Since its founding in 2009, the Office of Sustainability has invited nationally and internationally renowned artists, activists, authors, scientists, and conservationists to speak at Wake Forest. Through partnership with faculty members and departmental co-sponsors, our annual keynote lectures facilitate cross-disciplinary discussion and engagement with sustainability topics. Our keynote lectures are free and open to the public.
Previous speakers have included: award-winning author and science writer David Quammen (2024), three-time U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (2022), activist and writer Raj Patel (2019), urban revitalization strategist Majora Carter (2018), award-winning writer and conservationist Terry Tempest Williams (2017), Rolling Stones keyboardist Chuck Leavell (2016), and activist and scholar Vandana Shiva (2014), among others. See the full list below.
Keep an eye out for all of our upcoming events at events.wfu.edu.
Past Speakers
- Tracing Threads from Art to Science, from Ebola to the Serengeti Lion: An Evening with Science Writer David Quammen (2023)
- Poet Warrior: An Evening with US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (2022)
- Climate Feminism: “To Change Everything, We Need Everyone” Virtual Keynote with Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnston (2021)
- Leadership for Environmental Justice: Changing Food Systems through Access, Equity and Empowerment with Brahm Ahmadi (2020)
- The Uninhabitable Earth with David Wallace Wells (2019)
- Writing Beyond Words: Perspectives on Earth and Humanity with Carl Safina (2019)
- The World that Food Made with Raj Patel (2018)
- Earth Week Keynote Address by Majora Carter (2018)
- The Age of Consequences with Filmmaker Sophie Robinson (2018)
- Drawdown: A Playbook for Reversing Climate Change with Katharine Wilkinson (2017)
- Writing Resistance with Terry Tempest Williams (2017)
- An Evening of Songs and Stories with Chuck Leavell (2016)
- North Carolina Power Dialog (2016)
- Truth, Lies, and Politics (2016)
- Road to Paris – Climate Education (2015)
- Make Every Bite Count Speaker & Event Series featuring Keynote Lecture with Dr. Vandana Shiva (2014)
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