Speakers and Session Leads
The following list of invited speakers, panelists, and breakout session leads is subject to change and is updated in real-time.
Nemonte Nenquimo
Keynote Speaker
The Penn State Climate Consortium has announced the keynote speaker for the 2025 Climate Solutions Symposium will be Nemonte Nenquimo, an Indigenous activist and leader of the Waorani Nation from Ecuador’s Amazon region.
Speakers
Alon Abramson
Vice President of Programs
Philadelphia Energy Authority
Arslan Akbar
Postdoctoral Scholar
Penn State Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Richard Alley
Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences
Penn State
Charlie Anderson
Professor and Associate Head of Research and Faculty Success, Department of Biology
The Pennsylvania State University
Eli Andrews
Chief Executive Officer
Localyst
Rashid Ansari
Graduate Assistant
Pennsylvania State University
Camila Gonzalez Arango
Research Asssistant
The Pennsylvania State University
Hugo Araujo
CEO
7VORTEX
Krista Bailey
Associate Director for Campus Sustainability
Penn State Sustainability
Christine Roseberry Belinda
Senior Program Specialist
Penn State Extension Better Kid Care
Seth Blumsack
Professor of Energy Policy and Economics and International Affairs
Penn State
Peter Boger
Director for Engagement, Penn State Sustainability
Penn State University
Florent Bourgeois
Professor
LGC (Toulouse)
Kristina Brant
Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology
Penn State University
Peter Buck
Co-director, Local Climate Action Program
Penn State
Timothy Carter
President
Second Nature
Logan Coombs
Student
Pennsylvania Flood Initiative
Amanda Cooper
Associate Professor of Surgery and Humanities
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Juliana Vasco Correa
Assistant Professor
Penn State University
Stephen Crawford
Assistant Research Professor
Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, Penn State
Max Crowley
Director, Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative
Penn State University Park
Kenneth Davis
Professor of Atmospheric and Climate Science
Penn State
Ami DeWaters
Director of the Health Systems Science Office
Penn State College of Medicine
Nicole Deziel
Associate Professor
Yale School of Public Health
Ida Djenontin
Academia | Assistant Professor
The Pennsylvania State University (United States of America)
Nelson Dzade
Assistant Professor of Energy and Mineral Engineering
Penn State University
Jason Embick
Executive Director
Clean Energy Center at Pennsylvania College of Technology
Lara Fowler
Professor of Teaching, Penn State Dickinson Law
Penn State
Abigail Franks
Senior Membership & Policy Manager
Southeast Climate and Energy Network
Uboye Gaba
Greeshma Gadikota
Associate Professor
Cornell University
Vikash Gayah
Professor, Interim Director of the Larson Transportation Institute
Penn State University
Juan Pablo Gevaudan
Assistant Professor
Pennsylvania State University
Garry Gilliam
Former NFL Athlete & Founder/CEO
The Bridge Eco-Village
Ben Grumbles
Executive Director
Environmental Council of the States
Samai Gualinga
Brent Harding
Director of Forestland
Penn State Forestland Management Office
Chuck Hardoby
VP and Controller of Regulatory Reporting
CNX Resources
Cari Harris
Founder & Principal Consultant
The Butterfly Effect
Elizabeth Hay
Jack White Family Director, Happy Valley LaunchBox powered by PNC Bank
Happy Valley LaunchBox, Penn State University
Jason Horne
Graduate Student
Penn State
Meghan Hoskins
Director for Sustainable Operations
Penn State
Colin Howe
Graduate Student
Penn State University
Alex Hristov
Distinguished Professor of Dairy Nutrition
Penn State
David Hughes
Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Global Food Security
Penn State/PlantVillage
Thomas Hughes
Director, EM Mitigation, Insurance & Resilient Communities (MIRC) Office
Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA)
Erica Husser
Assistant Research Professor
Penn State Ross and Carol Nese College of Nursing
Kelsey Irvine
Energy Program Specialist
PA DEP
Naimul Islam
Energy Program Specialist
Department of Environmental Protection
Chochi Iturralde
Fundacion Pachaysana
Lisa Iulo
Director - Hamer Center for Community Design
Penn State
Gregory Jenkins
Professor
Penn State
Derek Kalp
Senior Landscape Architect
Office of Physical Plant, Penn State
Maurie Kelly
Director of Informatics
Penn State
Armen Kemanian
Professor of Production Systems and Modeling
Penn State
Melissa Kreye
Associate Professor of Forest Resources Management
Penn State
Olivia Krum
Graduate Student and Research Assistant
The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Landscape Architecture
Andrew Kuhn
Associate Director, Foundation Relations
Penn State
Heidi Kunsch
Environmental Group Manager
PA Dept. of Environmental Protection
Paul Lachapelle
Professor
Montana State University
Anne Larson
Principle Scientist and Team Leader, Governance, Equity and Wellbeing
CIFOR-ICRAF
Danielle Lewis
Energy Program Specialist
DEP
Margarita López-Uribe
Associate Professor of Entomology
Penn State University
Elizabeth Marx
Executive Director
Pennsylvania Utility Law Project
Roslynn McCann
Professor, Sustainable Communities Extension Specialist
Utah State University
Curt McConnell
Agri-Carbon Implementation Associate
Anew Climate
Lauren McPhillips
Assistant Professor
Penn State University
Monica Medina
Professor
Penn State University
Ali Memari
Professor, Bernard and Henrietta Hankin Chair in Residential Building Construction, Director of the Pennsylvania Housing Research Center
Penn State
Xochiquetzal Mendoza
Thandazile Moyo
Assistant Professor of Energy and Mineral Engineering
Penn State University
Tom Murphy
Senior Managing Director - Strategic Energy Initiatives
Team PA Foundation
Bridgette Murray
Founder/Executive Director
Achieving Community Tasks Successfully (ACTS)
Art Nash
Associate Professor of Energy
University of Alaska Fairbanks
Cecile Ndjebet
CEO and Founder
The African Women's Network for Community management of Forests - REFACOF
Nemonte Nenquimo
Keynote Speaker
Rob Nicholas
Director, Center for Climate Risk Management
Penn State University
Juan Nolavita
Maria Norona
Assistant Professor
Pennsylvannia State University
Jacqueline O'Connor
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Pennsylvania State University
Olumide Ogunmodimu
Assistant Professor
Penn State University
Eric Oliver
Program Coordinator/Reforestation Specialist
Green Forests Work, University of Kentucky
Mark Ortiz
Assistant Professor of Geography
Penn State University
Humberto Pernett
Music producer, songwriter, and performer
Pernett
Nathan Piekielek
Geospatial Librarian and Associate Professor of Geography
Penn State
Tom Pike
Director of Campaigns
Clean Air Council
Anne Pisor
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Penn State
Sarma Pisupati
Director, Center for Critical Minerals
Penn State University
Megan Porta
Energy Program Specialist
PA DEP
Julian Prieto
Colombian Scientific Diaspora Network - Doctoral Candidate
Penn State University
Amy Quarkume
Associate Professor
Howard University
Aleksandra Radlińska
Professor of Civil Engineering
Penn State
Far Raj
Professor and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Penn State University
Brandi Robinson
Associate Teaching Professor
Pennsylvania State University
Veronica Roman-Reyna
Assistant Professor - Colombian Graduate Student Association Faculty Advisor
Pennsylvania State University
Lea Hildebrandt Ruiz
Associate Professor
The University of Texas at Austin
Christopher Scott
Professor and Goddard Chair
Penn State
Aikumis Serikbayeva
The Pennsylvania State University
Stefanie Shoup
Air Innovations Manager
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Air Pollution Control Division
Lisa Silvestri
Associate Teaching Professor
The Pennsylvania State University
Virginia Silvis
Postdoctoral Scholar
Penn State University
Abby Smith
President and CEO
Team Pennsylvania
Amanda Smith
Director of K12 Engagement
Penn State University
Erica Smithwick
Mariantonieta Gutierrez Soto
Assistant Professor
Penn State
Katharine Staley
Visiting Scholar
Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media, University of Pennsylvania
Mathy Stanislaus
Vice Provost/Executive Director
The Environmental Collaboratory at Drexel
Peter Stempel
Associate Professor
Dept of Landscape Architecture, Penn State University
Mark Stephens
Penn State
Garrett Strunk
Energy Program Specialist
PA DEP
Scott Subler
Emeritus Science Advisor
ClimeCo
Kevin Sunday
Policy Director
McNees Wallace & Nurick
Janet Swim
Professor of Psychology
Penn State
Paul Takac
Pennsylvania State Representative, 82nd District, Centre County
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Lina Tami
PhD student
Penn State
John Thompson
Owner
Chuck Consulting LLC
Patricia Townsend
Associate Professor and Environment and Community Outreach Specialist
Washington State University Extension
Adam Walters
Senior Energy Advisor
PA DCED
NaTisha Washington
Communications Manager
Breathe Project
Scott Welsh
Managing Partner
Fieldstone Innovations LLC
Tim White
Research Professor
The Pennsylvania State University
Kate Zipp
Associate Professor
Penn State