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Drone photo of lakefront by Doug McMillin

Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative

Dedicated to exploring the most important issues of our times and stimulating creative responses, Chautauqua Institution is mission-bound to bring sustained focus to perhaps the most consequential issue today, climate change.

Climate change impacts are unfolding across the globe, affecting every community, ecosystem, and institution in ways that have become increasingly more destructive. Urgent action is needed if we hope to avoid the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis.

This need beckons Chautauqua to use our unparalleled ability to convene, build bridges, establish communities, and encourage deeper intergenerational dialogue around climate change, both during and beyond the Summer Assembly.

The initial phases of the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative have been funded entirely by philanthropic gifts to Chautauqua from Peter Nosler and Julie Veitch and Jane Batten.

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Programs and Events

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About the Director

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Latest News

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April 23

Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative: April 2025

Climate Change Initiative

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March 20

Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative: March 2025

Climate Change Initiative

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February 13

Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative: February 2025

Climate Change Initiative

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Climate Change Channel on CHQ Assembly

Dedicated to exploring the most important issues of our times and stimulating creative responses, Chautauqua Institution is mission-bound to bring sustained focus to perhaps the most consequential issue today, climate change. Our collection of climate lectures showcases Chautauqua’s unparalleled ability to convene intergenerational, cross-disciplinary, and inclusive dialogue around multiple dimensions of the climate crisis. These lectures help inform and drive our own commitments, through the Chautauqua Climate Change Initiative, and we hope they similarly inspire action among our local, national, and global audiences.

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About the Director

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Mark Wenzler

Mark Wenzler begins his service to Chautauqua Institution as Director of the Climate Change Initiative on June 14, 2021. He works primarily out of the Institution’s Washington, D.C., office while also maintaining a significant presence on the grounds at Chautauqua during each Summer Assembly and otherwise as called for by Climate Change Initiative programs and experiences. Under Mark’s direction, the Climate Change Initiative has three primary areas of focus: education, stewardship and justice.

Before Chautauqua, Mark served as senior vice president for conservation programs at the National Parks Conservation Association, a not-for-profit organization working since 1919 to protect and enhance America’s National Park system for present and future generations. He created and managed multiple programs focused on addressing climate change, air and water pollution, landscape conservation, energy development and sustainability.

Mark also directed the climate and energy programs at the National Environmental Trust (now the Pew Charitable Trust’s Environment Group). He is a lawyer who began his career as a deputy attorney general prosecuting environmental cases for the New Jersey Division of Law, Environmental Practice Group, and later joined the Public Justice legal advocacy organization to represent organizations and communities in pursing environmental justice against polluters.

Mark volunteers as chair of the board of trustees of Experience Learning, a high-alpine wilderness-based nonprofit focusing on experiential learning adventure programs for children and adults. He also volunteers as secretary of the board of directors of Climate Ride, a non-profit that runs multiday cycling and hiking adventures around the globe, raising awareness and funds to fight climate change and advance a just and sustainable future. He previously served as volunteer chair of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Sierra Club.

Mark earned his law degree at Syracuse University, where he also completed a master’s degree in international relations at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, with a focus on economic and environmental policy. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Providence College. A New Jersey shore native, he resides in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., with his spouse Dare, daughter Nina and dog Ranger. He is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys backpacking, bike touring, backcountry skiing, paddling, wilderness running and adventure travel.

Resources

  • NASA, ”Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet”
  • The Climate Reality Project, “Why Should You Care About the Climate Crisis?”
  • United Nations, “Youth and Climate Change”
  • Sustainability at Chautauqua
  • Chautauqua Lake

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