Luc Allemand of the Earth Humanity Coalition interviews NSS Board President Dan Brown.

Dan Brown - “Sustainability is a problem-oriented field that doesn’t care about disciplinary perspectives”

In the interview, Dan Brown - professor at the University of Washington and President of the newly formed National Sustainability Society (NSS) - discusses his 30-year career in land system science and his commitment to understanding human-environment interactions. He explains that NSS was created to address sustainability as a problem-oriented field that transcends disciplinary boundaries, offering a home for academics and professionals from diverse sectors like engineering, business, ecology, and public health. The society aims to foster collaboration, launch a journal, host training events, and bridge the gap between sustainability education and workforce needs. While currently U.S.-focused, NSS is exploring international partnerships and emphasizes in-person engagement to build strong interdisciplinary communities tackling complex sustainability challenges.

The Earth-Humanity Collaborative (EHC) seeks to transform how knowledge is generated, aiming to align research and innovation with equitable well-being and planetary health. It promotes inclusive, interdisciplinary, and non-hierarchical collaboration across academic, indigenous, traditional, and local knowledge systems. Ultimately, the EHC strives to empower society to co-create solutions and navigate global crises through more just, informed, and peaceful approaches to transformation.

Read a transcript of the full interview here.