DURHAM, N.C. 鈥 Sally Jewell, interim chief executive officer for The Nature Conservancy and former U.S. Secretary of the Interior under President Barack Obama, will speak at 91社区福利鈥檚 Nicholas School of the Environment on Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Her presentation, 鈥A Conversation with Sally Jewell,鈥 is free and open to the public and will be at 6 p.m. at Love Auditorium in the Levine Science Research Center on Duke鈥檚 West Campus. It is the 2020 Ferguson Family Distinguished Lectureship in the Environment and Society.

A Q&A with audience members will follow.

During her tenure as Interior Secretary from 2013 to 2017, Jewell was recognized for her science-based approach to natural resources management and for championing the importance of research and sharing data in policy and management decisions. She is credited for promoting innovative public-private collaborations to spur greater investment in water infrastructure and sustainable water use in the West and support the long-term conservation of vulnerable natural, cultural and historic sites nationwide.

Other major accomplishments included rolling out tougher rules for fracking on public lands, including stricter limits for emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and pushing to redo how royalties for mining coal on federal land are calculated.

Prior to serving on President Obama鈥檚 cabinet, Jewell was president and chief executive officer of outdoor gear giant REI. Before that, she worked for 19 years in commercial banking. She began her career as an engineer at ExxonMobil. She has served on the boards of numerous corporations and nonprofit organizations, including serving as a regent at the University of Washington, where she is a Distinguished Fellow in the College of the Environment. The Nature Conservancy named her as its interim president and CEO in June 2019.

The Ferguson Family Distinguished Lectureship is presented annually by the Nicholas School to bring to Duke major thought-leaders to speak on topics of significant social and environmental import.  Past speakers have included former Vice President Al Gore Jr., EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, science watchdog Marc Edward, and energy visionary Amory Lovins.

A light reception will precede Jewell鈥檚 talk at 5:15 p.m. in the Hall of Science, located adjacent to Love Auditorium. 

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