MIDDLEBURY — Frank Sesno, former CNN correspondent, challenges people with the question of why so much of the environmental sustainability story in the U.S. has fallen flat or been politicized. He will give a talk at Middlebury College, titled “The Sustainability Story,” on Thursday, July 16, at 4:30 p.m. in McCardell Bicentennial Hall, Room 216. The lecture is free and open to the public.
His talk with explore why he started Planet Forward, an organization that seeks to empower new voices among young people and innovators for the search of solutions to the biggest challenges facing our planet. He will connect current controversies surrounding climate change, resource use, the cost of carbon, and food security with ideas for innovation in guiding how people view the world. He is convinced of the power of stories — clear, compelling stories — because, he says, “We learn from stories. We remember stories. We are all storytellers.
“How can we tell the sustainability story better? What’s at stake? Stories will be a big part of moving the planet forward.”
Sesno is an internationally recognized journalist with more than 30 years of experience reporting from around the world. Well known as anchor, White House correspondent and talk show host with CNN, he is also a nationally renowned moderator who has engaged some of the world’s leading personalities. Sesno currently serves as director of George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs, where he leads a department of nearly 2 dozen world-class faculty who research and teach journalism, political communication and the impact of digital media in international affairs.
An Emmy-award winning journalist, Sesno created and hosts PlanetForward.org, a user-driven web and television project that brings students and experts together to examine innovations in sustainability and global food security. Currently, he is writing a book on the art of inquiry, how inspirational people have discovered truth and success through curiosity, questions and ability to actively listen.
The Middlebury School of the Environment, now in its second summer at Middlebury College, joins the Middlebury Language Schools and the Bread Loaf School of English as an immersive summer for-credit educational opportunity. For more information, visit www.middlebury.edu/environment.