How Did We Get Here—and Where Do We Go? Rebuilding Bipartisanship in the U.S. Environmental Movement

Congressman Carlos Curbelo is a Principal at Vocero, a public communications firm in Florida. He represented Florida’s 26th district in the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. He served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the Education and Workforce Committee, the Small Business Committee, and the powerful Committee on Ways and Means. 

Previously, in 2017, Mr. Curbelo was honored by the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation with the New Frontier Award for his work promoting bipartisan cooperation on environmental policy. He received his Bachelor’s in Business Administration and Political Science and Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Miami.

Senator Mary Landrieu served in the United States Senate for three terms, from 1997-2015. During her 18 years in the Senate, she chaired the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, the Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, and was the first Democratic woman to serve on the Armed Services Committee. She is credited with the passage of several important pieces of legislation: most notably, the landmark Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA); the Israel American Energy Alliance; and the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act) – the single largest environmental investment in the Gulf Coast in US history.

During her time in the Senate, Landrieu was known for her bipartisan approach to addressing national challenges and for her passionate advocacy for her home state of Louisiana, particularly in the aftermaths of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Prior to serving in the Senate, she was elected twice to the Louisiana State Legislature from 1979 – 1987.  For eight years, she successfully championed causes related to women and children, flood protection, and education reform. In 1987, she was elected State Treasurer and served with distinction for two terms. Strong fiscal management, pension fund diversification, debt limitation, and the creation of the first-ever municipal investment fund (now valued at over $2 billion) are some of her noteworthy accomplishments.

Since leaving the Senate, Landrieu served on the CenturyLink (Lumen) Board of Directors (November 2015 - May 2020); and currently serves on the Tyler Technologies Board of Directors. She has been a leader in the public-school reform movement for decades and serves on the board of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools. She is a co-founder and the current chair of the board of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI), which represents over 150 Members of Congress who work on bipartisan policies and funding initiatives to support the notion that ever child has the right to a safe, stable and nurturing family. In addition, Landrieu serves on the board of Resources for the Future, and the National Academy of Sciences’ Gulf Research Program Advisory Board.

She earned her BS degree from Louisiana State University and is married to Frank Snellings, an attorney and real estate broker. They reside in Washington, DC, and have two grown children and one grandchild.

Stephanie Murphy is a former U.S. Congresswoman, national security expert, and bipartisan leader. She has spent her career tackling complex challenges—from strengthening America’s economy and security to advancing climate resilience. Murphy is a current candidate for Mayor of Orange County, FL and the Founder of Center Aisle, a bipartisan nonprofit organization combating political extremism and championing America’s commonsense center.

Murphy made history as the first Vietnamese-American woman ever elected to Congress, representing one of the nation’s most competitive battleground districts from 2017 to 2023. In Congress, she served on the House Ways and Means and Armed Services Committees, shaping economic, trade, and national security policy. As leader of the pragmatic Democratic Blue Dog Coalition and a chief deputy whip, she was consistently ranked among the most bipartisan and effective Members of Congress. Murphy was also a key player in delivering historic infrastructure and climate investments.

Before serving in Congress, Murphy was a national security specialist at the U.S. Department of Defense, where she worked to protect the nation from foreign threats and strengthen counterterrorism efforts. She has also been a business executive and an instructor at Rollins College, helping entrepreneurs and students launch successful careers.

Bruce Westerman represents Arkansas’ Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he serves on the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and as Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources.

A Hot Springs native, Westerman is an engineer and forester by trade, an avid outdoorsman, and a proud husband and father of four.

After graduating from Fountain Lake High School in Garland County, Bruce went on to attend the University of Arkansas where he played on the Razorback football team and graduated with his Bachelor of Science degree in Biological and Agricultural Engineering. He later received his Master of Forestry Degree from Yale University.

Prior to serving in Congress, Westerman worked for 22 years at Mid-South Engineering in Hot Springs. He served as a board member for the Fountain Lake School District and was later elected to two terms in the Arkansas General Assembly, where he was the state’s first Republican House Majority Leader since reconstruction.

Westerman enjoys hunting and fishing, especially on Lake Ouachita.

Anthony Leiserowitz, PhD is the JoshAni-TomKat Professor of Climate Communication at the Yale School of the Environment and the Director of the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. 

He is an internationally recognized expert on public climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, policy support, and behavior, and the psychological, cultural, and political factors that shape them. He conducts research worldwide, including in the United States, China, India, Brazil, Indonesia, and Ireland. He has published more than 400 scientific articles, chapters, and reports and has worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the National Academy of Sciences, the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, the Harvard Kennedy School, the United Nations Development Program, the Gallup World Poll, and the World Economic Forum, among others. He has been named one of the top 0.001% cited social scientists in the world by Clarivate Web of Science each year since 2020. He is a recipient of the Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education, the Mitofsky Innovator Award from the American Association of Public Opinion Research, the Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication from Climate One, and an Environmental Innovator award from the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2020, he was named the second-most influential climate scientist in the world (of 1,000) by Reuters. He is also the host of Climate Connections, a radio program broadcast each day on nearly 800 frequencies nationwide. 

How to pronounce my name: https://www.name-coach.com/anthony-leiserowitz