A Message from NSS Chairman Dan Brown
It was great seeing new and old friends at our third annual conference in Denver last month. I come away from the meeting more inspired than ever by both our purpose as an organization and the fantastic group of people working together to carry it out. From outstanding plenary and organized sessions to workshops and informal conversations, you showed up in a way that truly responded to the conference theme of courage, credibility, and collective action in a time when sustainability research and action are under threat.
You are doing great work and persevering, which shows courage in and of itself.
If you missed the meeting this year, you can review the conference report, and please stay tuned for details about next year’s meeting, which we aim to hold in fall 2027 on the east coast.
The NSS board met after the annual conference to refine our strategic approach to fulfilling our mission to build a community of researchers, educators, and professionals striving to advance a just, resilient, and sustainable world. While our conversation reaffirmed our ambitions, it centered on how to build the capacity to live into the fullness of that mission in a financially sustainable way. We aim to publish a new strategic plan shortly after the start of the new year that will describe our plans to phase our efforts in a way that builds on our strengths as a committed group of members, who hail primarily but not exclusively from within the academic world of sustainability research and education. Because sustainability, as a transdisciplinary field, relies on deep engagement and co-production with non-academic professionals and organizations, cross-sectoral engagement is key to our success. We will prioritize activities in the short term that serve the academic membership and move this transdisciplinary field forward. As always, we welcome input from our members and supporters as we chart this path forward.
Elsewhere in this newsletter you will see some of the specific ways to engage and help us move forward on our mission. I want to draw your attention, in particular, to the call for nominations for new board councilors and committee members. Also, in the new year, we are piloting a new sustainability coaching program to connect established professionals with students and early-career professionals. Whichever side of that continuum you consider yourself to be on, consider engaging, building your network, and sharing the journey.
