Gund Fellow, Jon D Erickson, is a force of nature.  He is a big-picture thinker who dreams up new ways to engage students, policy-makers, academics, NGOs, and citizens around the grand challenges of our time - climate change, invasive species, poverty, economic progress and others.  He has an amazing ability to motivate teams to bring ideas to fruition. Most recently, he and Gund Graduate Fellow, Christopher Clement, worked with their undergraduate Ecological Economics class to host the Youth Climate Summit. Co-hosted with Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, the Summit brought together 200 high school students from 26 high schools in Vermont. UVM undergraduate students facilitated small teams of high school students to help create climate action plans for their high schools. Press coverage of the event includes stories from Vermont Public Radio and CBS, NBC, and ABC affiliates. 

The event was co-sponsored by Senator Bernie Sanders, UVM Gund Institute for Ecological Economics, UVM Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources, UVM Environmental Program, Casella Waste Systems, Lintilhac Foundation, and the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation.