Wege Speaker Series Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Grand Rapids, Michigan – April 4, 2024 – The 27th Annual Wege Speaker Series (www.wegespeakerseries.com) returns on Wednesday, April 24, 2024 at 4pm. For the first time in 5 years, the event will again be live and hosted at the Aquinas College Performing Arts Center.

Presenting is Dr. Sarah Jaquette Ray, author, professor and chair of environmental studies at California State Polytechnic, Humboldt. An environmental humanist with a BA in Religious Studies, an MA in American Studies and a PhD in Environmental Sciences, Studies and Policy, Dr. Ray draws on a eclectic range of disciplines in the service of climate justice.

“Many of us feel powerless about climate change, in part because we feel small relative to the immense scale of the crisis,” laments Dr. Ray. “This explains why such a large number of people in America care about climate change, yet so few are doing anything about it in their lives.”

Based on insights from her book, A Field Guide to Climate Anxiety: How to Keep Your Cool on a Warming Planet (California, 2020), Dr. Ray will talk about the role of mindsets and emotions in leveraging political change for climate justice. Using neuroscience, social psychology and social movements, Ray will outline strategies for living with anxiety, grief and despair, but also—and crucially—engaging with joy, self-determination and pleasure.

“With the work we support at our local educational institutions and the challenges we face related to climate, Dr. Ray’s message couldn’t be more relevant,” says James Logan, CEO/President of The Wege Foundation. “We are looking forward to using her studies to help engage with the younger generations.”

Ray has published on emotions and the climate movement in the LA Times, Scientific American, The Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Edge Effects, KCET and Zocalo Public Square. She is also a certified mindfulness facilitator through the UCLA Mindfulness Awareness Research Center.