Guest Speakers

This semester, professors across the department have done an excellent job at bringing guest speakers into their classrooms to provide first-hand accounts of what the students can do upon graduation and connecting their real-world experiences with subjects that students are learning in the classroom. Thank you to all of our speakers throughout the semester for taking the time out of your schedules (some calling into a 9 A.M. EST class from Washington state!) to meet with our students.

ENVM 4650/6650 - Environmental Economics - Dr. Ferreira

This semester in Environmental Economics, Bob Inglis, a former U.S. Representative for South Carolina, gave a presentation entitled, "Finding Common Ground in U.S. Climate Policy." He serves as the Executive Director of republicEn, a group that identifies as the "EcoRight," and claims that, "nobody should sacrifice their conservative values to protect the environment and our future. Our conservative values are not only part of our identity, they are key to effective climate solutions." In his speech, he expanded on this. Thank you Former Representative Inglis for coming to speak to students in our department.

AAEC 3070 - Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Supply Chain Economics - Dr. William Secor

This Fall, Crystal Richburg, Southeast Market News Supervisor for the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, came to speak to Dr. Secor's AAEC 3070 class. In her presentation, she discussed what market news reporters do, what information is gathered, how the data they collect are used, and how cattle auction data reveal valuable information for producers.

AAEC 3050 - Climate Change Economics and Policy - Dr. Ferreira - Dr. Xie

This Fall, Drs. Ferreira and Xie, in their first time offering the course, have welcomed seven guest speakers so far! To kick off the semester, Dr. Marshall Shepherd gave a presentation entitled, "A Georgia Perspective on Climate Risk and the Potential Solution Space," in which he discussed the increasing rates of extreme events, the necessity for climate adaptation and mitigation, and the growing necessity for resiliency within the State of Georgia and beyond.

The bulk of the guest speakers came during the industries and voluntary actions section of the class, in which the class had a guest speaker for nearly every industry addressed. First, the class heard from Sarah Anderson (B.S.E.S. Environmental Economics and Management '17, M.S. Agricultural and Applied Economics '19) who, in her presentation, "Climate Change Impacts for a Hydro Utility," discussed wholesale power trading and her job as a credit risk analyst. She tied her presentation together discussing the impacts climate change has on power generation and the Climate Commitment Act.

Moving onto the transportation sector, Samantha Siragusa (B.S.E.S. Environmental Economics and Management '19, M.N.R. '20) spoke about sustainability at U.P.S. In her presentation, she discussed UPS's historied sustainability program, measuring scope emissions from all 3 scopes (FedEx only reports scopes 1 and 2), and UPS's further commitment to sustainability in the future. After her presentation, she joined the Environmental Economics and Management (EEM) Club for a coffee hour to speak with current students!

With regards to the agricultural sector, Jeffrey O'Hara, Deputy Director in the Office of Energy Policy and New Uses, gave a presentation entitled, "U.S. Climate-Smart Agricultural and Forestry Incentives: From Offsets to Clean Energy Credits." Within this presentation, Dr. O'Hara discussed the large impact of agriculture on the U.S.'s Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, as well as many possible approaches to Climate Smart Agriculture, including cover crops and no-till agriculture.

Finally, in the real estate sector, the class had Alexandra Bull (B.S.E.S. Environmental Economics and Management '19) from JLL speak. In her presentation entitled, "Using Real Estate to Fight Climate Change," she discussed the different sectors of carbon emissions from buildings, including operational and embodied carbon. She closed by discussing a case study of her own project, which received both LEED and WELL Platinum standards awards.

After learning about adapting to climate change and public policies for adaption, Connor Brach, an Associate Director at AM Best, gave a presentation on climate risk and insurance. In this presentation, he touched on climate risk and catastrophes, AM Best, the (re)insurance industry, the ratings process, and finally by connecting the insurance agency to the economic background that students in the class have.

To wrap up the semester, Isabella Canales Claudio (B.S.E.S. Environmental Economics and Management '21, M.S. Econometrics and Quantitative Economics '22) came giving a presentation entitled, "Environmental Economics to Climate RIsk (How my Degree Prepared me for Consulting)." In this lecture, she gave invaluable information regarding what drew her to sustainability, what she does, and how EY's Climate Changes and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) operates in preparing and presenting briefs to clients. Afterwards, she joined EEM Club for a coffee hour where she addressed questions from students on all things related to the ENVM major.

HFIM 4670 - Hotel and Lodging Sales and Revenue Management - Dr. Angie Im

Dr. Im first hosted Ed Solar, a Business Development Manager at Valor Hospitality Partners, where he shared insights into revenue management and leadership from a management company perspective. He also spoke to HFIM 3180 about contracts and liabilities from a management company perspective.

Next, students in Hospitality Revenue Management heard from John Ofrecio, an Assistant General Manager at Ansley Golf Club. During his presentation, John discussed the unique aspects of private clubs and shared his journey within the sector.

FInally, the class had the pleasure of welcoming Missy Wilson, a Sales Department Manager, and Patrick Fulbright, the Deputy Director, both at the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education and Hotel (Georgia Center). As strong supporters of the HFIM program, these guest speakers shared the vision and mission of the Georgia Center and proposed a collaborative project for students to work on throughout the semester.

HFIM 3180 - Hospitality and Food Industry Law and Liability - Dr. Angie Im

This semester, Dr. Im arranged to host guest speaker KT Cooke, a Director of Sales and Event Management for the Georgia Center and a strong supporter of the HFIM program. In her lecture, she discussed her extensive knowledge of contracts.

Jake Grant, General Manager at the Georgia Center also came to speak to the class. During his presentation, he spoke about shared his knowledge and expertise in managing a hotel property. Additionally, he discussed various laws and liabilities that industry leaders should consider before closing by offering advice for future industry leaders.

AAEC 3400 - Introduction to Agricultural Policy - Dr. Ford Ramsey

This semester, Dr. Ramsey hosted Takashi Sadakane who is the counselor for food, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries at the Embassy of Japan in Washington D.C. He spoke about the relationship between the United States and Japan in terms of their agricultural trade. He noted that Japan is the fifth largest export market for U.S. agriculture. He also discussed the importance of agricultural trade policy for Japan. He later discussed the life of a trade negotiator and member of embassy staff. He previously worked as a negotiator for the World Trade Organization and with the U.S. on the Trans-Pacific partnership.