Carleton Connects

The global climate crisis demands a variety of responses, and Carls are stepping up. Join the conversation with a panel of Carleton alumni and staff who are making climate and sustainability central to their work through research, advocacy, art, education, and construction.

The webinar begins at 12:00 Central on Monday, November 14. Register via Zoom.

About the speakers

Allison Thomson ’97 is a Program Director at the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, where she leads a research program on climate-smart agriculture in collaboration with scientists, grassroots farmer organizations, and corporate partners. She has worked for over 20 years as a research scientist and non-profit leader studying climate impacts on agriculture and how farmers can adapt to climate stress and reduce their emissions.

John Fiege ’97 is a filmmaker, photographer, writer, podcaster, and teacher whose work explores our relationships with one another and the rest of life on Earth. Many of his films are intimate portraits of artists, activists, immigrants, industrial workers, and others in the American South who find themselves at the center of struggles for social and environmental justice—including Mississippi Chicken, Above All Else, Slow Season, Shoulders Deep, and his forthcoming Raising Aniya. His films have played at SXSW, Hot Docs, Big Sky, MoMA, Cannes, and elsewhere. Learn more about his work at fiegefilms.com.

Lisa Hiwasaki ’96 is an interdisciplinary social scientist who studies vulnerability and adaptive capacities of marginalized communities in Southeast Asia. After working for more than 20 years as an international development professional living in Japan, France, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Canada, she is now an assistant professor in international development at the University of Rhode Island.

David McGee ’97 is an educator and scientist at MIT. He directs the Terrascope learning community, which engages undergraduates in learner-centered exploration of sustainability and environmental justice challenges. His research group reconstructs past climate changes using natural archives such as stalagmites and deep-sea sediments, with a focus on understanding how and why rainfall patterns have varied over the earth’s history. Prior to his present work, he taught secondary school science in Pittsburgh and New Orleans and spent a year teaching university English in Cambodia.

Britta Johnson ’97 is a Seattle-based artist and stop-motion animator. She makes video installations and short films and has directed music videos for bands, including Laura Veirs ’97 and Andrew Bird. Her projects and collaborations with musicians have appeared at the PICA TBA festival, RedCat festival, the Walker Art Center, MassMoCA, the Boston MFA, and the Kennedy Center. The recipient of numerous grants, awards, and commissions, she has taught animation at Carleton and elsewhere. Her website is http://www.thekmpi.net. She is an active member of the Divest Carleton alumni group.

Peter Erickson ’98 is a climate policy researcher based in Seattle. His recent work at the Stockholm Environment Institute focused on the role of fossil fuels (especially oil and gas) in worsening climate change and on pathways for phasing out those fuels. His findings have been cited by U.S. appeals and district courts to stop fossil fuel extraction from federal lands and waters and by the District Court of the Hague to require Royal Dutch Shell to begin phasing down its oil and gas extraction. His research has been published in the peer-reviewed journals Nature, Nature Climate Change, Environmental Research Letters, and many others.

Steve Spehn has served as Carleton’s Director of Facilities and Campus Planning since 2006. He supervises the operations of campus buildings and grounds, coordinates planning for the needs of the college, and oversees projects and construction.