Speaker: Michelle Wyman, Executive Director, National Council for Science and the Environment Environmental challenges are transboundary issues that affect all institutions and levels of government. Science diplomacy is a practice that makes science accessible to local and state governments, taking into account placed-based issues and challenges. Universities and the scientific community understand that environmental issues know no boundaries and therefore must be addressed through informed policymaking. Effectively managing impacts on ecosystem services including the effects of climate change presents an increasingly urgent imperative for state and local governments to keep their communities safe, resilient and informed. The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) works with universities, to facilitate access to, and use of, science by state and local policymakers. Through science diplomacy, policies are more durable and resilient to political changes and the sways of politics.
Michelle Wyman is currently the Executive Director at the National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE), a nonprofit organization to improve the scientific basis of environmental decision-making. For over 20 years, Ms. Wyman has worked with government at all levels domestically and internationally, and decision-makers on energy, sustainability, and environmental policy development and implementation. She previously served as the Director of Intergovernmental Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In that role, she worked directly with the Energy Secretary and led the Department's engagement activities with state, regional, and local governments on issues across the DOE complex, including renewable energy, science, fossil energy, and environmental clean-up. Ms. Wyman's experience includes founding Applied Solutions - Local Governments Building a Clean Economy, an organization that provides resources and connects local governments and decision-makers to a national network of leading scientists and academics engaged in research and scholarship. She also led ICLEI USA, a nonprofit that works directly with cities and counties to advance climate mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable development. She has also served in a wide variety of leadership capacities at the World Bank, United Nations, and other multilateral institutions. She has served as the Natural Resources Director for the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, and established a public-sector law practice focused on the environment and sustainable development working with states, local governments, and related national nonprofits based in Washington, D.C.
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