Michael K. Dorsey is an American environmental advocate, activist, scholar, entrepreneur and a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement. Dorsey is also a co-founder and principal of Around the Corner Capital, an energy advisory and impact finance platform. Dorsey has contributed op-ed to the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal.[1][2]
Michael Dorsey | |
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Alma mater | University of Michigan (B.S., Ph.D) Yale University (MFS) Johns Hopkins University (M.A.) |
Education
Dorsey holds a B.S. and Ph.D in Natural Resources and Environmental Policy from the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability. He also holds a Master of Forest Science (M.F.S) from Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies in 1996 and an M.A. in Anthropology from Johns Hopkins University in 1998.
Career
In 1991, Dorsey served as a youth delegate to the U.S. First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit.[3] In 1992, Dorsey served as the youngest NGO representative on the United States Department of State Delegation the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[4][5][6][7]
Since the late 1980s, Dorsey has provided strategic guidance and advice to firms, foundations, governments and a multitude of others on the interplay of multilateral environment policy, finance and economic development matters across the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. From 2005-2012 Dorsey was assistant professor in Dartmouth College’s Environmental Studies Program and the Director of the College’s Climate Justice Research Project. He was made a member of the Club of Rome in 2013. Dorsey has also been a visiting professor at Wesleyan University, the University of KwaZulu-Natal, the University of the Witwatersrand and at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Dorsey worked at the African Centre for Technology Studies and served eleven years as a Director on the national board of the Sierra Club.
In 1993, Dorsey served on the task force for Bill Clinton's Council on Sustainable Development.[8]
Leadership
In the late 20th century and early 21st century Dorsey served as Director of the Sierra Club.[9] His first two consecutive terms were from 1997–2003. Dorsey was appointed and re-elected to the Sierra Club Board of Directors in 2012 (for two years) and 2014 (for a full three year term). Dorsey is also a founding member of the San Francisco-based Center for Environmental Health and a co-founding director of the Environmental Leadership Program. In 2017 he was appointed to the board of Food First.
While he was at Dartmouth College, from 2007–2008, Dr. Dorsey served as an environmental advisor on the Barack Obama 2008 presidential campaign.[10]. In 2010, Dorsey was appointed to the Advisory Committee of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. In 2012, Dorsey was re-appointed.
Following Dartmouth College Dorsey was a visiting professor at Wesleyan University. There he collaborated with two former Wesleyan students: Evan Weber and Matthew Lichtash, and obtained a $30,000 grant plus free office space provided by the Sierra Club to draft an ambitious plan for climate action, which was the basis for the incorporation of the US Climate Plan 501(c)(3) nonprofit (aka Sunrise Movement Education Fund) incorporated in January 2014.[11]
Dorsey is also co-founder and board member of Islands First, a multilateral negotiating-capacity-building organization for small island developing states facing disproportionate threats from unfolding climate change; Detroit XPAC, a nonpartisan political action committee whose goal is to help the expats of Detroit and of Michigan connect with their hometowns by collecting contributions and supporting candidates who will revitalize Detroit in a fiscally and environmentally responsible manner; and U.S. Climate Plan, the predecessor to the Sunrise Movement Education Fund, a climate policy advocacy group elevating the national dialogue, engaging the American people, and building political support for real climate policy solutions.[12]
Awards
- Dartmouth College Social Justice Award for "Ongoing Commitment."
- Nominated for the Ford Foundation's Leadership for a Changing World Award (2000).[13]
- Rotary International’s highest honor, the Paul Harris Medal for Distinguished Service to Humanity (1997)[14]
Publications
Dr. Dorsey has published dozens of articles on a variety of environment, development and sustainable finance matters.
Dorsey has been featured on CNN International, Democracy Now!, and Al Jazeera. His writing has been published in Institutional Investor, the Los Angeles Times, New Scientist, The New York Times, the Orlando Sentinel, The Sacramento Bee, U.S. News & World Report, and The Wall Street Journal.[15][16][17]
References
- ^ "Is Nuclear Power Vital to Hitting CO2 Emissions Targets?". WSJ. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ^ "Carbon trading won't work". Los Angeles Times. 2007-04-01. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ^ Connell, Robert (2011), "National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit", Green Culture: An A-to-Z Guide, SAGE Publications, Inc., pp. 601–604, retrieved 2020-01-14
- ^ "Green For Life Part One". YouTube. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ "Green For Life Part Two". YouTube. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ "Green For Life Part Three". YouTube. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ "Green For Life Part Four". YouTube. 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ "President's Council on Sustainable Development - Overview". clintonwhitehouse2.archives.gov. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ^ "Roster of Sierra Club Directors". Sierra Club. Retrieved 2009-10-23.
- ^ "Dorsey, Michael • Club of Rome". Retrieved 2020-01-14.
- ^ Matthews, Mark K.; Bowlin, Nick; Hulac, Benjamin; E; Monday, E. News reporters Climatewire; December 3; 2018. "ACTIVISM: Inside the Sunrise Movement (it didn't happen by accident)". www.eenews.net. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
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has numeric name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Detroit XPAC". Detroit XPAC. 2016-09-10. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ "24,000 Delegates Descend on Glasgow for 88th Annual Rotary International Convention /PR Newswire UK/". Prnewswire.co.uk. 1997-06-16. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ The Rotarian. August 1997. p. 36. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ Pearce, Fred (2002-08-29). "Governments call for 'environmental justice'". New Scientist. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ NATHANIAL GRONEWOLD (2011-01-31). "Europe's Carbon Emissions Trading - Growing Pains or Wholesale Theft?". NYTimes.com. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
- ^ Swarns, Rachel L. (2002-08-30). "U.S. Shows Off Aid Projects At U.N. Development Meeting". The New York Times.