Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy gave the annual Arnold D. Kates Lecture, on Oct. 25, 2019. Her talk served as the keynote for the annual President's Symposium, which celebrates student research across the curriculum.

With the current administration, citizens, businesses, NGOs and industries ranging from energy to investment face uncertainty about the direction of environmental progress in the U.S. and around the world. McCarthy brings perspective gained during more than thirty years at the intersection of politics, science, government, and private industry. In this wide-ranging talk, McCarthy provides an overview of the current landscape and critical future.

One of the nation’s most respected voices on the environment and public health, McCarthy is now a Harvard professor leading strategies and actions at both the T.H. Chan School of Public Health the Kennedy School of Government and in the corporate and non-profit sectors. At Harvard TH Chan, she is Professor of the Practice of Public Health in the Department of Environmental Health and the Director of the Center for Health and the Global Environment (C-Change). In this capacity, McCarthy leads the development of the school’s strategy to turn climate and health science into actions that promote a more sustainable and just world. At the Kennedy School, she engages climate science leaders across the university and beyond. McCarthy also serves as an operating advisor focused on sustainability and wellness investments at Pegasus Capital and as a Member of the Board of Directors of the Energy Foundation and Ceres.

Sponsored by the Arnold D. Kates Lecture Fund.