The School of International Service (SIS) is thrilled to welcome Katharine Hayhoe, Paul Whitfield Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Chair in Public Policy in Public Law, Department of Political Science, Texas Tech University, to deliver this year’s Ignatius Lecture. Don’t miss the chance to hear about her work in community-based planning and campaigns to address environmental protection and environmental health policy both locally and nationally. As the harms from climate impacts and the opposition to climate action intensify, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. But science shows that the choices we make today matter more than ever. Blending scientific insight with practical guidance, join Katharine Hayhoe as she makes the case for how we can work together to build a more resilient and equitable future—and why hope isn’t wishful thinking, but rather what gives us the courage to act. After the lecture, Katharine will speak with Center for Environment, Community, & Equity Director and SIS professor, Dana Fisher, with an audience Q&A. A reception will follow.

About the Ignatius Lecture

Hayhoe's address marks the eighth annual Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment at the School of International Service. These lectures feature senior policymakers and leaders in the nonprofit and private sectors who are working tirelessly to improve the environment around the world.

The Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lectureship on the Environment honors the work of SIS alumna Nancy Weiser Ignatius, SIS/MA '69, an activist who championed environmental causes long before they became mainstream practices. More than four decades ago, Ignatius co-founded Concern Inc., an all-female volunteer organization that informed and empowered consumers, mostly female home-makers, to demand sustainable options for everyday goods. Concern leveraged consumer power to pressure manufacturers to develop product containers that were less harmful to the environment. Following her success at Concern, Inc., Ignatius began work at the Department of Energy and launched the first solar energy exhibit in 1976 on a section of the National Mall. Later, Ignatius worked for the Environmental Protection Agency.

The Ignatius family has long been active in Washington. Paul Robert Ignatius, husband of Nancy Weiser Ignatius, served as Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and president of The Washington Post. The Ignatius family continues to champion environmental causes. Through their generosity, the annual Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment continues to engage SIS community members with the core environmental challenges facing the world today.

Bios:

Katharine Hayhoe (keynote speaker) is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third, and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications.

She is the author of the best-selling book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. She also hosts the PBS Digital Series Global Weirding and is a co-founder of Science Moms. Hayhoe is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Scientific Affiliation, an Honorary Fellow of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, an Oxfam Sister of the Planet, and the World Evangelical Alliance’s Climate Ambassador.

She has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune's 50 World's Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.

Dana R. Fisher is the Director of the Center for Environment, Community, & Equity and a Professor at American University's School of International Service. She is also a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and the chair of the Political Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association.

Her research focuses on democracy, civic engagement, activism, and climate politics, with current projects on political elites' responses to climate change, national service corps programs integrating climate, and activism around climate and systemic racism. She uses mixed methods, including interviews, participant observation, and surveys.

Fisher has published over 80 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters and seven books, including Saving Ourselves: From Climate Shocks to Climate Action (2024). She serves on editorial boards for Climate Action, Climate Policy, and Mobilization, and co-edits the Society and Environment Series at Columbia University Press.

Fisher's work has been featured on ABC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, PBS, and in outlets like The Washington Post, The Nation, TIME, and Politico. In 2021, PBS called her "One of America's Most Prescient Political Thinkers." She has also appeared in numerous media, including NPR, BBC, CBC, and TEDx.

She has presented to the US National Academies, federal agencies, presidential campaigns, and more, and contributed to the IPCC AR6 on citizen engagement. Fisher holds a Ph.D. and Master’s from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an undergraduate degree from Princeton. *photo credit Sarah Fillman from FillmanFoto

2025 Nancy Weiser Ignatius Lecture on the Environment