The STEM Club at Peninsula College, and ʔaʔk̓ʷustəƞáwt̓xʷ House of Learning, PC Longhouse are partnering with Studium Generale to bring Dr. Elin Kelsey, to a special Zoom presentation from 12:30-2 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21.

Kelsey, professor and author of “Hope Matters: Why Changing the Way We Think Is Critical for Solving the Environmental Crisis,” will present a brief lecture, then engage in conversation with students and audience members.

Join the Zoom meeting at us02web.zoom.us/j/82419155703 (meeting ID: 824 1915 5703).

Kelsey is an award-winning author and thought-leader for hope and environmental solutions. Her work focuses on the study of the reciprocal relationship between humans and the rest of nature.

The discussion will be co-hosted by Vanessa Affandy and Kaitlyn Viada, leaders in the STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) Club at the college.

“When Kaitlyn Viada and Vanessa Affandy approached me to ask about partnering to bring a speaker to the Studium Generale stage, I immediately thought of Dr. Kelsey, because her work was introduced to me by a close family friend, Waverly Soule-Shreffler, who just finished her degree in Environmental Education,” Studium Generale coordinator Dr. Kate Reavey said.

Reavey said that Soule-Shreffler, formerly of Sequim, is studying to be a teacher, and she knew that the STEM Club was looking to bring a speaker who could communicate the importance of science and celebrate science.

“We are excited to hear Dr. Kelsey’s expertise on seeking hope in the climate crisis and hope this event will raise interest in PC’s STEM Club,” Viada, a PC STEM Club member from Sequim, said.

As an adjunct faculty member of the University of Victoria School of Environmental Studies, and, Western Washington University’s partnership in the Redfish School of Change, she is helping to forward a solutions-oriented paradigm for educating environmental scientists and social scientists.

She regularly serves as an author/artist in residence, leading environmental workshops with kindergarten to university students across North America and around the world. She is a feature writer and podcast host for Hakai Magazine, and a best-selling children’s book author.

Her newest book for children, “A Last Goodbye,” was published in April 2020.

For more about Kelsey’s work, visit www.elinkelsey.org.