<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}rachelanddavefosterwhitehouse(1).jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 187px; float: right;" />Invitations to the White House don&rsquo;t come often, but when they do, they deserve notice. The Au Sable Institute is honored to name one of its own faculty as a recent White House invitee, Rachel Lamb, Assistant Professor of <a href="{filedir_11}courses/course_information/summer_session_i/land_resources_biol_geol_geog_301/">Land Resources</a>. On Monday, July 20<sup>th</sup>, the White House recognized twelve people of faith as &ldquo;Champions of Change&rdquo; for their efforts in protecting our environment and communities from the effects of climate change. In the words of the White House Press Release, &ldquo;These Champions have demonstrated clear leadership across the United States and around the world through their grassroots efforts to green their communities and educate others on the moral and social justice implications of climate change.&rdquo; Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy and Senior Advisor to the President Brian Deese were the primary speakers at the event, and the presenters of the awards to their recipients. David Foster, Professor of Biology at Messiah College (Pennsylvania) and Vice Chair of the Au Sable Board of Trustees, also attended the event representing the Institute and to congratulate and support Rachel.</p>
<p>
	<img alt="" src="{filedir_5}rachelchampionsofchangepanel.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 187px; float: left;" />At this event, Rachel L. Lamb was recognized and honored for her work as Chair of the Steering Committee for Young Evangelicals for Climate Action (<a href="http://www.yecaction.org">YECA</a>), an organization she has served since its inception. Under Rachel&rsquo; leadership, YECA has, over the past three years, grown into an active national organization with members from a diverse array of church denominations. Under Rachel&rsquo;s guidance, YECA has developed a successful Climate Leadership Fellows program that extends to college campuses throughout the United States and across international borders to the Christian Bilingual University of Congo in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. While still an undergraduate student at Wheaton College (IL), Rachel was one of a select number of US students to receive the EPA&rsquo;s Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowship for Undergraduate Environmental Study. With the support of this Fellowship, Rachel worked with Tribes in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest to produce a collection of best practices for climate change adaptation in that region, integrating both scientific findings and cultural knowledge and beliefs of native Americans. Rachel received degrees in Master of Public Policy and Master of Science in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2015, and is now working on a major new textbook in conservation biology with Au Sable&rsquo;s Executive Director, Fred Van Dyke, which will be published by Springer in 2018.</p>
<p>
	To read more about the event, Rachel, and other recognized Champions of Change in climate action, visit the White House link to this event at <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions">https://www.whitehouse.gov/champions</a>. Congratulations, Rachel, on this deserved honor and recognition.&nbsp;</p>
