GREENEVILLE – A Northeast Tennessee scientist who has given more than 50 climate change presentations and received training from former U.S. Vice President Al Gore will deliver a talk on this topic Wednesday, Nov. 20, at Tusculum University.
Dr. Audrey Depelteau
Dr. Audrey Depelteau, director of the East Tennessee State University Innovation Laboratory, will make her remarks from 7-9 p.m. in the Meen Center lecture hall on Tusculum’s Greeneville campus. Her free presentation will be part of 1,000 global talks in 24 hours, sponsored by Gore, about climate change called “24 Hours of Reality: Truth in Action.” She will speak at the same time Gore will address an audience at Vanderbilt University.
“We are pleased to welcome Dr. Depelteau to share her perspective about a subject that has captured worldwide attention and generated considerable discussion in our country,” said Dr. Heather Henson-Ramsey, dean of Tusculum’s College of Science, Technology and Math, which is sponsoring the talk. “This will be a wonderful opportunity to hear from a subject-matter expert who has dedicated several years to exploring and understanding this topic in great detail.”
Dr. Depelteau, who has been passionate about the environment since the 1970s, is a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps and is a mentor for Gore’s three top farm managers. According to the Climate Reality Project website, the corps is “committed to spreading awareness of the climate crisis and working for solutions to the greatest challenge of our time.” She attended the Climate Underground conference in October at Gore’s farm at his invitation.
The Climate Reality Project was founded by Gore, who serves as the organization’s chairman. The Climate Reality Leadership Corps has 140 chapters and has made nearly 33,000 presentations.
“It will take visionaries, unprecedented levels of cooperation, strong leadership and the involvement of a broad coalition of scientific leaders, entrepreneurs and community members to create the fundamental tipping point that will reduce the impact of this global phenomenon on society,” Dr. Depelteau said. “I am grateful for the opportunity to share the story about this critical issue and help the audience understand the scope and impact of climate change.”
For every person who attends Dr. Depelteau’s presentation and fills out a form, the Climate Reality Project will plant a tree on that person’s behalf through One Tree Planted.
Dr. Depelteau holds an honors code certificate in climate science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and performed her graduate studies in environmental toxicology at Albany Medical College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. After 26 years owning multidisciplinary health care clinics in Massachusetts and California, she came to East Tennessee State University as biology education coordinator and symbiosis program manager. Since 2010, she has run ETSU’s innovation laboratory, a high-tech business incubator.