Introducing Keynote Speaker Dr. Jonathan Foley, Project Drawdown

A world-renowned environmental scientist, Dr. Jonathan Foley has focused his life’s work on finding new and innovative ways to sustain our world’s climate, natural resources, and ecosystems. Dr. Foley’s work and commitment to our planet contributed significantly to our understanding of the global environment, and highlights the power of science to guide solutions – particularly to climate change. 

“The most important thing we need now is a sense of urgency and a science-based plan of action for climate change. While we know we need to act on climate, we often don’t act in a way that can be most impactful. Science can help us with that. Science has told us what the problem is, and now it can help guide our actions so they are most effective.,” says Dr. Foley.

Dr. Foley is the recipient of several awards, including the Heinz Award for the Environment; a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers from 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, Dr. Foley was named a Highly Cited Researcher in ecology and environmental science by Thomson Reuters, mainly due to his over 140 peer-reviewed scientific publications in outlets like Science and Nature.

Dr. Foley is the Executive Director of Project Drawdown, a nonprofit organization working to achieve “drawdown,” the point when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to decline steadily. The organization serves as the world’s leading resource for climate solutions.

Project Drawdown shares potential climate solutions in different sectors, such as industry, transportation, agriculture, buildings, and more, that aim to stop the build-up of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Dr. Foley believes that we already have many of these solutions needed to achieve drawdown. The organization works directly with corporate leaders, investors, philanthropists, development officials, policy-makers, community activists, and others to reduce emissions as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.

The Nest Summit Campus will be taking place from September 21-22, 2022, and we look forward to hosting Project Drawdown on our Main Stage and in our Co-located Event space. More details to come.

To register for this year’s event, click here.