by Connie Gundry Tappy 鈥�80
SARAH SPENGEMAN 鈥�01 first studied climate change in a chemistry class. 鈥淥nly later did it become my life鈥檚 focus,鈥� she says. She values her 蜜桃传媒 education because she learned much more in that course than how molecules interact. 鈥淐hemistry should inform our way of being in the world,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how all our classes were taught, and those lessons shaped the direction of my life.鈥�
Neither of her parents graduated from college, so Sarah appreciated political science professor Susan Penksa, who took a special interest in her. 鈥淪he encouraged my passions and helped grow my confidence,鈥� Sarah says. The late Bruce McKeown, another political science professor, inspired her lifelong love of philosophy.
After graduating with a degree in political science, Sarah earned both a master鈥檚 and a doctorate in political science from the University of Notre Dame.
鈥淢y work now relates to the passions I developed at 蜜桃传媒,鈥� Sarah says. She crafts and advocates for policies promoting environmental justice and climate and clean energy solutions.
In June, she took on the role of leading communications for the Crux Alliance, where she shares successes in climate policy with global audiences and develops strategic communications. The organization 鈥渟upports the rapid implementation of ambitious, cutting-edge climate policies鈥� with offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. Sarah served as deputy director of communications for Energy Innovation, a clean-energy and climate policy think tank in San Francisco. Previously, she was associate director for advocacy and communications at Health Care Without Harm, a global campaign to help healthcare institutions and professionals lead on climate solutions and community resilience.
In addition, Sarah writes about climate justice and policy, most recently for Forbes, Yale Climate Connections, and Stanford Social Innovation Review. She also speaks about these issues. Her work involves planning and implementing successful campaigns, developing strategy, building coalitions and creating advocacy education and training materials.
Sarah鈥檚 faith animates her commitment to clean energy and climate policy. She serves as board secretary of Interfaith Power & Light (IPL), an organization that inspires and mobilizes people of faith to support a thriving natural world. She learned about IPL when Pope Francis released his encyclical on climate change.
鈥淚t sparked a global conversation about how Christians and all people of faith are called to heal the earth, which Francis so beautifully refers to as 鈥榦ur common home,鈥欌�� Sarah says. It prompted her to focus her work for social justice entirely on climate justice.
"It sparked a global conversation about how Christians and all people of faith are called to heal the earth."
鈥淚 saw how climate change was fueling an immigration crisis and homelessness, causing unhoused people more suffering and contributing to food insecurity around the world,鈥� Sarah says. 鈥淚PL offered me a community of like-minded people who are truly living out their belief that people of faith must stand with those who are bearing a disproportionate burden of climate damages and must lead the way in relieving it.鈥�
According to Sarah, IPL helps churches and religious congregations 鈥渨itness to a way of being that stewards the earth and doesn鈥檛 exploit it.鈥� She鈥檚 grateful to serve on the board of what she considers an 鈥渋ncredibly effective organization.鈥�