on Forests and to the International Tropical Timber Council. He currently serves on the Educational Advisory Board of the U.S. General Accountability Office.

Join Emory Climate Talks, in partnership with the Resilience & Sustainability Collaboratory, Office of Sustainability Initiatives and the Turner Environmental Law Clinic, for a special virtual event: an online screening of the film PUBLIC TRUST and follow-up conversation with Mr. Avi Garbow, J.D., Environmental Advocate with Patagonia, Inc. Mr. Garbow has decades of experience in environmental protection law and served as EPA’s General Counsel in the Obama Administration. Mr. Garbow will be joined by Alice Rolls, President & CEO with Georgia Organics and Hayden Davis, student member of the Emory Votes Initiative Steering Committee.

The film screening will take place over several days. The film explores how our public lands are facing unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. Part love letter, part political exposé, PUBLIC TRUST investigates how we arrived at this precarious moment through the examination of three beloved public lands that are particularly at risk—a national monument in the Utah desert, a mine in the Boundary Waters and oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—and makes a case for their continued protection.

Full length documentary link.

Susan Rutherford is the Stormwater Program Director for the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, overseeing regulatory compliance and capital improvement programs. With a background in watershed protection, Susan previously managed Atlanta’s Greenway Acquisition Project to acquire nearly 2,000 acres of greenspace and led Atlanta’s green infrastructure program development team. She has a Masters in City Planning from Georgia Tech.

Amanda Medori Hallauer is an environmental planner with the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management, in the Office of Watershed Protection, where she is responsible for advancing plans, policies, and projects involving green infrastructure as part of DWM’s stormwater management program. In this role, she coordinated the use of innovative Environmental Impact Bond financing to implement restoration and resilience projects on the City’s Westside.   Prior to that, she spent 14 years as a Project Manager with D. R. Horne & Company, based in Washington, DC, developing long-term strategies for protection and sustainable use of ecologically and culturally important properties, neighborhoods, and watersheds. Amanda has a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a B.S. from Tulane University.

Dr. Ghosh is a public policy professional, adviser, author, columnist, and institution builder. As the founder-CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, since 2010, he has led CEEW to the top ranks as one of Asia’s leading policy research institutions (seven years in a row); and among the world’s 20 best climate think-tanks in 2013 and 2016. He has been actively involved in the design of the International Solar Alliance since inception. He conceptualised and is a founding board member of the Clean Energy Access Network (CLEAN). With experience in 45 countries, he previously worked at Princeton, Oxford, UNDP (New York), and WTO (Geneva). In 2018, the UN Secretary-General nominated him to the UN’s Committee for Development Policy. In 2020, the Government of India appointed him Co-Chair of the energy, environment and climate change track for India’s forthcoming Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP2020). His 2019 TED Talk on air quality (Mission 80-80-80) crossed 100,000 views within three weeks of release. He is one of six members of an international high-level panel of the Environment of Peace initiative.

Vicki Arroyo is the Executive Director of the Georgetown Climate Center based at Georgetown University Law Center, where she is also a Professor from Practice. Professor Arroyo serves as Special Advisor to the President of Georgetown University.

Professor Arroyo oversees the Georgetown Climate Center’s work at the nexus of climate and energy policy, supervising staff and student work on climate mitigation and adaptation at the state and federal level. She teaches “experiential” environmental law courses to both law and public policy students.