Climate Champions

In this first episode of Season 3, The Listening Sessions, Dr. Maddy Orr interviews Dr. Mustafa Santiago Ali on what environmental justice is, how it applies to sport, and what sport organizations should be addressing this issue.

In the last episode of Season 2, Hattie Park, Sustainability Manager at the All-England Lawn Tennis Club joins Maddy to discuss sustainable strategy, the importance of biodiversity and natural features to the overall experience at Wimbledon, the role of sports media in aiding sustainability efforts in the sport sector, and how the sport industry can move forward after COVID in collaborative and supportive ways.

In this second-last episode of Season 2, Maddy is joined by Jessica Murfree and Laura Stargel, two members of the 2019-2020 cohort for the Grad Student Mentorship Initiative, hosted by The Sport Ecology Group. Laura is based in Florida and is studying two master's degrees at University of South Florida and German Sport University Cologne. Jessica is a PhD Candidate and instructor of sport administration at the University of Louisville.

Dr. Walker Ross, an assistant professor of sport management at Florida Southern College, and Jamee Pelcher, a doctoral student at University of Tennessee at Knoxville, join the podcast to share their unique stories of what inspired them to study sport ecology, and update us on their current research.

Joie 'Jo' Leigh was a member of the Great Britain field hockey team that won the Olympic gold medal in Rio in 2016. Following her retirement from the sport, Jo entered a career in climate consultancy. She currently serves as an Analyst for Carbon Intelligence, a London-based firm, and is a member of the Commonwealth Youth Sport for Development and Peace Network.

EcoAthletes is a new international non-profit that offers athletes the resources and coaching they need to feel confident speaking out about climate change. In this episode, Maddy is joined by EcoAthletes founder Lew Blaustein, strategic advisor Kristen Fulmer, and EcoAthletes members Alena Olsen (USA Rugby) and Jeremy Casebeer (AVP Volleyball).

Adam Kreek is an Olympic Gold Medallist, best-selling author, and leadership consultant who also runs a start-up focused on making carbon offsets available to communities in British Columbia. He came on the podcast to chat about his athletic career, his successes and failures in the business world, and the potential for organizations to go carbon neutral through partnerships with other organizations in their own communities.

Chris Dickerson, former MLB player and founder of Players for the Planet, joins the podcast to discuss growing up in LA, his time in the minor league when he activated his first sustainability initiative, taking public transit to games as an MLB player, and how Players for the Planet began and grew.

Dr. Sheila Nguyen is the Executive Director of Sports Environment Alliance and joins the show to discuss her career trajectory, the work happening in Australia and New Zealand to make sport organizations more resilient in the face of climate change, and the Sport for Climate Action Framework.

Katie Rood, a professional footballer from New Zealand, currently in the UK playing for Lewes Ferns, joined Maddy on this episode to discuss her childhood and early exposure to sport, her experience playing in Italy, and how becoming vegan invigorated her health and propelled her into an advocacy role.