Hamilton College’s Common Ground program is hosting a conversation with two former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators who will address the complexities of and pathways toward a world dependent on renewable energy as opposed to fossil fuels. A question and answer period will follow the presentation.

Panelist Christine Todd Whitman served in the cabinet of President George W. Bush as administrator of the EPA from 2001 to 2003. She was also the governor of New Jersey, serving as its first woman governor from 1994 until 2001. She currently is the president of the Whitman Strategy Group (WSG), a consulting firm that specializes in energy and environmental issues.

Panelist Gina McCarthy was the first-ever White House national climate advisor and served in the cabinet of President Obama as administrator of the EPA from 2013 to 2017. As head of the Climate Policy Office under President Biden, she helped create new jobs and increased innovation and investment in clean energy across the nation. She previously served as president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, one of the nation’s largest environmental advocacy organizations. She is currently managing chair of America Is All In, a coalition of leaders in support of climate action in the U.S.

Moderator Aaron Strong is assistant professor of environmental studies at Hamilton with a focus on climate change. He is trained as an interdisciplinary sustainability scientist and earned a doctorate from Stanford University.

This event was created in partnership with the Bipartisan Policy Center, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., that has a long history of promoting thoughtful, cross-boundary political dialogue, evidence-based research, and bipartisan policy-making.