Outlook Novmber 2025: Dearth Meets Filling Force

by | Nov 7, 2025

republicEn Outreach Director Wen Lee giving a presentation.

Bob Inglis was a featured guest speaker at several different events during a trip to the University of Georgia in October.

Dear EcoRight Supporter,

Several years of “maybe-next-year-I’ll-come-in-person” became “this-year” at the University of Georgia. But we had just one class presentation on the calendar for October 30th—not enough to justify the trip, even though Georgia is a target state and even though UGA is a Morrill Land-Grant college with significant connections to Georgia farmers and right-of-center audiences.

That’s when the dearth of scheduled events met Wen Lee, our newly returned Outreach Director. Wen reached out to—count them—18 student groups on campus. That’s 18 more groups than we would have reached without her. She rallied our wonderful host, Dr. Susana Ferreira, to put us in touch with her UGA colleagues. Wen tracked down folks on social media and skillfully persuaded them via email and text. 

Thanks to Wen’s doggedness, it wasn’t just the presentation to Dr. Ferreira’s Environmental Economics class. Wen added a presentation sponsored by four UGA business student clubs. Of the 68 in that audience, almost half identified as right-of-center. Wen also got us a presentation to 82 agribusiness students, well over half of whom identified as right-of-center. (See details below.)

The outreach didn’t stop there. The UGA student newspaper covered the visit with a story in The Red and Black. A film crew interviewed me for a documentary about climate resilience. I had breakfast with the deans and department heads of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; a meet-up with Dr. Marshall Shepherd of the Weather Channel’s Weather Geeks; and a one-on-one with a student leader from a large, local church. 

On top of all of that, Wen is following up with two UGA students whom we identified as prospective Outreach Liaisons. They could help us get more right-of-center events in Georgia. 

When I wondered whether we had budget for Wen to return to the team, Alex Bozmoski, EVP at DEPLOY/US and cofounder of republicEn, told me, “Bob, it’s a no-brainer. Bring Wen back.” Clearly, he was right!

We have budget for Wen and the rest of us (and for the pizza for two of those UGA presentations) only because of donors like you. Thank you for making our work possible.

On to more UGAs!

Bob

Community Outreach & Engagement

Bringing Audiences Into the Conversation at UGA

During Bob’s visit to the University of Georgia in late October, the team debuted our use of Mentimeter, an interactive digital tool that allows real-time polling of the audience. After a simple QR code scan, attendees were able to let us know how they identified politically and what they thought about climate change.

For example, here is some polling from Bob’s talk with UGA agribusiness students:

Angela Larck at the 2025 Ohio River Valley Climate Change and Health Conference
Angela Larck at the 2025 Ohio River Valley Climate Change and Health Conference

Initial reactions were very positive. We saw nearly 100% participation across multiple events. The technology proved to be accessible and effective. Audiences had a way to engage meaningfully, and we were able to learn about them.

A Hopeful Conversation on Stewardship and Leadership

We’re looking forward to welcoming author and small business leader Heather White for our upcoming webinar, Answering the Call of Climate Stewardship. Heather’s work focuses on small, meaningful daily actions that help us care for what’s been entrusted to us and build a strong foundation for future generations. Her message is hopeful, practical, and grounded in the kind of steady leadership our community values. We’re excited for this conversation and grateful for your support in making gatherings like this possible — thank you for helping us continue to bring people together around shared purpose and constructive climate leadership. Join us by registering here.

Angela Larck at the 2025 Ohio River Valley Climate Change and Health Conference

Podcast

We had an exciting month of podcast guests as we cruise toward the finish line of Season 11. We kicked things off by sharing the audio from our Florida Climate Week virtual presentation, moderated by The Invading Sea editor Nathan Crabbe, on how to communicate climate change in an era of extreme weather and political division. The month brought a thoughtful balance of new voices and familiar friends of the pod — and the highlight for many listeners was hearing an update on the state of fusion energy from long-time clean energy advocate Andrew Holland. Repeat guest Sarah Beth Aubrey and EV policy expert Aaron Viles rounded out the lineup. (If you need a hopeful take on the U.S. EV market, Aaron’s episode is your go-to.) Looking ahead, we’ll close out the season with a suite of guests, including a new guest from Nature is Nonpartisan and a veteran Hill staffer with deep expertise on permitting. Stay tuned.

Our team also spent time brainstorming tactics to boost podcast visibility and listenership, as well as how we’d like to improve the show as we head into season 12. We can’t wait to show you what’s coming in 2026!

EcoRight News Hub

Your weekly newsletter plus podcast show notes and stories. *Note: October 2025 marked ten years since the first Climate Week En Review was sent to our membership and allies.

In the Media

republicEn articles/opinions

republicEn mentions/quotes/coverage

republicEn multimedia coverage

republicEn blog & forum mentions/quotes/coverage

Events

Upcoming events

      • 11/13: Virtual – *Webinar* Answering the Call of Climate Stewardship with author Heather White presented by republicEn
      • 12/4-6: Salt Lake City, UT – In planning Utah State Rep.Tyler Clancy’s “Made In Utah Summit”

Past events

      • 10/04: Providence, RI – Panelist with Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse – “Creation Care Across the Divide,” hosted by Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
      • 10/06: Boston, MA – Panelist with Gina McCarthy – “Climate change: Seeking bipartisan solutions in turbulent times,” hosted by Harvard Chan School of Public Health
      • 10/06: Cambridge, MA – Speaker for Harvard Program on Environmental Politics roundtable discussion
      • 10/10: Beaufort, SC – Rotary Club of the Low Country guest speaker
      • 10/17: Salt Lake City, UT – Vendor table at Sen. John Curtis’ Conservative Climate Summit
      • 10/20: Washington, DC – Journey of a Story panel moderator, The White House Effect film screening, presented by the Uproot Project
      • 10/21: Virtual – Women In Sustainability Experience Network Meeting
      • 10/21: Virtual – Zoom with FL Rep. Will Robinson
      • 10/21: Virtual – Zoom with FL Rep. Ryan Chamberlin
      • 10/29: Virtual – Zoom with FL Rep. Yvette Benarroch
      • 10/29: Athens, GA – Meeting with Dr. Marshall Shepherd of University of Georgia
      • 10/29: Athens, GA – Speaking event with University of Georgia business students
      • 10/30: Athens, GA – Meeting with deans and faculty at the University of Georgia
      • 10/30: Athens, GA – Guest lecture for University of Georgia Environmental Economics class
      • 10/30: Athens, GA – Speaker event with agribusiness students at University of Georgia
      • 11/03: Alexandria, VA – Episcopal High School, Sustainability and Service guest speaker