National sustainability expert to speak on campus Wednesday

National sustainability leader Dr. Anthony Cortese will speak at The Evergreen State College Wednesday, Oct. 20, about the critical role Evergreen and other colleges can play in leading a national shift toward sustainability.

Cortese's talk will take place at Lecture Hall 1 at 6:00 p.m.

Cortese is President of Second Nature, a nonprofit group promoting worldwide efforts to make sustainability and environmental sensitivity a "foundation of learning and practice at all educational levels." He is a former Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, and was the first dean of environmental studies at Tufts University. He is currently an adviser to Presidential Candidate John Kerry.

Cortese has led programs providing technical assistance and educational resources to over 4,000 faculty and administrators at 500 colleges and universities in the United States.

"Such a shift in the thinking, values and actions... calls for a long-term societal effort to make environmental and sustainability concerns a central theme in all education," Cortese says. "If we are to achieve a sustainable future... higher education must provide the awareness, knowledge, skills and values that equip individuals to pursue life goals in a manner that sustains human and non-human well-being for all current and future generations."

Students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to both Dr. Cortese's talks, which are sponsored by several academic programs and student organizations.