Dear Alex and Vivian,
When I was a teenager I first crossed an Icefield with the Juneau Icefield Research Program. I had only camped once before, so this experience was formative. Traveling back last summer as faculty filled me with such joy. Then sadness registered. Valley walls showed the scrape of ice that once existed.
I won’t be paralyzed. The consequences of climate change are speeding forward affecting real people and wild spaces. I am your advocate for the world you deserve in my teaching and in our community. I will use these roles to help make change. This is my most important work.
Love,
Mom
Sarah Fortner
Associate Professor of Geology & Environmental Science
Wittenberg University