Talk Features 'Climate Change Solutions'

Alaska's foremost spokesperson on global warming will give a presentation at Fairmont State University at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 15, in Multi-media Room A of the Ruth Ann Musick Library.

Dr. Deborah Williams, President of Alaska Conservation Solutions, will present a talk titled "Climate Change Solutions: Alaska to West Virginia." Admission to the event is free and open to the public.

Williams will address the alarming consequences already evident in Alaska and the commonalities between West Virginia and Alaska' where impacts on wildlife, water quality, recreation and tourism have enormous consequences. She offers practical carbon-reducing strategies that not only reduce emissions but also protect human health, save money and increase America's energy independence.

Williams has been actively involved in conservation and sustainable community for over 35 years and is now focusing on global warming. She received her B.A. from Pomona College, summa cum laude, with a concentration in Biology and Economics. Subsequently she graduated from Harvard Law School, with honors, and was the principal founder of and co-editor-in-chief of the Harvard Environmental Law Review.

After serving in the Department of Interior's Solicitors Honors Program in Washington, D.C., Williams represented the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Alaska. Between 1981 and 1994, she was the Executive Director of the Alaska Consumer Advocacy Program and of the Alaska Lung Association, while serving on many boards and commissions, including Trustees for Alaska (president of the board) and the Municipal Health Commission (chair of the Environmental Health Committee.)

In 1994, Williams received a Presidential appointment and became the Special Assistant to the Secretary of Interior for Alaska. She advised the Secretary about managing over 220 million acres of national lands in Alaska and working with Alaska tribes and others associated with the department's broad natural and cultural resource jurisdiction.

She also was a trustee on the Exxon Valdez Trustee Council and other boards. For over six years, Williams served as the Executive Director of the Alaska Conservation Foundation, winning many awards in that role.

Currently she is President of Alaska Conservation Solutions, an organization devoted primarily to addressing global warming. Williams has published numerous law review and other articles, has been featured repeatedly in the media (including "60 Minutes," The New York Times and the BBC), and has taught graduate-level courses at both the University of Alaska and Alaska Pacific University.