Today Future Earth announced Amy Luers as its new executive director. Dr. Luers has over 20 years experience working on sustainability at the intersection of science, technology, and policy.
Future Earth is an international initiative that empowers and supports a network of tens of thousands of researchers, innovators, and professionals working together to accelerate a transition to a sustainable world. Luers brings to this network great breadth and depth of experience from civil society, government, and the private sector. She will assume her position at Future Earth in September 2017.
“Dr. Luers is a truly outstanding leader in environmental and sustainability science. She has the commitment, strategic vision, and collaborative approach needed to take Future Earth to the next level,” said Gordon McBean and Jakob Rhyner, co-chairs of the Future Earth Governing Council. “She was part of Future Earth in its early days as a member of the Engagement Committee, and we are delighted to have her re-join the team as the new executive director.”
Dr. Luers is currently at Skoll Global Threats Fund where she directs the climate and water programmes. She has also worked as Assistant Director for Climate Resilience and Information at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) in the Obama administration and previously at Google as the Senior Environment Program Manager. Prior to Google she led the climate programme at the Union of Concerned Sciences’ California office. Luers started her career in Latin America, as co-founder and the first executive director of Agua Para La Vida (Water for Life) working with rural communities to enhance access to potable water.
“I am thrilled and honored to be given the opportunity to serve as the next executive director of Future Earth,” said Luers. “As the world confronts enormous sustainability challenges – in our cities, our public health, our oceans and ecosystems, and in our climate – the Future Earth platform for research, innovation, and collaboration is needed more than ever.”
A respected scientist and data innovator, Luers has been recognised as a PopTech Bellagio Fellow, a Switzer Environmental Fellow, and a Heinz Environmental Scholar. She has advised the California state government, the White House, and the United Nations. She is a member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations and has served on committees of the U.S. National Academies of Sciences. Luers holds a Ph.D. in environmental science and an M.A. in international policy studies, both from Stanford University; she also earned a B.S. and M.S. in environmental systems engineering from Humboldt State University.
About Future Earth
Future Earth is an international platform of research, innovation, and collaboration to support and accelerate transformations to a sustainable world. It operates from five global hubs – Montreal, Stockholm, Colorado, Paris, and Tokyo – and is connected to over a dozen regional and national offices across the globe. The Governing Council of Future Earth is composed of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), the STS forum, and members of the Science and Technology Alliance for Global Sustainability. They include the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the Belmont Forum of funding agencies, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations University (UNU), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Contact
Alistair Scrutton, Global Communications Director: Tel +46 707 211098