Co-Sponsored by UIS Sustainability Committee, Brookens Library, College of Business and Management, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Office of the Associate Vice Chancellor for Research & Innovation

Nalini Nadkarni’s work has taken her from rain forest canopies on four continents to prison cell blocks across the nation. As an advocate for inclusive environmental stewardship, her lifelong concern for trees has allowed her to commune with wildlife like Bill Nye the Science Guy, corporate executives, and rap singers, as well as more traditional forest fauna. Her engagement with non-traditional public groups has fostered two TED talks and articles in journals from Science to Playboy Magazine. She has innovated hands-on conservation programs that partner with incarcerated populations. She has conveyed ecological messages into spiritual discourse through guest sermons to diverse faith-based congregations.

In her Earth Week keynote address, Dr. Nadkarni will speak about engaging audiences outside traditional realms of the scientific enterprise. Her experiences will launch question & answer sessions to empower students to engage with their broader communities to both provide and receive information and ideas about our world.