Climate Education

Updated: 2016 Earth Day Network Climate Leadership Gala

The 2016 Earth Day Network Climate Leadership Gala will be held on Tuesday, May 10th, at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, DC, from 6:30 – 10:00pm. Tickets are available online.

Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening, Kathleen Matthews, former Marriott International Executive VP of Global Communications and Public Affairs, will lead a celebration featuring women in climate leadership. On top of our two award winners, the night will include Melanne Verveer of Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security, as well as Karuna Singh who leads Earth Day Network’s efforts all throughout India.

We are also very excited to include Virginia Tech’s Dr. Amy Pruden who helped uncover the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. In fact, President Obama personally traveled to Flint on May 4th to address the ongoing environmental and human disaster.

We are honoring Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, with the Climate Visionary Award. Mindy has served as an environmental advocate for her entire career, emphasizing the crucial actions that companies and investors must take and advocating for strong climate and clean energy policies in the US and abroad. Ceres is a non-profit organization that promotes investment policies that are environmentally, socially, and financially sound. The Ceres Company Network has nearly 70 members representing more than 20 industries who have committed to protecting the earth, using energy and resources wisely and sustainably, minimizing waste, and selling safe products and services.

Rachel Kyte, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and CEO for Sustainable Energy for All, will receive our Women and the Green Economy (WAGE®) Leadership Award. As the World Bank Group’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Rachel was pivotal to the success of the Paris Climate Agreement by bringing awareness to the urgency and necessity to move forward with a meaningful framework. In her new role, she is focused on affordable, reliable and sustainable energy as the key to combating both poverty and climate change.

The 2016 Climate Leadership Gala will bring together over 300 leaders of industry, government, and the NGO community to celebrate achievements and forge a path to a post-carbon future. At the last gala, Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Carbon War Room and global entrepreneur, presented the Global Visionary Award to Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX and co-founder of PayPal and Tesla Motors. Past WAGE Leadership award winners have included Lisa Jackson, former Administrator, USEPA; Connie Hedegaard, EU Commissioner for Climate Action; and Ambassador Melanne Verveer, US Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues.