Master's in Sustainability: Regina's Journey

This special episode of Climate Emergency Forum welcomes back co‑founder and longtime host Regina after a long absence as she completes her master’s degree in sustainability at Columbia University in New York. Herb Simmens introduces Regina and reflects on how often viewers have asked “Where is Regina?” as she stepped away from the Forum to take on an intensive period of study and work at the Center for Sustainable Development. Now, she returns to share what she has learned and how it will strengthen her climate advocacy going forward.

This video was recorded on June 17th, 2026, and published on June 21st, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.

In conversation with Herb, Regina talks candidly about the challenges of going back to school after many years away, balancing demanding coursework with her commitment to climate work, and pushing herself into areas she once avoided. She describes how Columbia’s program forced her to engage deeply with finance, economics, and quantitative analysis—topics she used to resist, but which she now recognizes as essential to effective climate and climate justice strategies in a capitalist world. Regina also reflects on her experiences at multiple COPs and the inspiration she draws from people dedicating their lives to climate solutions.

If you’ve missed Regina’s voice on CEF, this is your chance to hear where she’s been, why she chose to pursue another degree, and how it reframes the fight for climate justice. As always, we invite you to like, subscribe, and visit climateemergencyforum.org to learn more about our work and to support the Forum so we can continue bringing you in‑depth conversations on the climate emergency. Stay to the end for Herb’s “Climate Three,” highlighting three major climate stories from the past week.

Links:

• Support Our Mission

• Master of Science in Sustainability Management

• Cost-benefit analysis

• An Inconvenient Truth: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It

• Public good

• Global Warming in the Pipeline and Earth’s Energy Imbalance (CEF Video)

• Claudia Dreifus

• Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory

• Too Hot to Live: The Human Cost of Extreme Heat (CEF Video)

• Microbes - Climate’s Tiny Titans (CEF Video)

• Fungi & Climate Change: Hidden Solutions and New Risks (CEF Video)

• Can the Winter Olympics Survive Global Heating? (CEF Video)

• Scientists Identify Three Times More Climate-Resilient Coral Reefs Than Previously Estimated

• In Antarctica, a frozen vault holds the secrets of the world’s vanishing glaciers

• Nearly six billion fish, crustaceans and jellyfish fall victim to French nuclear power plants every year

Returning Panelist:

• Regina Valdez - is a co‑founder and longtime host of Climate Emergency Forum, known for her articulate, research‑driven climate communication and on‑the‑ground experience at multiple UN climate COPs. She recently completed a master’s degree in sustainability at Columbia University, where she deepened her expertise in the financial, economic, and quantitative dimensions of sustainability management with a focus on Water.

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute.

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University.

• Herb Simmens - Author, Co-founder of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), Climate Emergency Board Member and former college instructor.

Podcast Production:

• Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: crowander.com

Podcast thumbnail background image:

• Title: Butler Library an der Columbia University
• Author: Marco Almbauer
• Source: Source Link
• License: public domain