About the Presenters

Beth Sawin and Phil Rice live together with their two daughters as part of an ‘eco-village’ in the Connecticut River valley of Vermont. They have worked together at Sustainability Institute since its founding by Donella Meadows in 1997. Before that they were both researchers in the field of molecular biology.

Together they lead presentations and discussions on climate change with audiences from business, communities, neighborhoods, and churches with the intent of providing people with clear information both about the urgency of action on climate change and also about the ways in which we all can take leadership in creating a society that lives within the capacity of the Earth’s climate system.

Beth is also writer who focuses on the systemic leverage points for a sustainable society. Her current writing is focused on climate change, especially on the ways in which the act of facing the reality of climate change can open us to understand our place in the Earth community and orient us towards life-giving choices. Beth's writing is available here and has appeared in a variety of publications including, Utne Reader, Timeline, Population Press, Grist, Annals of Earth, and CommonDreams.

Beth teaches the tools of systems thinking, reflective conversation, and visioning within the Donella Meadows Leadership Fellows Program, and in other workshops and trainings. She is also an experienced coach of leaders in environmental sustainability. Her coaching emphasizes systems analysis, attention to personal effectiveness, and orientation towards one’s vision of a sustainable world.

In addition to his work teaching about climate change, Phil conducts trainings and workshops on applying the tools of systems thinking to the challenges of sustainability more generally. He co-developed a train-the-trainer workshop on systems thinking for sustainable development practitioners, and often leads workshops on the subject for clients that range from colleges and universities, to NGOs, to businesses. Phil also works with clients on applying systems thinking to strategic analysis for change. In the past he has worked on topics ranging from forest issues, to marine hypoxia, to healthcare outcomes.

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