Joseph Bryan, Rod Schoonover to Deliver Keynotes on National Security Implications of Climate Change

Joseph Bryan, senior adviser for climate at the Department of Defense, and Ecological Futures Group founder Rod Schoonover will participate in Sept. 14 event hosted by the Potomac Officers Club to discuss climate change issues affecting national security initiatives.

Bryan is a former senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center and deputy assistant secretary for energy at the Department of the Navy. He previously served on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees as a professional staffer and also worked at the University of Cape Town’s Energy and Development Research Center in South Africa, where he supported energy and mining policy development efforts.

At the Department of Energy’s Aug. 2 forum, Bryan said that the Pentagon aims to ensure that defense missions can continue under changing environmental conditions as part of DOD’s climate adaptation plan.

*Rod Schoonover, founder and CEO of Ecological Futures Group*

His opening keynote address to the Potomac Officers Club will be followed by a panel discussion on how data analytics can help DOD manage the effects of global changes in the environment on its operations and installations.

For the closing keynote speech, Schoonover will offer his perspective on climate-linked national security risks and give the audience a glimpse into the Ecological Futures Group’s work to explore the implications of global ecological disruption.

Schoonover previously worked in the government as a senior scientist and analyst at the State Department and as director of environment and natural resources at the National Intelligence Council.